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The Goon #13
The Goon, Volume 13: For Want of Whiskey and Blood
The return of the Zombie Priest, a Latin-tongued Godzilla, drunk sailors, and a Halloween visit from Billy the Kid are just a few of the special tricks and treats for Goon and company in this new collection from Eric Powell that Comic Book Resources calls “the product of a contentedly demented mind.” This volume collects The Goon #42–#45.
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2014
121 people want to read
About the author
Eric Powell
504 books280 followersEric Powell has contributed work on such comics titles as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Hellboy: Weird Tales, Star Wars Tales, The Incredible Hulk, Black Panther, The Avengers, The Hood, MAD Magazine, Devil Dinosaur, Swamp Thing, the Avengers, She-Hulk, the Simpsons, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell and Action Comics.
Although eking out a meager living in the comics field since 1995, Eric didn't find true success until he launched his critically acclaimed dark comedy series The Goon. The Goon was subsequently picked up by Dark Horse Comics and boasts a diehard cult following.
Although eking out a meager living in the comics field since 1995, Eric didn't find true success until he launched his critically acclaimed dark comedy series The Goon. The Goon was subsequently picked up by Dark Horse Comics and boasts a diehard cult following.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 22, 2015
Dynamite zombies! Possessed mannequins! Ossified babies! Lagarto! Man-eating Kaiser gorillas! Richard Nixon: Frankenstein F**ker!
13 volumes in and Eric Powell’s The Goon is going as strong as ever. For Want of Whiskey and Blood is a collection of absolutely brilliant vignettes from Lonely St.
The first is full of references to the next story arc, Occasion of Revenge, set amidst a rigged boxing match that goes awry when magical super-steroids are introduced. Goon dresses up in Franky’s digs too which is a great visual.
The Ossified Baby of Nuremberg is a Billy the Kid tie-in (a series Powell wrote) where a freakshow carnival rocks up on Halloween and its star attraction goes a bit mad.
The Lagarto issue is far and away the best in the book as it’s Eric Powell giving free rein to his utterly unhinged side. Goon and Franky head to Mexico to flog some clocks filled with booze (as you do) only for Lagarto, a man-sized lizard, to appear and cause havoc.
Most of the issue is written in Spanish, which I don’t speak so I couldn’t tell you what anyone was saying, but it’s not a terribly complex story: Lagarto wants to get with a senorita and eat some chicken (in that order). Tom Waits makes a cameo, Lagarto serenades the moon, and there’s a fictional movie poster for Richard Nixon: Frankenstein F**cker (in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!) thrown in – just ‘cos! Anarchic genius!
Goon and Franky help a sailor find his buddy, bar-hopping – until a man-eating Kaiser gorilla appears to kill a buncha celebrity lookalikes! Take that, Rat Pack crooners!
And the final story is the awesomely titled The Bog Lurk That Lurked Like A Thing! A Bad Thing! Mark Buckingham draws this short and while I like the art, the story’s a bit average compared to the imaginative heights of the preceding ones. It’s basically Goon, a monster and a robot punching each other.
The Goon stories that descend into slugfests are the least interesting because they’re largely one-note – see one, you’ve seen them all. The madness in between the fighting is where the series gold comes from and there’s plenty of that here.
Powell continues to produce some of the best-looking and most original comics being published today. For Want of Whiskey and Blood is enormous fun and wonderfully silly. Whether you’ve read the preceding books or not, it’s a great standalone volume to give you the full range of the whacky charms Powell’s terrific series offers.
13 volumes in and Eric Powell’s The Goon is going as strong as ever. For Want of Whiskey and Blood is a collection of absolutely brilliant vignettes from Lonely St.
The first is full of references to the next story arc, Occasion of Revenge, set amidst a rigged boxing match that goes awry when magical super-steroids are introduced. Goon dresses up in Franky’s digs too which is a great visual.
The Ossified Baby of Nuremberg is a Billy the Kid tie-in (a series Powell wrote) where a freakshow carnival rocks up on Halloween and its star attraction goes a bit mad.
