Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof

Eric Powell weaves a tale that is both gripping and amusing. Top notch writing. His art is fantastic; he keeps pushing his style to new limits. The Goon is one of the best graphic novels around.

More great Goon stories, each telling a tale of woe while still being highly amusing at the same time. Eric Powell continues to plumb the depths of his twisted mind and Thomas Lennon, of Reno 911 fame, joins in with his own amusing tale at the end of this tome that is a written piece rather than a graphic adventure. We get Goon as a football player, spaceman (well, extradimensional traveler), Ghost of Christmas Present whose primary job is (still) to beat the crap out of the Zombie Priest, and an introduction to the Junior Goon Squad, the Unholy [...]. Another very worthy volume. This series is certainly a wicked delight for me, with its total off the wall sensibilities that actually also remarkably find a way to touch you every now and then. I am constantly amazed at the creative range that Eric Powell has.

Eric Powell's Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof collects issues 9-13 of the Dark Horse series, and it's some of the best Goon stories ever. It starts with the story of The Goon's football team called The Fishcanners, a group of guys whose greatest virtue is that they'll kill you for a potato cake. And if they'll do that for food, imagine what they'll do for grid-iron pride. It ends up being a bittersweet story of hope and tragedy, all ultimately playing into the hands of the Zombie Priest. It contains Powell's famous, impious reinterpretation of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, the funniest rendition of it you've ever seen ("What is this? I was told this was going to be a legitimate theatrical production! I've been beaten, abused, bludgeoned, shot, and now a mentally deficient Tiny Tim just took a crap on my leg!"). Then it goes to the fan-favorite story of "The Dimension of the Flesh-Eating Eye," retro-psychedelia gone very, very bad. The last two stories deal with Dr. Alloy's mental derangement that ends with himself and The Goon in prison, their futures looking pretty bleak. Another highlight in this collection is the formation of The Goon's kiddie squad of Super Secret Special Reserves, aka The Little Unholy Ba***rds. Unique to this collection is an introduction by Thomas Lennon lambasting Powell and encouraging fans to abuse him (as that's the only way he gets motivated). You also get a story told by Franky (perhaps penned by Lennon) "Jimmy Turtle and the Legendary Boxcar of Well Made Ladies Shoes." And a sketchbook. This is one of the most outright funny of the trade paperback collections. If you're a Goon fan already, you'll have to have Franky's story, and if you're new to it all and looking for a good introduction to the Goon series, you can't do better than this one.