Comics
[Comic Review] “The Goon Once Upon A Hard Time” #2
Reviewed by Brady Steele. This month’s installment of The Goon: Once Upon A Hard Time #2 is aptly titled “A Man Turned Animal”. Readers get to see how truly lost and off the rails a man like The Goon can get when he’s lost hope. More poor choices for our would-be protector lead to some truly ghastly decisions for all to horrify at.
WRITTEN BY: Eric Powell
ART BY: Eric Powell
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: 25 March 2015
Defying expectations once again, creator Eric Powell gives readers a literary history lesson in this issue. A couple of heavy hitters are coming to take out The Goon as retaliation for him killing the wrong guy last month. Having been tipped off as to when and where these would-be killers are arriving, The Goon decides to handle the situation personally.
What better way to kill time then by grabbing a six-pack and classic H.G. Wells’s novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau. What unfolds is an examination of what makes a man or an animal. As anyone who has ever read a novel, you can relate to how reading a novel can affect your headspace. Depending on your mood, a good book can really influence your way of thinking. The Goon is a million miles away from a good mood nowadays so this story only stokes the fire and anger inside him. The results are genuinely grizzly and cold.
Reason and understanding has left our capped hero. His moves are now more primal and vicious than ever before. Perhaps this is what The Goon has to do to prevail. It clearly won’t be pretty but as long as he wins, that’s what matters, right? I miss the funny and wacky moments that popped up in this series. Grim and gritty was something I would never use to describe The Goon before this arc. It’s dark and good but I need some sliver of hope in there somewhere. Hopefully there’s some light left buried deep in there somewhere down the line.
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Mr. Steele enjoys all things comics and imagination-based. Using his lifetime of comic-fu-dom for good, he imparts his knowledge for the universe to enjoy and for you, dear readers, to pass it on.
Twitter: @mrbradysteele
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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