The Goon is back!

I am not sure what that means at this point, but from the vast history of this character, it must mean something good.

The official description from Dark Horse:

¡LAGARTO HOMBRE REGRESA! ¡Ah, Jesús dulce! ¡El horror de ese bocadillo de jamón Lagarto Hombre ha regresado! ¡El diablo! es el diablo! ¡El señor salvo nosotros! ¡Lagarto Hombre comerá a sus bebés en la noche! ¡Vuela como gatos malos en la cara!*

*We apologize to our Spanish-language readers; the process that created the Lagarto Hombre gave him terrible grammar.

The last issue of Eric Powell’s ‘The Goon” was released on November 21, 2012. Here is a link to it on the Dark Horse site: The Goon #43. You may want to, or have to do some catching up. For me, as this is the first time I have ever read The Goon, I am going to look at it as a fresh start.

There is one problem: I only read and speak English.

And if you share this inadequacy, you will have trouble reading this issue. The good news? It really doesn’t matter. This is sequential art after all. The story is all there. Now, I am not saying that I grasped all the finer points… I am sure I missed a lot. But hey, it was a quick and visually enjoyable “read”.

Oh, I did take the time to Bing Translate “¡LAGARTO HOMBRE REGRESA!” – Between the results of that search, and the art, I have determined that the “LIZARD MAN RETURNS!”

Anyway, there are a bunch of things to appreciate (dare I say, be thankful for), in this issue:

1. The Goon is back! From what I can tell, fans are excited. N00bs should be.
2. The Art is wonderful! Eric does a great job illustrating the gaps in my understanding of the Spanish language.
3. The Humor. This book is listed in the “Humor” category. While I likely missed a lot of the jokes, I can see what Eric was going for – once you get to the short rap interlude with Li’l John (YA-YAH!) you will understand.
4. The Goon Himself! Let there be smack-down; followed by “LA TRISTEZA” (“THE SADNESS”) – at least for the “LAGARTO HOMBRE”.

At first I was thinking this was NOT a great jumping on point in the series. But really, IT IS. Take it for the ballsy debut that it is. And if you hate that you don’t understand the dialog – leverage internet translators until the next issue. Either way, you have to respect the art!

4/5