THE GOON: ONCE UPON A HARD TIME #1 Review

How will the Goon deal with the ultimate betrayal from Occasion of Revenge? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dark Horse:

After the tragic events of Occasion of Revenge, the witch coven believes that control of the unnamed town will soon be in their grasp and the Goon’s tragic soul will contribute to the curse that increases their power. But has their plot destroyed the Goon or created a monster too savage for them to withstand?

Once upon a Hard Time is a climactic miniseries that has major consequences for the Goon and his supporting cast. If you’re a Goon fan, you can’t miss this.

The Goon enters his 50th issue at Dark Horse Comics, but following the climactic events of Occasion of Revenge, our skull crushing hero is in no mood for celebrating. Developing a mean streak more ferocious than ever before, the Goon is most certainly out for revenge, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re friend or foe; if you get in his way, you will get crushed.

Having wrote tales featuring the Goon for almost 20 years, fans have come to expect an unique and weird style from writer Eric Powell. He does however throw this out the window for the better part of this issue, as though there are many familiar elements, the raw emotion within the Goon completely takes over. The way that Powell handles this emotion, is on the other hand simply fascinating, as between the pure hatred of the Goon, and the concern of his friends (Franky especially), there is a lot of depth on display. He also translates a good portion of this emotion into action, with there being several pages exploding with excitement.

If the exquisite writing of Powell wasn’t already enough to make me constantly excited about this series, then his art most certainly would. The mesmerizing detail, and fluid layout of his work is simply breathtaking, with the raw energy conveying the tone of the script perfectly. The intense emotion on the Goon’s face is also captured brilliantly, with the desperation within his allies only reflecting this. Additionally, the grey tones that Powell produces also captivate, giving wonderful tone and definition to this world.

The Goon has been through many battles over the last fifty issues, but nothing compares to the aftermath featured in this issue. This, along with the action and emotion on display, makes The Goon: Once Upon a Hard Time #1 one of the best Goon issue in a long time, and well worth the purchase.