By Svetlana Fedotov
After a long wait through delays, notices, and wishing-upon-stars, the newest Goon mini-series has finally arrived on a pillow of stardust and dreams into the eager hands of fans across the world. Titled Occasion of Revenge, this newest addition features everyone’s favorite bad boy twosome, Goon and Frankie, as they stomp their way through a gallery of monsters and zombies, though this time, in a much more serious manner. Gone are the silly jokes and bug-eyed villains, instead replaced with the over-arching story arc that has fueled the Goon’s mission of bringing peace to his small town. Though it’s been almost six years since we’ve seen any serious work on the Goon storyline, Occasions of Revenge promises to answer all of our leftover aching questions from the previous series.
Usually, this is the part where I would tell you what the story is about, but since Dark Horse has been kind enough to include preview pages, I won’t spoil it too much for you. Keeping that in mind, I have read the entire first issue and let me tell you, it’s pretty awesome. It’s different from the current Goon universe of low-brow humor and hilarious hi-jinks, instead focusing on Goon’s nightmarish world of crawling zombies and angered ghosts. The plot focuses on the Goon’s old enemies as they attempt to destroy him and his empire of hobos and bare-foot children, reminding the reader that at the center of this comic is pure, archaic madness. Eric Powell really dives back into the thick of the work as he plays with the mysterious elements that seem to haunt every page of the comic.
As usual, Eric Powell is both the writer and artist of this maddening tale, tinting his words with the smooth and expressive line-work that had earned him his claim to fame. He creates tight transitioning and beautifully dark, noir art that sucks the reader right in, like a shadowy Disney cartoon for adults. With the first issue launching on July 23rd, The Good: Occasions for Revenge is going to come in hot and leave you gasping for more.
