World Famous Comics: The Goon Volume 1: Nothin' But Misery (Goon (Graphic Novels))
The Goon Volume 1: Nothin' But Misery (Goon (Graphic Novels))
By: Eric Powell Publisher: Dark Horse Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Dark Horse Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 160 Publication Date: October 21, 2003 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: Bones will be broken and heads will roll! The Goon is a laugh-out-loud action-packed romp through the streets of a town infested with zombies. An insane priest is building himself an army of the undead, and there's only one man who can put them is their place: the man they call Goon. Collects The Goon series and The Goon Color Special, originally published by Albatross Exploding Funny Books; presented here for the first time in full color.
I laughed, I gasped until my eyes bugged out I am not a huge graphic novel fanatic, not that I do not appreciate great artwork and the compelling stories that come out of a variety of fantastic stories, it is just that it has never been something I have latched onto as much as many of my friends have. My fascination has been with zombies and that has led me to different graphic novels where zombies play a part in them. From The Walking Dead Series to Xombie to Reces Pieces, I have found plenty to entertain me with along with the strictly written word in zombie books. I picked up a couple of Goon titles, thinking that My Murderous Childhood and Nothin' But Misery would be the first two in the series. I was mistaken but after reading these two, I will be hitting up Rough Stuff and moving forward with the rest of the series. I love the almost schitzophrenic way that Eric Powell's brain works with this series, how he brings in totally lunatic elements with both a dark and malevolent sense of humor that had me cracking up through this entire book. The advertisements are hilarious, the different tales both big and small are intriguing, and overall I thought it was a fantastic read. Zombies play a part in the Goon series, which is what drew me to it, but it is far more than just that. I honestly cannot wait to read the rest of the various tales of the Goon, because the art is great, the stories are rolicking, and the bottom line for me is that this was fun to read.
Great fun but too similar to Hellboy The art is great, feels almost animated (and i hope someone will animate it). There is humor, but it's mostly in the art rather than in the text and ideas.
However, i felt a little dissapointed for two reasons: 1. Even if this is the first volume, you should read volume 0 (Rough Stuff) first since this one makes some important references to the origins of Goon and its enemy, the Zombie Priest 2. It's too similar to Hellboy. Not VERY similar, but enough to notice it easily. Even the looks and one-liners of the Goon remind me of Hellboy. Also his absurd supernatural enemies and friends are from the same pool of ideas (zombie gangsters instead of nazis, talking fish and sea monsters, hot chicks with a noir shade of character)
The Goon volumes make for a great looking and entertaining collection and should be appreciated by Hellboy fans. But this being the first volume that i read, i expected something fresher and more genuine.
Dark Horse hit a Homerun picking Powell up. This was a wonderful read. I do not normally laugh out loud when reading comics, but this one keeps me rolling. Despite the fact that the characters are much the antihero, you just can't help rooting for them.
After reading this I am determined to buy and read this title as long as he is publishing it. The Goon is my favorite comic out today, and I would definitely pick this product up.
Superior Comic Book Making There are comics that have more depth and some that have more subtlety than The Goon, but few that exhibit such sheer joy of the comics medium and "low-brow" art. It's obvious that Eric Powell knows not only the value of good B-Movies and pulp tales, but of all other pop-culture discards as well. His stories, freeway collisions among gansters, monsters, Frank Capra and drive-in "sci-fi", are pure, simple, direct, and often outright funny. They invoke everything from Ed Wood to Norman Rockwell. Although Powell adopts a beautiful cartoony style in drawing Goon (with suggestions of Jack Kirby, Will Eisner and other comics greats), what makes it work is the talent of an accomplished artist capable of far more complex renderings. The Goon is a wonder and well worth your attention.
Great stuff This is my first foray into The Goon. I loved it. I usually read superhero books but lately I've weanted to get into something different. First it was Hellboy and now it's The Goon. This is Hilarious but it's not just jokes there are real stories here too. These other reviewers mention these great horror writers and what-not, I have not read their stuff (but I probably should), but this is a great read for anybody. And The Atomic Rage is hilarious.
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