The Lagarto issue is far and away the best in the book as it’s Eric Powell giving free rein to his utterly unhinged side. Goon and Franky head to Mexico to flog some clocks filled with booze (as you do) only for Lagarto, a man-sized lizard, to appear and cause havoc.
Most of the issue is written in Spanish, which I don’t speak so I couldn’t tell you what anyone was saying, but it’s not a terribly complex story: Lagarto wants to get with a senorita and eat some chicken (in that order). Tom Waits makes a cameo, Lagarto serenades the moon, and there’s a fictional movie poster for Richard Nixon: Frankenstein F**cker (in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!) thrown in – just ‘cos! Anarchic genius!
Goon and Franky help a sailor find his buddy, bar-hopping – until a man-eating Kaiser gorilla appears to kill a buncha celebrity lookalikes! Take that, Rat Pack crooners!
And the final story is the awesomely titled The Bog Lurk That Lurked Like A Thing! A Bad Thing! Mark Buckingham draws this short and while I like the art, the story’s a bit average compared to the imaginative heights of the preceding ones. It’s basically Goon, a monster and a robot punching each other.
The Goon stories that descend into slugfests are the least interesting because they’re largely one-note – see one, you’ve seen them all. The madness in between the fighting is where the series gold comes from and there’s plenty of that here.
Powell continues to produce some of the best-looking and most original comics being published today. For Want of Whiskey and Blood is enormous fun and wonderfully silly. Whether you’ve read the preceding books or not, it’s a great standalone volume to give you the full range of the whacky charms Powell’s terrific series offers.
November 12, 2016
The priest warns Goon about more creatures coming from the priest's home. They are drawn to Goon's town by its dark magic.
Everything else in the volume is just meh. The original story has barely been developed for several issues now. I'm a completionist, so I don't really mind wading through all this filler.
Everything else in the volume is just meh. The original story has barely been developed for several issues now. I'm a completionist, so I don't really mind wading through all this filler.
June 27, 2025
As always Eric Powell's art is fantastic. It always reminds me a movie monster poster art. The only knock on the book is that one of the stories is entirely in Spanish with no translation.
May 20, 2020
Very very slowly we are getting to the final face-off with race of mystical warlocks or whatever they are, there are some teasers, but mostly, again, short stories. At least they are working better than ones in previous book. But that whole pace and potential, that was built up few books back, is kind of wasted... 3.5*
September 3, 2024
Some very strange tales here. It's all well-drawn and pretty funny when it does hit home. I enjoy scenes like Franky getting concerned about a giant baby eating people on main street and Goon has reasonably become so blasé about crazy situations.
May 13, 2024
One of the better Goon episodes out there
May 27, 2020
(2,8 of 5 for whatever insanity this is)
I don't know what happened but Powell probably lost his mind here. The story (if I even would call it a story) is a mess, the art is great (mostly, there is a big B&W part which left me rather cold) and the whole book felt very underwhelming. It's like 120 pages, which half is weird story good visuals Goon, then some B&W bit and some other and then 20 pages of sketches. It was hardly fun. I was like "well, 13 is an unlucky number for Goon". This felt like a plate of leftovers from the Goon grand menu from last week scraped from the returned dishes. There is a little bit of Goon left, so I hope this one was just delirious mistake, exception from the rule.
I don't know what happened but Powell probably lost his mind here. The story (if I even would call it a story) is a mess, the art is great (mostly, there is a big B&W part which left me rather cold) and the whole book felt very underwhelming. It's like 120 pages, which half is weird story good visuals Goon, then some B&W bit and some other and then 20 pages of sketches. It was hardly fun. I was like "well, 13 is an unlucky number for Goon". This felt like a plate of leftovers from the Goon grand menu from last week scraped from the returned dishes. There is a little bit of Goon left, so I hope this one was just delirious mistake, exception from the rule.
July 31, 2017
Still wonderful art (with an assist from the amazing Mark Buckingham) still some fun goodness to be had - but this volume continues the trend of the last few volumes and Eric seems to be losing his focus as a writer. He'll do little asides in the middle of a story - he will spend an entire issue in Spanish. It's good fun but doesn't have the heart and storytelling of the earlier volumes. A lot more like a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Still a worthwhile read but you can see Eric is losing his steam writing for this unforgettable character.
