Comics
Review: ‘The Goon’ #42
The Goon #42 crackles with sheer joy over its witty sense of humor and pulpy storytelling. Weird, crazy, and entertaining – these are all the perfect words to describe Eric Powell’s unforgettable creation. The laugh-out-loud humor has always been what sets Eric Powell’s “The Goon” apart from other paranormal mystery books, and this issue showcases his ability to mesh genres.
WRITTEN BY: Eric Powell
ART BY: Eric Powell, Mark Buckingham
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3. 50
RELEASE: September 26th, 2012
The issue begins after a crowd has placed their bets on the boxing match between Tommy “The Tank” and “Charming” Chuck Williams. The Goon puts his money on this match, hoping to make a few extra bucks off his good pal, Chuck, who will become the sure-fire winner. But, the Goon quickly learns that his friend is in quite a lot of trouble. Powell works around the clichés of boxing movies, such as Rocky, Raging Bull, and Price of Glory. It’s become a trope in boxing movies to include the underdog, and the fix. Powell addresses these clichés in the opening pages, puts a spin on them, and uses some element of the supernatural, such as black magic, to keep the story fresh.
Powell always finds a way to inject zany humor into bizarre situations. The horror is played off for laughs and kept in an animated tone. When the Goon wakes up in his bed, he suddenly discovers a walking and talking corpse with sticks of dynamite lodged into its chest. You can’t help but laugh when the Goon finds himself in a fight. In order to decapitate a giant spider, the Goon squashes its head with his bare hands.
The issue also works to plant the seeds for something bigger, the start of a major story arc. Powell cleverly places each important clue of the large scale mystery throughout the issue. The Goon does not realize that Chuck is being used and set up to take the fall. A much deadlier and smarter adversary is putting his friends in life-threatening danger. The cliffhanger sets up another piece of the puzzle, where an unlikely, and uneasy, alliance will take place.
The visual gags add immensely to Powell’s particular brand of humor. As the Goon walks around searching for clothes, he stumbles upon the recent Doctor Who suit and bowtie. The Goon takes one good look at it and shakes his head. It is incredible how Powell can express emotional queues without showing any eyes. The upper half of Goon’s face is always kept in shadows because of his classic cap.
As an extra bonus, there is a back-up story by Powell, which features artwork by Mark Buckingham. In the close-ups, Buckingham adds a little extra detail of scars to the Goon’s face. The battle between the robot monster and the mud monster is a hilarious homage to 1950s B-movies.
“The Goon” #42 is an amusing tale that mixes dark humor, witchcraft, and tons of action. Issue #42 has everything you would expect from Eric Powell.
Rating: 4/5 Skulls
Reviewed by JorgeSolis
The supernatural world of Korean folk horror movie Exhuma grows larger with the arrival of prequel spinoff webtoon Maengjong this weekend, Variety reports today.
Naver Webtoon debuts Maengjong on May 30.
The series hails from Haemuri (Olgami) and will trace the high school origins of how shaman duo Hwarim and Bonggil, played by Kim Go-eun and Lee Do-hyun in the 2024 film, came together to face occultish threats.
The story is set to begin when “Hwarim, who has been concealing her identity following a childhood encounter with a snake spirit called Jin, crosses paths with Bonggil at their school.”
Variety notes that Exhuma director Jang Jae-hyun participated in the project’s early concept stage.
“We are presenting ‘Maengjong,’ a new series capturing the appeal of the horror-occult genre, ahead of the full summer season,” said Lee Jeong-geun, Naver Webtoon’s Korea webtoon content leader. “With the high school story of Hwarim and Bonggil, who left a strong impression in the film ‘Exhuma,’ enhanced by Haemuri’s characteristic tense direction, we expect it will be a welcome work for genre fans.”
“It is meaningful that the spin-off story of ‘Exhuma,’ loved by many audiences, expands by meeting the new grammar of webtoon,” said Lee Hyeon-jeong, managing director of the film business division at Showbox, which distributed the film. “We hope it will be a fresh experience for both film fans and webtoon readers.”
Exhuma was a breakout hit in 2024, becoming the first Korean occult film to surpass 10 million ticket buyers and the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. I wrote in my review that “the intricately woven Exhuma delivers one of the year’s biggest surprises in horror so far.”
The bond between Hwarim and Bonggil was one of the film’s highlights, making this prequel webtoon a must for fans.
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