[Trade Winds] The Goon: Chinatown & The Mystery Of Mr. Wicker

Posted by Adam on November 22, 2007

(Dark Horse Comics)

When I was a kid in school, we used to take personality evaluation tests all the time. They weren“t usually referred to that way, but at least once a year we“d end up doing a “unit” meant to categorize us somehow. I“ve never been sure what the point was; in retrospect they were either insipid or creepy, as though the powers that be were trying to label us for future reference. These tests used different terminology, but it basically broke down to four categories based on two opposing sets of terms; the one I remember most clearly had it that your thought processes could be “Abstract” or “Concrete” (basically, a realist vs. an idealist), and “Random” or “Sequential” (looking at the big picture vs. going step-by-step.) The two furthest extremes were “Concrete Sequential” (suggesting a buttoned-down, nerdy, accountant type) vs. “Abstract Random” (suggesting a creative, flaky sort.)

Yes, I am going someplace with all this. I think this methodology presents a useful way of breaking down the tendencies of comics to be surreal or realistic (Abstract vs. Concrete) and continuity-oriented or standalone (Random vs. Sequential). All these different approaches have their merit, of course, but some of the most fun comics of our time have been Abstract Random—the kind of what-the-hell, anything-goes approach to storytelling that liberates a writer and/or artist to just concentrate on packing each issue with as much crazy, cool, hilarious stuff as possible.

And chief among these comics, of late, has been Eric Powell“s “The Goon”. This is a comic with no filler, no sense of self-importance, and almost no story. Most issues are little more than an excuse to plunge the title character into a scenario filled with whatever crazy stuff Powell wants to draw that month—zombies, robots, Kaiju monsters, werewolves, gangster shenanigans, mad science…there“s even been a prison drama and a football story, though all of it“s filtered through Powell“s warped sensibilities—and it“s always, always hilarious. Powell has a gift for trimming almost any genre to its bare essentials, and then cranking it all up to eleven.

At least, that“s how I would have characterized the book until recently. In the issues before the break precipitated by the kerfuffle over “Satan“s Sodomy Baby”—which I won“t rehash here, since this review is getting long enough already—Powell started to show us that there was an underlying story to all this madness after all. We already knew that The Goon had lived a rough and unpleasant life, culminating in a recent experience in Chinatown that had left his face scarred and his heart broken; we also knew that Mirna, the luscious torch singer, had been making eyes at him, but his experience had left him too cynical to believe that she was anything but trouble.

This special Hardcover ties up both these plot threads with two basically separate stories, as the title suggests. One is a flashback to the Goon“s Chinatown encounter, painted in washed-out watercolour and involving a girl who almost inspired Goon to ditch his life of crime. The other, set in the present day, deals with a new player who“s trying to muscle in on Goon“s turf, the mysterious and creepy Mr. Wicker. (As his name suggests, he seems to be inspired by the movie The Wicker Man–the classic one, not the awful remake with Nicholas Cage.) The connection between the two is Goon“s relationship to a girl, and how his Chinatown scrape is affecting his relationship with Mirna, who may have a connection to Mr. Wicker.

The opening flyleaf is printed with the words “THIS AIN“T FUNNY”, and it“s no lie. I don“t know if Powell“s just in a bad mood these days (again, see the flap over “Satan“s Sodomy Baby”) or if he“d always intended for the story to take a darker turn, but this is probably the darkest, and dare I say angstiest, Goon story yet. Powell“s art has been slowly evolving and changing—I quite liked the simple dark-ink style of the earlier issues, which resembled a hyperstylized version of EC and which suited the deranged wackiness, but his newer style of lush, painted colours over detailed pencil work suit the darker turn the story has taken.

What“s surprising, though, is how this comic built on randomness and surreal energy can prove to be so emotionally affecting when it“s grounded in a longer storyline. While I do hope the Goon goes back to being wacky and sick in the regular book, an extended foray into more classical storytelling suits Powell surprisingly well for the length of this OGN–almost like it’s just another genre for him to dabble in. I guess people aren’t really confined to being Abstract Random or Concrete Sequential after all.

4 and a half out of 5 Vikings.