The Goon: Bunch of Old Crap Volume 4: An Omnibus

The Goon: Un mucchio di roba Omnibus #4

by Eric Powell

After surviving the return of Labrazio, Goon wants nothing more than to settle onto a barstool with some whiskey, but a succession of cake-mad hobo gods, snake-hurling hillbillies, and bodacious burlesque dancers have other ideas.


And somewhere on Lonely Street, a resurgent Zombie Priest plots his next attack . . . Collects The Goon Volumes 10–12.

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

392 pages, Paperback

Published March 9, 2021

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]

Weakest collection so far, just a collection of short stories that don't progress the story much at all. We get some more background on some of the characters but there's not really any conflict set up here.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still an excellent read, but probably my least favorite GOON omni so far. After the relentless pace of the last two volumes, Powell mostly leaves the main storyline alone, leaving a collection of mainly humorous short stories. As I said, still worthwhile, but a tad disappointing.

[OmniBen · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 4.5/5
Whilst nothing Eric Powell does (since I lost my G plates a few months ago) is anything other than a feast for the eyes ands funny bone, this would probably be my least favourite of the bunch so far. But hey, you're still looking at very high marks, and a book and series I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone. This was the most eclectic mix, which produced the least amount of laughs or feels from me. And despite the namesake, there is not as much of The Goon and especially Franky in this collection. We also only got one panel of Spider (WTF).
If you're reading a review for book four in the series, likely you already know how good The Goon is, so absolutely pick this one up along with all the rest. But when the reread comes around, I'll be reaching for volume one or three before I reach for this one. Eric Powell is very much a victim of his own stratospherically high standards. Still essential though. 4.5/5


OmniBen.

[Jacob A. Mirallegro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very consistent series in terms of the overall quality. It's super fun and enjoyable all around, but my biggest problem is how unbalanced the overarching storyline is. This volume is mostly stand alone chapters with a couple that hint at some larger story happening in the background. It kind of feel like I'm being teased that there's something big about to happen but I just have to keep waiting. I kind of felt that with the last volume too but definitely moreso here.
Like I said this is still a super enjoyable read I especially loved the Buzzard spin off. He's always been one of my favorite characters and I was very happy for him to get his own story. The flashback chapter about Kizzie was also really heartfelt and nice. It being immediately followed by a loud and obnoxious parody of superhero comics may have undercut some of the emotions but what can you do.
Maybe this volume is 3.5 stars...

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disappointing drop in quality, though the Buzzard and Aunt Kizzie stories were good.

[Al Capwned · Rating 4 out of 5]

A volume containing mostly short stories, a bunch of them cool origin stories but there are a few that are not so great.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little uneven, but the main story still grips me.