The Goon, Vol. 2: The Deceit of a Cro-Magnon Dandy

The Goon (2019 - ) #2

by Eric Powell, Tom Sniegoski, Brett Parson (Illustrator)

The second volume in the all new Albatross Funnybooks series! One by one, the Goon has taken down the gangs who have sprung up in the Nameless Town in his absence. But he has yet to face the mysterious crime figure known as Dapper… until now. After Goon is framed for the kidnapping of the Limburger Baby, it’s not just the brute force of the Neanderthal in the pinstriped suit Goon has to worry about, but the wrath of the furious town out for vengeance. But is Dapper really the one pulling the strings?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Adventure, Thriller, Graphic Novels Comics, Humor

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2020

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

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so the first volume where Powell hands over the art duties and is only credited as co-writer...

And? It works for me! It feels fresh to have a new writer and artist take over. It's still very silly, perhaps a bit more so than recent volumes. The reveal of who the mastermind is was quite funny and unexpected. The Goon has always gone up against miserable old monsters, so it was a surprise to have it be a bit goofy.

The Goon battles with a gorilla man, gets framed as a kidnapper of the Limburger Baby, and has to go up against a new criminal mastermind.

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eric Powell's run on his title, Goon, is magical. I love his art, I love the way he puts a story together, and I love the way his characters speak.

This book, written with Tom Sniegoski, and art by Brett Pearson isn't terrible, it's just Not On Par with Powell's work. You can tell he's not writing the dialogue. And the art is Very Good. But Powell's art is Excellent. I don't think you can have a Goon book that apes his style without it looking Off. Better to just let an artist use a completely different perspective on the characters.

I found myself skipping page after page of the book, just to see where it was going. And, again, the story isn't bad. It's just mediocre. And at the end, I wasn't really interested in seeing what happens in the next volume.

[Luke Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it when frankie says terrible things and goon punches terrible things. Expected to be disappointed by the non-powell art, but it's great! This new round feels somewhat lighter and lesser than the back half of the original run, but I can't help but love a new goon book.

[Alex Sarll]

The library didn't have the next omnibus of the previous run, so it's back to the new one and between a different artist, a co-writer, and maybe just all that (grubby) water under the (zombie-clogged) bridge, it's not the same. Although thankfully there are still glimmers of that authentic Goon lunacy: "To be milked to death by vomit-drinkin' fish fetish freaks! What have I done to deserve this?! OK, probably a lot. But still, this is a terrible way to go out."

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the best title of any volume, this one feels pretty tossed-off. Took me a while to notice that Powell wasn't doing the art anymore, but I feel that's a bad sign. I also think Goon and Franky are a little too nice these days, and the sliding timescale and lack of stakes are starting to remind me of late period Simpsons.

Obviously still fun.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review is for three Volumes of the second Goon series read consecutively.

New numbering but the same old spirit, picking up right where the first line left off. (and with two uncollected issues hanging, I'm both eagerly awaiting more and fearing what the hold-up might be)

[Ben Brackett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing that Powell didn't illustrate this, but that's kind of quibble the team that did was very much in his style and talented.

[Dkolacinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains the story sequence present in issues 5-8 plus bonus material.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great comic story - although honestly I would have bought this for the artwork alone!