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THE GOON #9
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Dark Horse Comics
Writer/Artist: Eric Powell
Artist: Eric Wight
Colors: Eric Powell & Robin Powell
Editor: Matt Dryer
Price: $2.99 US |
Ah, the sports story. Tales of gridiron courage symbolically changing the face of society, whether it's the triumph over racism in Remember the Titans, the Cold War analogies of Miracle or the end of the mob era and the beginning of the zombie reign in the pages of The Goon. OK, so maybe this isn't your average sports story. Nope, instead, Powell does what he always does, which is to take recognizable story elements, such as horror comics of the '50s or Silver Age superhero comics of the '60s or, in this case, sports movies, and gives them his own ridiculous twist. While much of the book is played for laughs, though, there is also a genuine sense of inspiration and courage to be found in this issue, albeit one that is undercut by the typically downbeat and darkly funny ending of the issue. Throw in Powell doing the other thing he does best, which is to echo the story devices of other times and genres with his gorgeous art style, and you've got another fun issue of The Goon that never fails to delight and surprise.
Certainly the overall structure of this issue is not unlike every sports movie we've ever seen. The reluctant champion who is coaxed into the game by a devoted, down-on-his-luck former champ. The oddball and unlikely team that become a group of heroes on the field. The mob betting on the games since they think it's all part of a scheme, and the football game becoming a crucial part of the mob wars which have driven the town for so long. Again, Powell shows that he's more than willing to dabble in the familiar before pulling away the football, Lucy Van Pelt style, to reveal the same twisted and hilarious sense of humor lying beneath. Even the familiar aspects aren't so familiar, as The Goon is pulled into football largely by the lure of money and his unlikely team is good because they cripple the other teams with abandon, but there are definitely elements of sports cliche underlying the plot, just enough to make it familiar and funny as parody.
What's kind of weird, and kind of impressive, about The Goon is that Powell doesn't go for straight up ha-ha stuff. No, it's more like the dry, strange humor of something like Arrested Development or The Flaming Carrot. To be sure, there are some straight-up funny moments, most of them courtesy of foul-mouthed and ultraviolent sidekick Franky (his view on running someone over with a bus pretty much spells out the character's mindset), but Powell doesn't just rely on slapstick, even though he does it well. The absurdity of the mob wars beginning over the football games is a lot of fun because it's so plausible in the world that Powell has set up, and the '60s pastiche of the Atomic Rage ad, complete with hysterically over-the-top (and funnier because it's censored) swearing and guest art by Silver Age stylist Eric Wight, show that Powell has a pretty good range of humor in The Goon.
In addition, while The Goon is without a doubt a book that thrives on the funny and the weird, it has it's little touches of seriousness as well. The Goon is nobody's idea of a hero, but his motivation for killing LaBrazio, and his general ability to outwit the other thugs he deals with, makes him pretty admirable. His talk with Don Dantini in this issue is almost touching, and The Goon's reaction to the assassination by Don Calabresi is legitimately tragic as well. I also quite enjoy how Powell keeps going back and revealing bits and pieces of how The Goon and the town he lives in came to be the way it is now, and this story of the transition between mob violence and zombie violence is a great example of that, even as the story really isn't focused on accomplishing that goal.
As always, though, while the whacked-out nature of the storytelling is certainly appealing, there is also a lot of pure joy to be found in Powell's artwork. His style has been popping up in some pin-up pages for Marvel or covers for DC as well, and it's always easy to pick him out. He has the simplicity of "animated" storytelling mixed in with immensely detailed faces, beautifully detailed backgrounds and clear, basic storytelling techniques. When he does get experimental, it's in aping a particular look, such as the sepia-toned "yearbook" style flashbacks that show the birth of the Goon's football team. Throughout the book, the coloring is exquisite, with a palette that suggests the fall football season all the while maintaining the moody darkness that has characterized the book from the start and leaving enough of a colorful spread to remain beautiful at a casual glance as well. 9/10
This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
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