The Goon, Volume 13: For Want of Whiskey & Blood

  

I had waited a long time for the next volume of the Goon to pop up at my local library. Too long! But sadly, my wait wasn't quite worth it.

The volume started off really well. The Goon fights some monsters, performs some seedy shenanigans (like rigging a boxing match), and faces off with the Zombie Priest. Then the legendary Billy the Kid (now an old man) comes to town, leading a travelling show of oddities. One of the oddities, a petrified toddler, bears an ancient curse in which if it's not feed a special blend of mother's milk and goat's blood every Halloween, it will spell doom for those involved. Low and behold, it just happens to be All Hallow's Eve and baby hasn't had his bottle.

 But then the book went south. Literally. When the Goon and Franky go down Mexico way, they look to sell some cheap booze hidden in some cheap clocks. But the goods have all been consumed by that pint-sized Godzilla, El Hombre Lagarto.

    Lagarto is funny but in small doses. See he speaks only Spanish and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that I cannot for the life of me speak or read any Spanish that isn't food related. Lord knows I've tried. Eric Powell never interprets what this lizard has to say. I could sometimes figure out what Lagarto was communicating through Goon and Franky's responses, but it was hit and miss at times.  I'm sure it's hilarious, but it's like an inside joke that everybody but myself knows and I don't like being held in the dark.

   If ever a story needed subtitles this was it. (It's also why I hate the movie 'Stargate.")

Lastly, there's a reprint of a one-shot titled Goon: One For the Road. It was a tribute to the work of Jack Davis of EC Comics and MAD Magazine fame. The story involves a sailor on leave searching for his lost buddy before their passes expire. The Goon knows that the perfect place to find a seaman in at one of the endless bars in town. As Goon, Franky, and the sailor go on an epic bar crawl they are meet with insanity after insanity. There were some really funny moments here, but it just wasn't a classic Goon story to me. I'm all for homages but sometimes less is more.

   Hopefully, volume 14 will be a return to the insanity that is Franky and the Goon. And written in a language I can understand (Note to Mr. Powell- I took French in college!)

Worth Consuming

  Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.