5 out of 5

Well, I miss the nuanced colors of Dave Stewart from volume 0, overall it don’t matter – these republished Albatross Exploding funny books – Goon Color Special, Goon #1 – 4 – are prime Powell, combining zany character design and punchline-perfect pacine with plots that nip from all corners of noir and pulp and then put it through a crass and stupid wringer.  We start with a DHP short, which reaches into 4th wall territory but gives Powell the flexbility to be as strange as he wants.  It brings back the glorious ‘knife to the eye’ Franky, and, best feature through all the Goons, maintains a character continuity that’s so odd for what, at this point, plays like a gag strip.  This was a big part of Goon’s initial charm, though, the zombie priest and Labrazio story kicking under the hood that Eric finally decided to ‘write’ when it came to ‘Chinatown,’ with mixed results.  But here back in volume 1, we still get that dastardly brew of plot and punching.  The Goon Color Special is essentially a ghost story, but it’s got plenty of Goon chuckles and Powell’s hillbilly humor (“Hey Norton, yer ma’s playin ‘ in mud puddles and handin’ out cats eyes again.”), and was also a transition point for the art style between the grotesque Corben-esque detailing Goon used to sport and a more stream-lined, solid-lined approach.  I’ll admit to preferring the former, as I felt it helped to sell the atmosphere, but for issues 1 – 4, it seems like the comparatively ‘simpler’ style allowed Powell to correct some of his occasional timing issues, so there’s that.  Each issue plays like a standalone story, but again, some of these elements come into play later – the dead-eating Buzzard, the manipulative harpies, Mirna – and similarly, Powell doesn’t abandon or ignore what’s come before, as issue 1 deals with some Labrazio aftermath.

The ‘real’ story of Santa and his elves is unhinged genius.

Throughout are some fake 1-page ads parodying late-night infomercials or back-of-the-comic advertisements.  These are amusing (and hilarious when Powell can wrap them back into the story, such as ‘Psychic Seal’), though I can’t remember if this was something that would continue when the series finally switched over to Dark Horse (the issues of which start in vol. 2).

Overall, there’s not a page of Goon vol. 1 that won’t have you chuckling or looking with glee upon the carnage.  Before Powell wanted to try his hand at more sequential and serious story-telling, the early material was full-on inspiration and momentum.