Still a worthwhile read but you can see Eric is losing his steam writing for this unforgettable character.
November 5, 2017
I'm going to dress as the Goon in January. Sort of.
I'm going to this party. It's 1920's dress.
Now, when I say that, I feel like people think "Oh, awesome! Flappers!"
Yes, flappers.
You're hearing from the one person on Earth, apparently, who is not enamored with the flapper look.
I think the dresses are pretty ugly. Why a necklace down to your knees is cool I'll never understand. And the hats/headbands are the worst bit. God do I hate those bucket-y hats. Now, I understand that the movement was important. But hey, people in hazmat suits are usually doing important shit. That doesn't mean I gotta like the look.
As a dude, I feel like I'm supposed to dress like some guy from Bioshock or some shit. Again, feel like the only dude who hates mustaches and suspenders. Plus, a suit is an expensive purchase to look like someone who works outside a carnival freakshow.
I thought about being a newsie type guy, and I could hand out papers and say "Extry, extry!" and print out papers with things like, "Pete really needs to find the bathroom!"
Also, Nosferatu came out in the 20's. So that's an option.
Nosferatu or the Goon. Those are looking like the winners.
I'm going to this party. It's 1920's dress.
Now, when I say that, I feel like people think "Oh, awesome! Flappers!"
Yes, flappers.
You're hearing from the one person on Earth, apparently, who is not enamored with the flapper look.
I think the dresses are pretty ugly. Why a necklace down to your knees is cool I'll never understand. And the hats/headbands are the worst bit. God do I hate those bucket-y hats. Now, I understand that the movement was important. But hey, people in hazmat suits are usually doing important shit. That doesn't mean I gotta like the look.
As a dude, I feel like I'm supposed to dress like some guy from Bioshock or some shit. Again, feel like the only dude who hates mustaches and suspenders. Plus, a suit is an expensive purchase to look like someone who works outside a carnival freakshow.
I thought about being a newsie type guy, and I could hand out papers and say "Extry, extry!" and print out papers with things like, "Pete really needs to find the bathroom!"
Also, Nosferatu came out in the 20's. So that's an option.
Nosferatu or the Goon. Those are looking like the winners.
March 16, 2016
Hilarious and awesome comic!!! Incredibly fun and inventive. Great trailer on You Tube...I hope the movie actually gets made.
May 16, 2025
After a much needed rest I'm back into the Goon. And I gotta say, we're still not back into the story? We got like three issues left, guys.
The one-offs in this issue were pretty solid, mostly just "Goon punches big monster", but that's how the series started, so it's not all bad. I also can't read Spanish, so the El Lagarto Hombre story made little sense to me, but I feel like I got the gist.
Im still having fun with this series, but im glad I'm reaching the end, and hopefully the plot again.
The one-offs in this issue were pretty solid, mostly just "Goon punches big monster", but that's how the series started, so it's not all bad. I also can't read Spanish, so the El Lagarto Hombre story made little sense to me, but I feel like I got the gist.
Im still having fun with this series, but im glad I'm reaching the end, and hopefully the plot again.
July 5, 2025
Review is for 15 volumes binged over three days
I don't know how I missed this during it's initial run, but - small favors - now I got to enjoy it with no waiting.
For such a long run there is surprisingly little difference in quality, occasionally dipping to excellent from exceptional and dragging - as most tales do - when it moves away from the episodic and into an ongoing tale.
I don't know how I missed this during it's initial run, but - small favors - now I got to enjoy it with no waiting.
For such a long run there is surprisingly little difference in quality, occasionally dipping to excellent from exceptional and dragging - as most tales do - when it moves away from the episodic and into an ongoing tale.
August 5, 2018
Not my favorite volume the series. I don't speak Spanish and didn't want to Google translate two of the individual issues contained in this volume.
January 8, 2021
By far the worst volume in the series, the mummified baby was the only redeeming issue in this mess.
