The Goon in Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof

Hooray, another Goon trade obtained.  Published in 2010 and collecting issues 9-13, master of the affair, Eric Powell, has all cylinders clicking at this point.  Oh, this is the second edition of the trade.  The first came out in 2006.

The first two issues are stand alone stories.  It seems Goon played professional football for a year, until he and the rest of the team were shot just before the championship game.  It's a fun story about the assumptions people make, including mobsters who bet far too much money on less than sure things.  The issue also explains how Goon consolidated his control of the gangs and how the Zombie Priest got his undead army started.

The second issue is the best bastardization of A Christmas Carol ever.  I'll leave it at that.

The rest of the trade tells the story of how Dr Alloy started resembling Swiss cheese, was saved by Goon and Frankie taking a trip to another dimension, and reverted to his evil ways due to a problem with the metal used to save him.  His Spanish speaking lizard/man major domo is hilarious, even if you don't know a lot of Spanish.  Along the way Goon picks up his own version of the Baker Street Irregulars and spends some time in prison, where the warden hates him and the inmates revere him.

A bonus at the end is a prose Goon piece written by Thomas Lennon of Reno 911!  Powell does some illustrations with the piece, which is very much in keeping with Powell's own writing.

It's funny that the pull reviews on the back describe The Goon as horror meets comedy.  It's so over the top, even in the horror part, that I tend to view the whole thing as comedy.  Great comedy, too.  If anything it's a little poignant at times, especially when Goon's childhood comes up.

Read all the Goon you can.  You'll feel better.