Gon Again

ゴン [Gon] #2

by Masashi Tanaka

Gon Again is a comic about s small dinosaur and it's adventures around the land helping the needy.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Fantasy, Seinen, Comics Manga

106 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 1992

About the author

Masashi Tanaka (田中政志) is a Japanese manga artist best known for Gon, his silent manga starring a miniature dinosaur. He began publishing Gon in 1991. He later worked on the game Street Fighter EX.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the October 1997 edition with a theme of "Tough Critters":

FROM THE BACKLIST

GON #1-4 (DC Comics: Paradox Press)

Godzilla is the largest, butt-kicking dinosaur on the planet, right? So, how about the smallest? After all -- as the cliche goes -- size doesn't matter. Well, I'm certainly not going to nominate Godzilla's little buddy, Godzookey. Or the Flintstones' Dino. Usagi Yojimbo's pet, Spot, might have had a chance, but he got himself killed. No, the title definitely goes to Gon, a foot-tall dinosaur of the butt-kicking order.

Like Godzilla, Gon is a Japanese import. The brainchild of writer/artist Masashi Tanaka, Gon is one of the more unique manga I've seen in a while. The high-level concept: Gon wanders around the world beating up much larger predators. There seem to be no other dinosaurs on the planet. Also, there are no humans and no dialogue. It's just Gon and the very realistically depicted world of nature.

Basically, Gon is a bully -- a very fickle bully. His ways might be mistaken as noble at first, as he seems to hate any predator which preys on smaller or defenseless animals. Indeed, he goes out of his way to humiliate lions and tigers and bears. (Oh, my!) He also picks on dingoes, sharks, and snakes. Despite his size, Gon's indestructibility, intractable tenacity, and monstrous bite make him the runaway winner in any of these predator confrontations. Yet, he'll occasionally befriend predators like wolves or eagles. And he's also as likely to focus his temper on smaller animals. However, if he decides to hassle a chipmunk or a tick which has annoyed him, his fearsome abilities turn into so much slapstick. In the end, I guess he's forced to bully predators because of his inability to tackle anything smaller. And I guess some predators are better than others. And, mostly . . . there doesn't seem to be any rationale behind Gon.

This is a series carried entirely by the art. Gon's antics are tolerable simply because he's so darn cute. The lack of dialogue is not noticed because the narrative flow of the pictures is easy to follow. The depiction of the other animals in Gon's world is breathtakingly realistic. If you put your thumb over Gon in any given panel, you might think you were browsing a comic book nature documentary with very expressive animals. I might buy a book like that. While I'm sure Gon's presence makes this book commercially viable to the rest of the world, I found myself quickly resenting him after the third story. The most beautiful artwork in the world couldn't make Gon any less a jerk.

So my limit for Gon is about one book. Of the four books released, I'd recommend #2, GON AGAIN. It features wolves, penguins, and beavers -- three of my favorite animals. GON #1 has one pretty good story about a noble dingo who won't give in to Gon's bullying and keeps a shred of dignity in face of utter humiliation. I really like the way Tanaka draws. Too bad Gon had to wear his welcome out so quickly.

GON (#1) - Grade: C+
GON AGAIN (#2) - Grade: B+
HERE TODAY, GON TOMORROW (#3) - Grade: C
GOING, GOING GON (#4) - Grade: C

Overall Grade: C+

[Kristine Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omggggg GON IS THE BEST 😂 the penguin story is probably my fave cause i love penguins. Lol but the shark one tho... i was rolling lolol

[Lightwhisper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another work of art, more dark this time?

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:
Tyrannosaurier Gon begibt sich auf die Reise durch die Welt der Tiere. Dieses Mal bekommt er es mit Haien, einer Zecke und Pinguinen zu tun... Geht mit Gon auf Safari in wunderschönen und atemberaubenden Bildern! Und das ganz ohne Text!

Cover:

Auch dieses Cover gefällt mir wieder sehr gut und hat mit all seinen Details schon allein einen wirklich bestechenden Charakter. Wir sehen hier unseren kleinen Dinofreund Gon, wie er im Meer nach einem großen Fisch jagt. Das sagt uns, das dieses Buch sich der Tierwelt im Meer widmet und Gon wahrscheinlich Haien und Co. zeigt, wo der Hammer hängt. Klasse.



Eigener Eindruck:

Auch in der Fortsetzung wird es nicht anders als im ersten Teil. Gon kennen sicher einige von euch aus dem Konsolenspiel Tekken 3. Bereits dort ließ sich erahnen, dass der kleine Dino es faustdick hinter den Ohren hat.

