Reading the Goon vol. 2: Good ol' Charlie Noodles

Do you hear that? That small whisper in your ear as the wind gets colder, drier. You can maybe make it out, if you listen closely.

That sound is. . . comics.

The Goon vol. 2: My Murderous Childhood (and Other Grievous Yarns)
by Eric Powell

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: The Goon and his pal Franky fight a gang war against The Preacher's zombies and other paranormal ghosties on Lonely St.! The Goon gets molested by a sea creature! Franky eats too much blueberry pie! The two get kidnapped to Hobo Jungle! Dr. Hieronymous Alloy tries to take a hit on the Goon! Can you handle it????

WHAT I LIKED: You might notice that we're actually skipping volumes, because the last volume we went over was volume 0: Rough Stuff. I don't really have a good reason to do it other than I felt like it, and want to see how the continuity holds up in one skip.

And guess what: the trade holds up very well! Eric Powell keeps up his wonderful format of storytelling -- each issue is its own self-contained story, and some issues are even "double-sized" or "triple-sized." Powell keeps up his unique sense of humor and even delves a little into The Goon's past as a kid.

Some issues are interspersed with material such as shorts, or even mock ads to pad out the page length. It's great! Powell even takes the time to frame a flashback story -- using live action photographs! Powell approaches the stories very creatively, and that totally rocks.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: This trade has an ending!

EXTRAS?: There are some concept sketches for some new characters here, as well as an inside look at some of Powell's art and a couple of unused covers before The Goon switched publishers.

FINAL THOUGHTS: When you really get to the end of it, The Goon's a fun comic with a lot of heart. I can't recommend it enough, and I can't wait for the library to get volume 3!