The Goon: Noir

by Eric Powell, Steve Niles, Thomas Lennon

Described as "EC by way of Looney Tunes," multiple award-winning cult hit The Goon has quickly risen to the forefront of hot creator-owned titles. Now a heapin' helping of the top names in comics and comedy put a new spin on their favorite characters! Among the distinguished creators featured in this, the very first Goon anthology, are comedians Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn (both of Comedy Central's Comedians of Comedy and Mr. Show), Reno: 911 co-creator Thomas Lennon, B.P.R.D. scribe John Arcudi, comics great Kevin Nowlan (Tomorrow Stories; Sandman; Superman), fan-favorite Humberto Ramos (Revelations; Spider-Man), Steve Niles, Ryan Sook, Mike Ploog, Bill Morrison, Arvid Nelson, Tony Moore, Hilary Barta, Roger Langridge, Scott Allie, and Todd Herman. Powell himself and frequent co-conspirators Tom Sniegoski and Mark Farmer also present the three-part "Peg Leg Full of Heaven," featuring the Little Unholy Bastards, and erstwhile publisher Dwight T. Albatross contributes a little somethin' for the ladies. See the Goon universe as never before in The Goon Noir!

* The Goon series was a 2005 Eisner Award-winner (Best Humor Publication and Best Ongoing Series).

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Noir

104 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2007

About the author

Eric 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.

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now this was boring.I never heard of Patton Oswalt before and after this I don't intent to look him up.

This collection lacked everything that makes The Goon great. Humor was dry, characters really didn't feel like those Eric Powell created and I really didn't like that illustrations are black and white, I don't think it fits Goon well(you can have good noir atmosphere with more than just black and wthite like in Brubaker's The criminal).

So my recommendation to all Goon fans is to skip this one.

[Václav · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3,5 of 5 for a rather mediocre anthology)
Yay, Goon got anthology, and with some nice and sound names! But sadly I got fed both with Goon stories and Powell's humour, so I'm no die-hard fan here and from that position Goon - Noir isn't much of value.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few different creators do their take on The Goon. Similar to Hellboy Weird Tales from around the same time.

It's not particularly interesting unfortunately. I enjoyed seeing some rare Mike Ploog artwork. Most is just slapstick with a bit of homophobia thrown in.

[Dávid Novotný · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of shorts stories, with contributions from various authors. All in black and white, drawn by Powell, but also by different artists. Some are pretty good, but mostly, they are average, or below average... 2.5*

[Szymon Dudziński · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay. Most of the stories aren't written by Eric and it makes the whole thing very uneven, some being really cool with others being quite dull. Still, it's The Goon

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

An insult not an homage.

Every aspect of the collection is inferior - the art, the scripts, the tone. Nothing has the charm or heart of Powell's work. Every contributor is seduced by surface level crudity and offers nothing of value.

If you like the Goon, ignore this.

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some I liked, some I didn't. When you get a mixed bag like this, you take what you can from it.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and hilarious.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ooops. This was an accidental pick-up from library holds queue. I mean, I fully meant to snag the first volume of The Goon. But this collection of stories by various writers and artists spinning off-the-wall tales about the Goon, his sidekick Franky and friends came first. (Oh well.)

So with nary an idea about the character, I twisted myself up into stitches with this insanely eclectic potpourri of short snippets in the off-the-wall life of Powell’s walking undead – also known as the Goon and his right-hand man, Franky (he who sports the iris and pupil-less eyes not unlike a certain red-headed little orphan). Along the way, our dynamic fist-pounding duo hit the streets and knuckleheads – both dead and undead -- of their fair city; sling the booze at their local drinking hole, Norton’s Pub; and come across the Unholy Bastards – an Our Gang-inspired motley crew of rough-and-tumble ragamuffins.

The introduction and afterward – not to mention the poetic doggerel during the intermission – is brought to us courtesy of the twisted and randy mind of Dwight T. Albatross. (I honestly don’t know what he does, other than write and being the “arguable creator” of the Goon & Co.) Of course, he saves the best for last with his unsavory and BVD-clad beefcake-style photos at the back under the heading “And now a little something for the ladies…” Which can only been seen to be believed. Just be prepared to have a dire need to scrub and rinse your eyes out, like I did.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

the goon makes me happy on so many levels. it's got shades of 50s drive-in horror, the unimaginable beasts out of lovecraft, spaghetti westerns, mob stories, and good ol' fashioned violence, mixed in with a heady dose of humor and fantastic art.

this collection, made up of other people's (that is, those who aren't eric powell, who only provides the art in the three-part "unholy bastards" storyline) takes on the goon is good--it's got stories by comedians brian posehn ("live in: nerd rage!" is one of the funniest comedy albums i've ever heard), patton oswalt, and thomas lennon (the state, reno 911), and art by tony moore (the walking dead, exterminators), humberto ramos (crimson, wolverine), and guy arcudi (hellboy, b.p.r.d.)--but it's not great.

[Jake Kilroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Goon is even weirder than I thought. Even by the standards of monster mash and zombie contemporary society, it was still weirder. And it was super fun. It was wacky and goofy while still having some major roots in old school b-pulp. It's noir for the person who doesn't care that much about noir and a good joke for anyone who does. Obviously, it's a dirty joke with violence, but, then again, who doesn't like seeing cartoon zombies getting their heads kicked in?

[Gabriel Wallis · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Goon: Noir was my absolutely least favorite Goon graphic novel out there. I honestly didn't enjoy it at all. I struggled reading through it, only because I'm a Goon fan. Otherwise, I would've tossed it. The Goon: Noir was just too perverted for me, and the "comedy" from Dwight T. Albatross was more annoying than comedic. I don't recommend this graphic novel to anyone. It was actually embarrassing to read.

[East Bay J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Powell lets some other folks try their hand at The Goon. A plethora of killer artists (Mike Ploog, Ryan Sook and more) and writers (Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn, to name a few) go all out to bring more mayhem, irreverence and high hilarity to The Goon and friends. A wide variety of writing and art styles. Very good stuff!

[Jarlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of fun guest writers and artists, which can usually lead to at least one stinker in the bunch, but everyone here GETS IT. the writing is hilarious and note perfect, and all the different visual styles still retain a perfect Goon-ness where if Powell were to quit drawing the book, there are a handful of qualified replacements here. there is some grand SILLINESS here. loved it.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories in the hands of great comics Patton Oswald, Brian Poshen, and Thomas Lennon turn out to be almsot as good as Powell writing the Goon. Some stories fall short but still a really great read.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun anthology. A lot of these are just good Goon comedic stories, though some fall flat. That said...Thomas Lennon should be the only one allowed to write the Goon if Powell ever needs a break. But yeah, it's really funny.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is interesting as I grabbed the first Goon comic I would read at the same time as this so I read this before I read my first Goon! a tribute before an original--great fun==enjoyed the varied artwork-twisted and fun.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Jeff Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric Powell passes the reins of his beloved series to the hands of some of funniest and oddest characters in comic comics. A series of short stories, most of which are hit and miss, averages out to be a decent addition to this long running ridiculous series.

[A]

Though I like Eric Powell's art better than the guest artists, they did a pretty good job capturing the Goon feel.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last will and testament of Dwight T. Albatross. A nice tribute to those kind of stories in the Goon with plenty of extra harrasment from Dwight.

[Jani · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second try on Goon. Stories varied from side to side and seemed that this compilation was more about sidecharacter than the main guy himself. Ok fun but not my favourite cup of tea.