So we have the second all-new issue of The Goon. And just a few months after issue #34, these must be the end times. When it comes to The Goon, all I have to say is this… as long as Eric Powell is drawing him I don’t care who does the writing.
I imagine it must be very fun to write The Goon though. You can be irreverent and foul and wrong, and as long as you write an entertaining story its gonna be fun. The Goon #35 written by Evan Dorkin is just that. It’s a fun read with the story of Brigadoon’s Dreamland Carnival.
The hijinx in this issue began when a legless man dashed across the road causing The Goon to wreck his car and get a flat tire. This leads them to Brigadoon’s Carnival, but it is really more of an anti-carnival where people are put on display and then attacked and or killed for being normal.
Once The Goon realizes what is going on he doesn’t take too kindly to this behavior and decides to fight back against the carnies. The best/funniest part of the whole attack was the “Midgets of All Nations” and Franky’s “Sneaky sons-of-#$%&*@$ of All Nations” retort; Dorkin really captured the ridiculousness of the situation well.
So after battling their way through the freaks and weirdos at Brigadoon’s Dreamland Carnival, The Goon and Franky encounter the Carnival’s “enforcer”, The Ten-in-One! What is a Ten-in-One you ask? Well it is just what it sounds like… ten people all mashed together to be one giant hulking abomination (is that sentence too Marvel?).
After making short work of the Ten-in-One by feeding it Herr Germelshausen: The Human Worm (which was frakking hilarious), The Goon took care of old Brigadoon himself, with a great feat of strength. Then it was back to where it all began as The Crawler reappeared and met a fate worse than death. And then it was Tequila Pinatas for EVERYONE!
If you are overly sensitive, skip The Goon. If you don’t like crass humor and salty language, skip The Goon. If you are everyone else who loves fun and crazy antics and a book that has been published 200% more this summer than in the past two years… pick up The Goon.
The Goon is a good fun read with great artwork and is good for several out loud laughs, gasps and cringes.