April 30, 2025
Forgot to log this one but I think it was pretty good. Getting a little tired of Lagarto though lol
June 10, 2016
I know this is a strange place to start with The Goon, but I got the book half-price.
I was drawn to Powell's art first and foremost. I love his mix of EC-inspired horror (most obviously on display in the Jack Davis-dedicated "One for the Road") and Will Eisner's urban grit. The Goon is a Kirbyesque Yancy Street lout with Denny Colt gloves and a penchant for punch-ups. Franky, his sidekick with the Little Orphan Annie eyes, is the gruff Goon's comic relief. When I saw these characters, I wanted to look further and give this a read.
There's a fair amount of silliness in this volume. "The Return of The Lizard Man," told almost entirely in Spanish, detours for a Tom Waits cameo and a horror movie parody. The aforementioned "One for the Road" is a bar crawl search for a missing sailor that descends into a MAD magazine meets Evan Dorkin anarchic climax.
I had fun with it and will read more issues of The Goon.
I was drawn to Powell's art first and foremost. I love his mix of EC-inspired horror (most obviously on display in the Jack Davis-dedicated "One for the Road") and Will Eisner's urban grit. The Goon is a Kirbyesque Yancy Street lout with Denny Colt gloves and a penchant for punch-ups. Franky, his sidekick with the Little Orphan Annie eyes, is the gruff Goon's comic relief. When I saw these characters, I wanted to look further and give this a read.
There's a fair amount of silliness in this volume. "The Return of The Lizard Man," told almost entirely in Spanish, detours for a Tom Waits cameo and a horror movie parody. The aforementioned "One for the Road" is a bar crawl search for a missing sailor that descends into a MAD magazine meets Evan Dorkin anarchic climax.
I had fun with it and will read more issues of The Goon.
March 17, 2015
I would have to say, this is my least favorite Goon Trade, thus far. A Good portion of this trade is written in Spanish, and while I greatly appreciate the ambition and courage it would take to tell a story in Spanish, I cannot say that the Visuals were entertaining enough for those of us that cannot read Spanish. There are many examples of comics that use absolutely no dialogue whatsoever that could be compelling or humorous and this particular story is neither.
I would talk about the rest of the book, but I am having a hard time remembering it. I am sure the next trade will be better.
I would talk about the rest of the book, but I am having a hard time remembering it. I am sure the next trade will be better.
April 16, 2015
This is a collection of single-issue stories with no throughput. A couple are good - the main story is enjoyable and really feels like the Goon. But the second issue is troublesome - entirely in Spanish with no translations, it is somewhat comprehensible without speaking Spanish, but you definitely don't get the entire story. The story One for the Road is kind of fun, but ultimately pretty lightweight. The art is gorgeous as always, and the coloring is amazing as well. But ultimately it's not a particularly memorable Goon outing.
November 13, 2014
Accidentally skipped vol. #12, but this is a mostly self contained trade. Powell continues to impress w/ madcap tales of booze, broads, and bullets as seen through a merged lens of EC comics, Mad magazine, and maybe a little Hulk. If you liked Ennis's "Hitman" and love amazing drawing, I'd say give this one a go. Start w/ earlier volumes if you want to get a feel for the larger narrative though.
November 27, 2014
Powell can do no wrong with these books. So beautiful and so fun. There's a book in Spanish with a brief interlude from Tom Waits and Li'l Jon and a three parter in black'n'white that concludes this collection. All in all it's another winner.
August 6, 2015
A note worth mentioning; one of the stories is almost completely written in Spanish. Although it's quite hilarious if you translate it, it makes for a difficult read for those that don't speak it! You can get the gist of it from just the visuals, however.
February 2, 2015
Not really a continuation on the story but fun little side story's
December 19, 2014
Wow. I love The Goon. But this was awful. Just goddamned awful.
April 19, 2017
It's been a few years since I've read a Goon graphic novel. I enjoyed The Goon: For Want of Whiskey and Blood, volume 13 in the series, just as much as I enjoyed the other Goon graphic novels I've read in the past. It was just as entertaining. Love the art, love the short stories. Looking forward to reading volume 14.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews