Much like a daytime soap opera, “The Goon: Calamity of Conscience,†gets hot quickly and stays that way throughout. A slight deviation from the usual crime-noir and slapstick comedy writer Eric Powell is known for, this trade will have twisting and turning throughout in simultaneous shock and delight.
With Labrazio on his tail and the return of several other characters [of both hero and villain nature] back into the fold, things move incredibly quick in this one, giving it the feel of a ’40s run and gun love story. With the turn of each page, you’ll expect another character to pop up from oblivion and more drama to unfold. Taking a step back from the usual pacing Powell provides, you never expect so many things to happen over the course of just a few issues.
The biggest surprise being one that you’d almost never expect.
It’s also a great way of showing that the characters’ rogues gallery is a lot more devious and deep than you’d think.
With Goon cleaning up the streets, trying to reclaim his power, [shown brilliantly as always thanks to excellent pencils by Powell and colors by Dave Stewart] one character in particular shows up, literally out of the blue and rocks the entire story, making for one of the most memorable moments in the series thus far.
It’s such a powerful and thought-provoking appearance that it’ll have you thinking that Powell should give up comic book writing to pen some episodes of “The Young and the Restless,†but only for a second- until you realize that only a tremendously gifted comic scribe could put a story like this together.
The events that take place afterward, which at times retain the fun and cheeky motif Powell has used to hook his readers for years, while others are either emotionally powerful and extra gritty, are sure to change the series forever and continue the trend of not knowing what to expect. Showing a softer side in previous trades and recently coming to grips with the fact that he has no turning back if he is to ever keeps his friends safe, Goon is at a constant crossroads- this in essence is what makes this trade something special.
Goon knows what he must do, but knows it’ll end up destroying him in the process and prevent him being as happy as he knows he could be.
Guess sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.
With selflessness and courage and some white knuckle mayhem sprinkled in, the Goon makes Lonely Street a safe place, and in the end, that’s what he was born to do. Seeing him come to grips with that mission is perhaps the best reason to pick this trade up.
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