The Circus Has Never Been This Much Fun

January 2, 2010 Patrick Hickey Jr. Books & Comics 0

Eric Powell has carved quite a niche for himself in the comic book industry over the past decade with the success of his series “The Goon,” but his new series, “Chimichanga,” may be the thing that puts him over the top for good. While “The Goon” is an amazing character that allows Powell to delve into the crime-noir and sci-fi lore, “Chimichanga” has a different kind of feel to it that could end up garnering the mad scientist another Eisner Award.

As tough as the Goon is, our little bearded friend is adorable, yet she, yes she, rocks a Guy Fawkes-esque beard and isn’t scared to share her opinions on anything. Feeling like a combination of the Goon’s sidekick, Frankie, and Powell’s need to stretch his writing muscles, this character is something special. In spite of her loquacious manner and physical problems however, she has an innocence and candor that can only be found in small children.

Finding depth in hilarity and over-the-top writing is nothing new for Powell, but the way the first issue is laid out will put a smile on your face in a much different way than anything you’ve seen in “The Goon.”

Add in a monster that thinks she’s its mother, a circus troupe and a wicked witch, and you have a great first issue of a potentially intriguing comic book my friends.

Maintaining the nice and steady flow that most of Powell’s stories have, the first issue is super quick read, and leaves you wanting more, as it seems the witch, [who scarily looks a bit too much like the nameless priest] has some sinister plans up her sleeve.

As far as the art is concerned, black and white doesn’t take anything away from the story and adds to the motifs of the past that Powell attaches most of his work to. Feeling like a combination of Sunday cartoon strip and an episode of “The Little Rascals,” “Chimichanga” looks similar to “The Goon,” but has enough of its own style to be considered completely original and prove how talented Powell is.

With a fun story, eclectic art and plenty of room to develop and an already alluring and fun cast of characters, you can’t do much better than the first issue of “Chimichanga.”

The real test will be where Powell takes this story from here.

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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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