The Goon is one of those books that you can point to as proof that humor comics can work. Powell's approach is a scattershot mix of pop-culture gags, parody and bizarre ideas, all centering on a slightly deranged zombie hunter in a town full of them. His work is best described as a cross between EC horror, Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot and knowingly goofy Silver Age comics, complete with fake ads, a short story style and more zombies than you can shake a stick at. It also happens to feature some really nice artwork, very detailed and full of unusual designs, with beautiful color by Eric and Robin Powell. This is a book that is hard to describe, but easy to love.
The central stories of The Goon take place in a rundown, fictional town where a loutish anti-hero like The Goon can actually be considered a good guy, because the alternatives are nasty fish men, mad witch doctors and evil things from beyond the grave. Powell's work is a surprising blend of horror and humor, and I'm pleased that he manages to keep things light even in the face of grisly things like cannibalism, abusive families and kidnapping. The violence and horrific monsters are played for laughs, and the whole thing has sort of a cartoonish vibe, reminiscent of the old Warner Brothers cartoons.
There's also just a good everyman quality to The Goon, the lead character of the book. He's a plain-talkin', hard-fightin' regular guy, sort of an amoral Ben Grimm, and his high-strung but loyal sidekick Franky brings a fun and unpredictable streak to the book. Not that Franky is the only one... Powell's overall style is one that is unpredictable, with a variety of wild ideas including Santa as harsh taskmaster, a zombified man who must eat the flesh of the undead and a hypnotist with an unusual curse. Indeed, Powell laces his dialogue with hilarious non sequiturs and bizarre behavior, often from Franky and his choice of foes (a dangerous sandwich), weapons ("Knife to the eye!") and purchases at an auction house ("Sinatra's Ruby-Studded Underpants?")
As much fun as the stories are, however, I have to admit that some of my favorite elements of this book come in the fake ads that are interspersed throughout the story. The foul-mouthed Atomic Rage is a fittingly bizarre hero for the world of The Goon, and every Silver Age style cover mock-up featuring the character made me laugh out loud. Powell's goofy pop-culture riffs don't stop at super-hero comics, however; he works in gags based on everything from Conan to television and phone psychics. In fact, the ad for the psychic seal, and just the idea of the psychic seal, is as funny as the Atomic Rage covers.
One of the reasons that these various ad parodies can work is because of Powell's versatile art style. He can do photo-realistic for the ads or for his Norman Rockwell-esque Christmas cover, and he can put detail into the vehicles and weapons that the characters use, but he also brings a cartoony sensibility to the whole thing that keeps it fun. Powell's style, which has adorned the Arkham Asylum covers as well as The Goon, is instantly recognizable and remarkably polished for a new creator, and it's not hard to see why this book has earned some small amount of buzz.
