The Goon has returned to a monthly release at a Local Comic Shop near you and we can't be more stoked. The humor and action are about to amp up and we don't want you to miss any of it. Over the next few months we will be posting more of these intros from The Goon Trade Volumes and more entertaining items to keep this Eisner winning series at the forefront of your mind. If you're looking for a free issue of The Goon to get you started click here.
I admit it—I came to this party late. Chinatown, and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker was—regrettably—my introduction to The Goon and the incredible world created by Eric Powell. I thank Tim Miller—who snapped me out of my Goonless existence when I was looking for material to possibly make into an animated feature, and he suggested I peruse a copy he had (suspiciously) nearby. Of course I marveled at the characters and was smitten with the mise-en-scene, but it was the language—that uncategorizable: Dead End Kids Meets Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummies—that unlikely Powellian patois that absolutely hooked me. If this is your first time, you are in for a treat—if not, you already know how lucky you are.
David Fincher, June 2009
filmmaker
The completion and reaction to this book has been the most rewarding experience I have had working in comics. The tragic story of Goon’s past has been tumbling around in my head for so long that I began to wonder if it would ever actually get it put down on paper. Taking a long break from the bi-monthly series to complete it was one risk. Dark Horse was none too happy about that. But another risk, and the more substantial in my mind, was the risk of turning away readers by completely turning the tone of the book they had come to enjoy on it’s head. But more often than not, when it has come to my work, if I followed my heart, it was the right way to go. The week the book was released I had to amp myself up a little bit to check my e-mail. Waiting for the inevitable, “Who do you think you are? A real writer? Go back to makin’ with the funny poop jokes, retard!” But, much to my surprise, I started getting some positive email. And then lots of positive email. And then some positive reviews. And then some critics were calling it one of the best graphic novels of the year. And then I got a couple of Eisner Awards for it. Who knew? So now I can go back to making my poop-joke books and mowing my lawn with a smug sense of pretension. And everyone knows that to be truly successful, you have to be twice as pretentious as you are talented.
Thanks for reading my bullshit.
Sincerely,
Eric Powell