The Goon vol. 12: Them That Raised Us Lament
I’ve been looking forward to one story from this volume for quite some time now. In fact, when issuing my concluding thoughts on vol. 11 I said that creator Eric Powell’s take on the industry’s self-destructive trends would likely be worth the price of the whole volume. Now that it’s finally here, guess which story I’m most disappointed by? You guessed right — THAT ONE.
The constant trend of relaunches and new #1’s in this industry does need a good solid kicking, but this isn’t the story to deliver it. In fact, the story collected here isn’t even a proper one at that. It’s a collection of tropes and in-jokes so on the nose and obvious that they wind up being completely devoid of humor. Well, almost completely devoid of humor. The multi-colored Goons are good for a chuckle, the “I’m back!/I’m dead,” bit at the end is funny, and gay Goon and Gay Frankie making out is disturbing enough to be funny. At least that’s what I tell myself so that I’m able to sleep at night.
Between this issue and the short in “Atomic Robo Presents,” I get the feeling that this particular topic is too much of a barn door target for anyone in the industry to get some real mileage out of. Is it too much to ask for a proper story with some kind of allegory about how the Big Two’s constant need for relaunches to shore up swiftly declining readership on its superhero titles is a gimmick that will eventually burn itself out and take the industry with it? Well, “Groo” has yet to do a series about it so maybe there’s hope that Evarnier and Aragones will pull it off.
Anyway, even if the rest of the stories don’t all have humor as their explicit focus, they’re still good readin’. The first one gives us the backstory behind Goon’s aunt Kizzie, the carny strongwoman who raised him. Her story is one of marginally less heartbreak and woe than her nephew’s as she grows up with her ne’er do well brother Rooney in a small town, goes on to break her husband’s heart by falling in love with a trapeze artist, finds her calling as a strongwoman, and then endures one last bit of heartbreak before Goon comes into her life. I’d be utterly depressed by this story if it weren’t so skillfully told by Powell. He manages to essay her life and impart its meaning with such swiftness that the reader never has time to dwell on any one bit of sadness. It’s something I enjoy re-reading to marvel at how well it’s put together.
The third story goes for overt comedy far more successfully than the mocking of superhero tropes did as it tells us about the time that Prohibition came to Goon’s town. Yes, in order to facilitate morality, alcohol was banned for a time in the town and that led Goon and Frankie to start up their own bootlegging business selling bathtub gin in their souped-up hot rod. This leads them to cross paths with the law, rival bootleggers the Boyle Family, and wild artistic homage to Rat Fink. It’s easily the comedic highlight of the book, with the funniest bit being how long Prohibition actually lasted in the town, and also provides further evidence that while the series has taken a more serious turn over the years, comedy will always be its forte.
It’s a serious note that the volume ends on as we find out what the Zombie Priest has been up to since we last saw him in vol. 10. That he is sowing chaos and despair by accepting cash from people who want him to provide them with their heart’s desires shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. That he is doing this with his own interpretation of what they want should surprise none at all. These “be careful what you wish for” situations are plenty disturbing, particularly since Powell’s art is so good at rendering the disgusting and the depraved. We also get some insight into the nature of the relationship between the Priest and Goon, including an explanation as to why the former has never been able to use his magic to directly screw over the latter.
There’s also some hints as to what the future holds as the order that the Priest belonged to is not going to give up getting their hands on Goon’s town anytime soon. If Powell is gearing up for another story like the epic “Return of Labrazio,” then I say bring it on! That arc managed to successfully mix drama and wacked-out comedy to create one of the high points of the series. I did think there was room for improvement so if that is what we’re getting next, then I look forward to seeing if the man will be able to top himself.