The Goon[]
The Goon is a comic book series written and drawn by Eric Powell (with colors often by Dave Stewart or Eric/Robin Powell). The series mixes both a comical and violent atmosphere with a paranormal slant, with the average story concerning various undead creatures/zombies, ghosts, ghouls, mutants, skunk-apes with an unnatural hunger for pies, giant squids, mob/gang leaders, extra-dimensional aliens, mad scientists, robots, and more.
Publication Info[]
Publisher :Avatar Press Albatross Exploding Funny Books Dark Horse Comics
Schedule: Monthly
Format: Ongoing series
Genre: Crime, horror
Publication date: March 1999 – present
Number of issues: 42
Main Characters[]
The Goon
An orphan raised by his Aunt Kizzie, a strong-woman for a carnival. When wanted gangster Labrazio made the carnival his hiding place, Goon snuck into his trailer after hearing about the man's reputation for viciousness. Labrazio showed the young Goon a book containing the names of his enemies, people who had done him favors, and people who owed him money. The police managed to track Labrazio down, however, and surrounded the trailer. In the resulting shoot-out, Goon's Aunt Kizzie, while trying to protect her nephew, was gunned down by stray bullets from Labrazio's firearm. When Labrazio dismissed Kizzie as a "stupid broad" for getting in the crossfire, the young Goon snapped and beat the mobster's skull in with a rock. Figuring the late gangster owed him something, Goon took Labrazio's book (and the man's hat) and took over the entire operation, collecting money and offing deadbeats, all the while insisting that Labrazio was still alive and the Goon was merely his "enforcer." The Goon is a hulking figure, normally wearing green pants, a white or black shirt, and the hat he removed from Labrazio. Occasionally he wears a faded blue shirt with green stripes on the sleeves—the uniform from his football days. The left side of his face is horribly scarred, caused in a fight with a Triad leader who could turn himself into a dragon by the use of dark magic (as explained in The Goon graphic novel Chinatown). His eyes are blue, with the scarring on the left side of his face rendering his left eye blind. He has brown hair cropped short, almost always covered by his trademark cap.
Franky
After killing Labrazio, the Goon met Franky, a cowardly kid who was continually picked on by bullies. They became fast friends after the Goon beat up a kid who tormented him. The Goon involved Franky in his criminal business, setting out to burn down a barbershop which refused to pay protection to "Labrazio". During the arson attempt, they were attacked by zombies. Franky, not believing he could, killed one in self-defense, at which time he underwent a change in personality, adopting a haughty "tough-guy" persona similar to the Goon's, and taking up the position of the Goon's right-hand man. Franky normally wears brown pants with suspenders, a white tank-top, and a brown fedora on his bald head. Franky's eyes are drawn without pupils, similar to the comic strip character Little Orphan Annie. Franky is nowhere near the Goon's level in combat prowess, but he has proven himself useful many times, if nothing else than to watch the Goon's back and act as another set of hands. His signature move is the "knife to the eye".
Enemies[]
- Zombies: Zombies are the primary servants of the Zombie Priest. Very few seem to be capable of speaking or performing other complex tasks. Raised by necromancy, they are capable of following orders, though only from the Zombie Priest himself. Referred to by Franky and the Goon as "slackjaws."
- Hobos: Hobos are the cannibal overlords of the dark forested region known as the "Hobo Jungle." The culture of the Hobo is apparently completely separate from the rest of the world, so far as they have their own language and resemble cavemen more than humans.
- Brunos: An army of deadly robots designed by Dr. Hieronymous Alloy, all inexplicably sharing the name "Bruno". These drones have a distinctly retro sci-fi aesthetic, and are equipped with weaponry ranging from lasers to boxing gloves.
- Bog Lurks: A race of ogre-like creatures that inhabit the swamps outside of town. Despite their low intelligence, the Bog Lurks' great strength has opened up many career opportunities for them in the city's criminal underworld.
- Hags: Another of the Zombie Priest's monstrous servants, hags' grandmotherly appearance belies their bloodthirsty nature. These creatures do have their tender side, however, as they act as midwives for Mother Corpse's demon spawn.
- The Decasters: The ghosts of a perverse inbred family who haunted an old mansion on the outskirts of the city. While the Decasters had driven most intruders to madness and death, the Goon managed to exorcise them with cats' eyes strung on cinnamon dental floss.
- Skunk Ape: The Skunk Ape is a large, sasquatch-like monster with a hideous odor. The Skunk Ape is driven to homicidal enthusiasm by the scent of pies (especially blueberry).
- Communist Airborne Mollusk Militia: A squadron of immense octopuses who achieve flight via personal zeppelins. While apparently intelligent enough to speak French and operate aircraft, they made the mistake of allying with the Zombie Priest. The Militia was last seen being blown sky high by the Goon and Hellboy.
- Giant Squid: Another cephalopod nuisance for the Goon, the Giant Squid have a tendency to crawl onto land and attack cars along Crestwood Avenue.
- Vampires: A coven of preening, pretentious bloodsuckers who continually find themselves beaten senseless by the Goon. The vampires lurk in one of the city's graveyards, discussing fashion and pursuing other vanities. It is later revealed that they are a diluted form of vampires, fairly disgraceful in their current state.
- Rats: Man-eating rodents the size of St. Bernards, these monsters prowl a lonely stretch known as Rat Alley. The rats have yet to reappear since the Goon pistol-whipped "a million" of them.
- Chug-Heads: The Chug-Heads have replaced zombies as the bulk of the Zombie Priest's army. Products of Mother Corpse, they are small, dwarf-like creatures with large, potato-shaped heads. Unlike zombies, they are capable of merging into one another to create a larger, more deadly monster.
Movie Possibility Through Kickstarter[]
On October 12, 2012, Blur Studio and Fincher launched a 30-day Kickstarter, an on-line fundraising campaign, titled "The Goon" Movie... let's KICKSTART this sucker!!!," to raise $400,000 to finance a story reel for the entire film. The Kickstarter page also explained why they need the money: "The Goon Film has NEVER been in production. All the work you've seen (animation footage, trailers, artwork, etc.) has been produced independently and out-of-pocket by the creative team of David Fincher, Eric Powell, Blur Studio and Dark Horse Entertainment. We created "proof of concept" footage to show Hollywood the incredible potential of a Goon movie. It was very well received BUT because this movie isn't a sequel or filled with dancing animals we'll need more to bust open the gates and UNLEASH Goon and Franky on Hollywood."
Movie Proof of Concept[]
