The Goon #38 Review: Disgustingly Different

Come one, come all and see the freak show.

The main attraction is Kizzie, the Iron Maiden.

You never know, this show just might change your life forever. That’s what happens in “The Goon #38” by Eric Powell and Dave Stewart.

As the comic’s sub-title, “The True Life Story of Kizzie, the Iron Maiden,” says, that is exactly what you get. We see the life of Kizzie starting from when she was a little girl getting picked on in school to her life as an adult. She ultimately joins a carnival as a strong woman. There are also other, darker parts to Kizzie’s life that the comic explores. It may sound interesting, but the execution is mediocre at best. The story reads like the typical stories in this genre with the usual gloom and doom that comes with it. It does not stray away from the mold one bit. It’s not terrible, but it doesn’t stand out either.

There isn’t any strong character depth or development either. The characters are products of their roles and they stick to those roles without any changes. Powell had plenty of opportunities to play around with his characters, but instead chose to take the easy way out. It’s a shame because so much could’ve been done with Kizzie in the carnival.

The artwork is just like the story: ugly. Ugly not as in bad; ugly as in dark, dreary, unpleasing to the eye with colors that have the word “vomit” in them. The characters themselves are all ugly. This fits the tone of the story nicely as everything that happens to Kizzie is horrible. Not to mention the ugliness of the characters shows off the personalities of some of the characters like the Flying Fenton. Powell sure knows how to make them ugly.

“The Goon #38: The True Life Story of Kizzie, the Iron Maiden” may not be all that original, but it’s still worth having one good look over. Just don’t expect anything memorable or worth a second read through. The art helps with its charm, even if the drawings are unpleasing to the eye and the colors are drab and ugly.