{[['
']]}
']]}
The Goon: One for the Road [nn]
Dark Horse Comics, $3.50, 28 pages
Released: June 25, 2014
Story Grade: C+
Issue Score: 62.75*
HORRIFICALLY RECOMMENDED
"One for the Road"
(22 pages / 98 panels / 1,072 words / 7:20 read time)
Writer/Artist: Eric Powell
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Editor: Scott Allie
The Goon has always been a little bit surreal, and that, in large part, is its charm. But this one-shot leading into a new series goes far beyond surreal, into the realm of self-indulgence.
The plot to this special issue is pretty thin. And while I say "special issue," there is a #45 on the title page, so I'm not certain if this was meant to be part of the regular series, which has seen one issue hit the stands since late 2012, or if that was meant as a knowing nod to the book's extended hiatus. As it turns out, this entire book is a knowing nod to EC Comics, although I confess to experiencing some frustration from not being in the know. At least on my first reading.
As I noted, the plot is not much to speak of. A sailor on shore leave is desperately trying to find his buddy so they can return to their ship before being declared AWOL. Franky and the Goon volunteer to help and, naturally enough, hilarity ensures.
That's all fine and well, but the search takes stranger and stranger segues toward a nonsensical ending. Strange and nonsensical that is, unless you get that this issue is a tribute to the great Jack Davis, of EC Comics and MAD Magazine fame. For what it's worth, I thought Davis was dead and totally missed his signature on the cover. He is, by the way, 89, so that's a pretty magnificent drawing, all things considered.
Still, even though I read in the very first panel that this issue is "dedicated with all respect and admiration to Jack Davis," I totally, completely, and absolutely missed every reference that followed.
At one point, as our erstwhile trio is hopping bars looking for the sailor's lost pal, they happen across another trio, this one of the wizend hag variety. As this review points out, the hags are a reference to the narrators of EC's horror comics, to which Davis was a notable contributor. Their efforts to entice a young boy to smoke, drink, kick Franky in the shin, and commit various other acts of juvenile delinquency, are a meta-textual reference to the U.S. Senate investigation into comic books during the 1950s, which both killed off EC and neutered the industry for decades. This was lost on me, however, as I kept expecting some take on Macbeth, with either the sailor, the delinquent, or Franky, becoming undone by his ambitions. When that never happened, and when the witches simply run off, I was all, "Well . . . that was random."
At one point, as our erstwhile trio is hopping bars looking for the sailor's lost pal, they happen across another trio, this one of the wizend hag variety. As this review points out, the hags are a reference to the narrators of EC's horror comics, to which Davis was a notable contributor. Their efforts to entice a young boy to smoke, drink, kick Franky in the shin, and commit various other acts of juvenile delinquency, are a meta-textual reference to the U.S. Senate investigation into comic books during the 1950s, which both killed off EC and neutered the industry for decades. This was lost on me, however, as I kept expecting some take on Macbeth, with either the sailor, the delinquent, or Franky, becoming undone by his ambitions. When that never happened, and when the witches simply run off, I was all, "Well . . . that was random."
As the bar-hoping continues, the boys meet some soldiers and we get a soliloquy on the human cost of war. This, of course, is a shout-out to Two-Fisted Tales, the great EC Comic edited by Harvey Kurtzman. Davis was a key contributor there was well, and you'll note the missing sailor our protagonist is searching for also is named Harvey. But, of course, I missed this reference, too, on my first read. In the story, at the moment, I could only sigh and think, "Okay, more randomness. That's okay, I guess. I expect this of The Goon."
But then things got really weird. A bunch of malaproply-named characters stream into the bar and I was like, okay, nice caricatures, but how completely random is this story going to get?. If I'd given this particular page a moment's extra thought, I would have recalled that celebrity caricatures were Davis' bread-and-butter at MAD. But unfortunately, I was still trying to read the issue as one cohesive story, rather than as a string of vignettes strung together to form a sweetly blown kiss in Davis' direction. Of course, I was never as into MAD as most kids my age, so that's my excuse. The scene with the singing cowboy is probably another reference to some Davis feature in MAD that' I'm either forgetting, or never saw.
It's at this point that things take a real turn into MADness as a giant gorilla bursts into the bar and starts eating people. This is followed by a splash page of the gorilla chasing all the celebrity caricatures (with a few other cameos sprinkled in) that, frankly, seems less like an homage to Davis than a Sergio Aragones gutter drawing blown up to a double-page spread.
Anyway — and I won't include a SPOILER WARNING becasue you've seen this twist in about a dozen old-time comedy movies — the sailor learns once it's too late for him to get back to base in time that his buddy has long-since returned without him.
That's the end of the book and, frankly, the last panel could have used "Fini" flag or something, because I turned the page not quite realizing it was over.
So, this issue works quite well for what it's intended to be: A sort of horrific valentine to Jack Davis. However, if you're not steeped in comics history enough to spot the easter eggs, or if, like me, you're just too stupid to recognize them, or if you otherwise attempt to read the story as a work of art unto itself, it doesn't work nearly so well. In the end, however, I think Powell did what he wanted to do, and that was something between him and Jack and probably not meant for the casual reader anyway. Still, the drawing is pretty fantastic, as always, so you won't have completely wasted your $3.50 if you do decide to plunk it own.
Oh, and one last thought — I really feel like The Goon is a book that cries out for newsprint. The aesthetic of Powell's expressive linework would be enhanced, I feel, if the art could sort of sink into the page, like a pulp magazine, rather than seeming to sit on top of it, as it does here. The super-glossy pages in this issue are better than what passed as cover stock in Davis' day, but somehow that seems to spoil the book, making it look entirely too modern. The effect is akin to hooking up an Atari 2600 to your high-definition LED flatscreen. It works, but it's not the same.
*[COVER: 7.75 — PLOT: 5.75 — SCRIPT: 6.50 — LAYOUT: 8.25 — ARTWORK: 9.0 — EDITING: 5.0 — COLORS/PRODUCTION: 7.0 — DOLLAR VALUE: 4.25 — COLLECTIBILITY: 5.25 —GOSH-WOW FACTOR: 4.0]
Post a Comment