Shine On You Crazy Buzzard

goon5Buzzard is back and boy, is he pissed.

After taking a short hiatus through the third and fourth trades in “The Goon” series, everyone’s favorite elderly, gun-toting cannibal has returned to the story and is in the center of the action once again. After a long slumber, Buzzard finally comes to grips with his curse and is ready to make the nameless priest pay for his evil deeds in “Wicked Inclinations.”

How, you ask? Let’s just say that one certain villain has been to “Cheers” lately, because someone knows his name.

That someone is easily the most dangerous person this side of Lonely street.

You guessed it, none other than Buzzard himself.

Petrified at the thought of losing everything he’s worked for, the nameless priest hatches up a scheme that tears the town apart and increases his forces to an alarmingly high level. That, of course, thrusts the Goon and Frankie into action, creating one of the most engaging scenarios in the series’ history. With Buzzard by their side, the foul-mouthed duo originally seem to have everything taken care of, but there are twists and turns at every corner, as old and new enemies alike find their way into the story, creating a tale unlike any other previously told in the series.

A departure from the older stories in the fact that there’s much more action and less comedy, Eric Powell’s masterpiece still manages to do what it does best: make you smile. Because of the accelerated action, the art takes center-stage this time around, showcasing just how talented the Eisner-winner is. The art is so solid that if you had any qualms about just how remarkably brilliant, yet charismatically insane Powell is before reading this book, you’ll be absolutely, positively able to put those thoughts to rest after reading “Wicked Inclinations.”

That however, doesn’t take anything away from the story, which is engaging, well-thought out and full of mystery. Like the other stories told with these characters, it’s over in a flash, but you’ll remember every gunshot, stab and punch, thanks to Powell’s throwback writing style that is as concise and blunt as it is freakishly addicting and noir-driven.

As a result, it’s another must-own in the series.

It’s going to take a while for the Goon and company to get things back to normal and even though this trade is only the beginning of that process, it’s chock-full of the same intensity that made the series a fan favorite and one that like fine wine, or in the case of the Buzzard, only gets better with age.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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