Retards and Brainwashed Clowns

At first glance, the cast from Adult Swim’s hit show “Metalocalypse” and Eric Powell’s Eisner Award-winning series “The Goon” don’t exactly mix. One is fueled by making fun of pop culture and the present state of the music industry, while the other, involves zombies, sci-fi and noir elements and stabbing criminals in the eye.

By the end of the one-shot comic “Deathclok vs The Goon,” however, it’s hard not to be won over by the antics and great artwork throughout.

When it’s all over, what is so different about both of these entities ends up not being so different after all. That’s essentially because Powell never tries to separate them. Instead, a witty concoction is forged, allowing these two wild forces to co-exist, albeit for a short time.

Capturing the look and feel of “Metalocalypse” could have been difficult, but Powell does an exceptional job here. He makes you feel like you’re in your underwear with a beer, watching the show like you normally would be when these characters pop up. Overall, Powell makes the characters viable and aesthetically pleasing in the medium, without taking out any of the traits that make them so hilarious away from them.

As a matter of fact, you might say that the writing here is even funnier than what is on the show. That though is partly responsible due to the idea that these two worlds have been smashed together. It certainly helps too that the situations all of the characters face are all once in a lifetime. And of course, Powell makes awesome use of this. Toki and Frankie especially find themselves in a heap of trouble that no one can help them out of. The type of laughter produced here as a result doesn’t normally come from a comic book.

That is if you find rock and roll guitarists sleeping with elderly gypsy women and getting an STD afterwards, hilarious.

At the same time, the best part of the comic is that both Frankie and the Goon are able to do more than co-exist with Deathclok. Without a doubt, they are the harbingers of many of the jokes and blood spilled in the tale. This in turn makes the story feel more like a Goon comic, yet one that will never be written again.

With the best elements of both of these worlds are put on showcase, it’s hard to not find something to like here. The pace overall is quick and it’s a decent sized one-shot, full of great art and a fun story, it just all ends as you’re getting used to everything.

You don’t want the fun to end.

That, however, isn’t Powell’s fault. Instead, it’s a testament to his ability to take his readers on a ride that is unlike anything else out there right now.

Throw up your devil horns because this one-shot rocks, and hard.

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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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