In der Mangaserie erzählt Masashi Tanaka die Abenteuer von Gon. Schauplatz ist dabei die Natur ob Wald oder Meer. Gon hilft weiterhin den schwachen Tieren und bestraft die Bösen indem er sie austrickst und sie dumm dastehen lässt. Texte sind auch in der Fortsetzung nicht vorhanden. Lediglich die Titel der Kapitel sind mit Wörtern bestückt. Der Rest des Werkes ist einfach nur Zeichnung - ein Bilderbuch quasi. Die Zeichnungen sind aber sehr gewaltig und ein wahrer Augenschmaus. Wer gerne Anime/Manga zeichnet wird an diesem Werk definitiv seine Freude haben und dem möchte ich das Werk auch wärmstens empfehlen. Wer Texte sucht, dem rate ich davon ab.

5 von 5 Sterne


Erscheinungsdatum Erstausgabe :22.11.2010
Aktuelle Ausgabe : 22.11.2010
Verlag : Carlsen
ISBN: 9783551756046
Flexibler Einband 144 Seiten
Sprache: Deutsch

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gon Fights Alongside the Wolf Brothers is such a touching story, but has fairly mature content. You'll have to scan ahead of time and judge for yourself whether it'll be too scary or upsetting for your child. I loved it though. Not so much Gon Builds a Mansion. In that story, he's persistent, but also a major jerk.

[Shin Donghae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berkebalikan dg jilid sebelumnya, ini baru bener, Gon ada "unsur" penyayangnya hha.
Banyak energi dan skenario gila dari kolaborasi serta agresi hewan tentunya. Mulut dinosaurus di dalam mulut hiu akan menghasilkan gambar horor yang menakjubkan, tetapi di Gon, horor semacam itu selalu berakhir dengan lelucon XDDD

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Lots of energy and pleasantly deranged scenarios of animal collaboration and/or aggression: The dinosaur mouth inside of the shark mouth would make for an amazing horror image, but in Gon that kind of body horror always ends up being played for laughs.

[Jeik Dion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still as brilliant. Silent storytelling that makes so much noise!

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter with the penguins is so awesome!

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking scenic artwork and gorgeous animal illustrations. Plus a cranky little (HILARIOUS) dinosaur! I laughed out loud so many times!!

[Amy Gideon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this would make a cute animated series. 

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ch.5 with Sharks-- Great! Made me laugh out loud but also felt so bad for the shark.

Ch.6 with the tick-- Gon really is a nightmare! Love the bird character. Pretty cute.

Ch. 7 squirrel steals a nut-- didn't like this one as much.

Ch.8 with penguins-- A favorite one.

[Emkoshka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like graphic novels and wordless picture books and dinosaurs, but this didn't do it for me. Each story is essentially the same: vigilante dinosaur takes revenge on predator animal. Just change the setting and animals. I did get a few chuckles out of 'Gon Lives With the Penguins', but I didn't care for the character of Gon; even if he crusades in the name of justice for some, he's ultimately a nasty little critter. However, the illustrations are stunning: detailed, evocative and expansive.

[Jason Bootle · Rating 3 out of 5]

amazing artwork, no dialogue. trouble is I find some of the scenes quite distressing… he's such an angry little dinosaur and he all but tortures some of the animals around him. i think that just underlines how good the drawing is, so much emotion is expressed by tears, sweat and drool. there are some funny moments but for the most part it's how Gon get's his own way.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Sylwia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dropped at 30 pages. I had trouble following the story, I kept feeling like I'm reading the panels wrong, but I triple-checked and new I was reading them in the correct order. And yet the story was still hard to follow. I'm giving up on this one. The first volume was enough.

[Juniar · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you laugh, even though there were no dialogues, the comic book serves its purpose.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is amazing in that it accomplishes so much with no text (at least in the few I've 'read'). I think they've just started republishing them in the states, so be on the look out.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a big hit with E. He thought it was hilarious. And he liked the novelty of reading "backwards," back to front and right to left.

[Vanlilith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un dinosauro per amico - Un cucciolo di T-rex e le sue avventure nella natura

[Sony Sanjaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

no.2 baru je keliatan kalo.gon agak baik

[Halina Hetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Гон дістає пінгвіна, пінгвін дає відсіч! Смішна, але дуже агресивна німа манга.