'The Goon: A Ragged Return to Lonely Street' – Eric Powell (Albatross Funnybooks)

To be honest, when 'The Goon' finished, a few years ago now, I was actually quite glad to see it go. The series has always been a favourite of mine but after the Labrazio storyline finished, I felt that the books suffered a little from not having a cohesive plot driving them forwards. Don't get wrong, there was still a lot of good stuff there but it felt to me like Powell was coasting a little until 'Occasion of Revenge' and 'Once upon a Hard Time' when things picked up a little bit.

All good things have to come to an end otherwise they don't remain good things for long (I'm looking at you, 'The Walking Dead' tv show) and it was just a little bit past time that 'The Goon' did just that, at least as far as I was concerned.

All of this made 'A Ragged Return to Lonely Street' a book that I had mixed feelings about when I saw its release date was imminent. On the one hand, it's 'The Goon' and I'll always pick up the book, no matter what. On the other though... When something comes back from the grave, the Goon doesn't have too much trouble punching it out, would this book suffer the same fate. There was only one way to find out and as it was covered in Powell's gorgeous art, it was a path that I was more than happy to tread...

After strange adventures abroad, the Goon and Franky return to Lonely Street to find that the void they left has been filled by a horde of unsavoury characters: Baby Galahad the East Side Ghoul, Vinnie Nosferatu and Seti the South Side Mummy, just to name a few. And they're all out to make the Goon's homecoming feel less than welcoming...

'What's that?'

'I don't know. But considering my line of work and life history, it's a safe bet that it's here to punch me in the face.'

If you're a long time fan of 'The Goon' then your best bet here is to accept that you're looking at wht is very much a soft reboot of the series. If you don't then you may be left a little disappointed at what, on the surface looks like a severe case of 'Monster of the Week being lined up for the Goon to punch in the face'. It's not just that, there is a lot more bubbling away under the surface as the last few pages prove. We may have to wait until at least volume 3 for the plot to come out but I've got faith that it will. Stick around though as we see the Goon and Franky try to make sense of what Lonely Street has become in their absence, helped and hindered by the creepiest realtor you've ever seen in a comic.

I loved it. 'Return to Lonely Street' isn't without its faults, I've spoken about the monsters and there's also a sense that old jokes are being riffed on that are perhaps a little out of date, but the book has everything that makes a 'Goon' comic great, you just have to look for it a little harder than normal. What I loved most of all is the sense of Lonely Street being on the edge of normality and that anything can creep in from the other side, which it does to great affect (thanks to that creepy atmospheric artwork of Powell's). It's all there and once again, I'm looking forward to exploring Lonely Street again and seeing what lurks in the alleyways.

'A Ragged Return to Lonely Street' doesn't feel like the strongest opening book ever but give it a chance and you'll see that there's a lot of potential there for the series as a whole. I will of course, be there to chart progress and see if that potential is met.

One for long time fans and for newcomers too.