Albatross Funnybooks 2019
By Eric Powell
Colours by Rachael Cohen & Eric Powell
The next era in the legacy of The Goon starts here! This all new series marks The Goon's return to Albatross Funnybooks and is just in time to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the book. Eric Powell takes the series to its humour-based roots as Goon & Franky return from strange adventures abroad to find a horde of unsavoury characters have filled the void left in his absence from Lonely Street.
First let me say that if you have never read The Goon before then this really is the perfect opportunity to jump on board as Eric brings it home to his own company. While yes it references the past the present is brand new to them, so it’s exciting to see them come back to a place they never wanted to return to and be along for the ride as they have to figure things out all over again. Plus Eric understands how to write a story by getting the most out of the story & plot advancement, characterisation and the pacing and it’s so freakin nice to see. For me this infuses fun into the horror genre and makes it absolutely delightful to dive into.
If you are like me you’ve heard of The Goon but maybe don’t know so much about him. I will admit to being somewhat intimidated by jumping into a well known series but trust me here, no parachute needed. The way we see the opening here beautifully sets the tone for what we’re going to see. This intrepid trio is back and no one, not even the boats captain is happy about it. There is a kind of grouchiness to the characters that is more endearing than it is annoying and that’s one hell of a fine line to be straddling. It makes me excited to see what’s going to happen next because it feels like this is something different, unique and just immediately pulls you in so you don’t want to look away.
Also I will say this the kid is already one of my favourite characters. Characterisation and personality that we see given to him is sensational and it makes me want to see him more in this series. Actually all around this book, see all characters we meet, have these distinct personalities to them and whether or not they are main characters, recurring ones or one time deals it feels like everyone we meet has that backstory lurking which I cannot remember the last time I felt that way.
The interiors here are utterly fantastic! There are the Little Orphan Annie eyes, there are exaggerated looks that verge on a cartoon aspect but don’t quite cross it. There is some absolutely beautiful linework here as well, not to mention shading that creates the muscles under shirts or Kid Gargantuan, whom I really hope is the spider, the way Eric breathes life into these characters is as masterful and stunning as the writing is. Also the touches of colour, actual colour not shades of grey, are perfectly placed and actually more muted than I would have expected and they give that proverbial cloudy haze of a lost, hopeless town. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show off his stellar eye for storytelling. I want more backgrounds, that being said I’ll live because what we see here reminds of me of and old obscure style of artwork that I remember from sneaking my dads magazines back in the 70’s/80’s. Plus these properties we see are all wow freakin wow moments.
So what we have here is beyond anything I was even remotely hoping it would be. The storytelling through words and pictures reminds me that the joy of comics is alive and well. There is so much to be thankful for seeing and the influences that I see here may or may not resonate with you but it is something to behold. If this is what I've been missing all this time then by golly I'll never miss it again.