'The Goon Noir' – Various (Dark Horse)

After a pretty low point in my life, where I had to sell a whole load of my stuff just to keep going, I've spent the last couple of years slowly building it all back up again. This time, the plan is not to end up having to sell any of it! :o)

One of the things that went was my collection of 'Goon' comic books, a collection that really meant a lot to me (you'll understand if you've ever read any of the books) and one that I was keen to build back up again once I could afford it. As it stands, I'm maybe two books away from having my collection back in one piece again. 'The Goon Noir' was never part of that original collection (it just never seemed to be on the shelves whenever I was in town) but when I saw it going very cheap on eBay... I had to have some of that action, of course I did.

So my 'Goon' collection is up another book. I read it years ago (thanks to my local library) and really enjoyed it back in the day. Lets see what the years have added or taken away...

Described as "EC by way of Looney Tunes," multiple award-winning cult hit The Goon has quickly risen to the forefront of hot creator-owned titles. Now a heapin' helping of the top names in comics and comedy put a new spin on their favorite characters! Among the distinguished creators featured in this, the very first Goon anthology, are comedians Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn (both of Comedy Central's Comedians of Comedy and Mr. Show), Reno: 911 co-creator Thomas Lennon, B.P.R.D. scribe John Arcudi, comics great Kevin Nowlan (Tomorrow Stories, Sandman, Superman), fan-favorite Humberto Ramos (Revelations, Spider-Man), Steve Niles, Ryan Sook, Mike Ploog, Bill Morrison, Arvid Nelson, Tony Moore, Hilary Barta, Roger Langridge, Scott Allie and Todd Herman. Powell himself and frequent co-conspirators Tom Sniegoski and Mark Farmer also present the three-part "Peg Leg Full of Heaven," featuring the Little Unholy Bastards, and erstwhile publisher Dwight T. Albatross contributes a little somethin' for the ladies. See the Goon universe as never before in The Goon Noir!

It's funny how time can change your view on things. Way back then, I grabbed any new 'Goon' stuff with all the enthusiasm that a first time reader has for something that touched their soul, and enjoyed the hell out of it because it was there and it was new. These days though, 'The Goon Noir' was a half decent enough way to while away some time in the hospital waiting room (which I saw a lot of this week, nothing bad though, just ongoing stuff) but wasn't a lot more than that.

So, what happened?

While the stories are the same ones that made me laugh a few years ago (and to be honest, still made me chuckle today), they're missing a vital ingredient that only Eric Powell can bring to the table. To be blunt, only Eric Powell knows the Goon well enough to write him. The others can tell a story that will make you laugh but all of them seem to miss that sense of tragedy and self loathing that lies at the heart of the Goon. That sense that even when he does the right thing, the Goon can't escape feeling that it was all for the wrong reasons (to be fair, sometimes it is) and that he isn't worth feeling good over. That is what is missing from an admittedly entertaining set of stories that are lacking that self awareness, in the lead, to really make them soar. It's no coincidence that the collection only really takes off right at the very end when Eric Powell takes over to tell the story of the 'Peg Leg Full of Heaven'. He gets it, of course he does, and the result is that mix of melancholy, weirdness and pulp violence that is a 'Goon' story. Everyone else misses out the melancholy and what they're left with is just a story thats about the Goon, if you know what I mean.

'The Goon Noir' isn't a bad collection (it will keep you entertained while you're reading) but it feels like a lot of the stories miss the point. One for the completists only, I reckon.