The Goon: Death's Greedy Comeuppance

Three short stories explore the grim and humorous world of the Goon and his supporting characters. Powell, who both writes and beautifully illustrates this series, is a remarkable visual storyteller. Whether it's creating the perfect feel of the title character's supernatural, crude-humor filled, depression-era world, or crafting a bizarre fantasy wasteland for his story of the cursed, immortal Buzzard, his ability to draw in an audience through his art is impressive. The collection features two Goon stories. In the first the Goon fights with a malevolent hobo spirit summoned to get revenge on a group of orphans. In the second, Powell conveys a story of crime and manipulative femme fatales using no spoken text. But the majority of the collection concerns the Buzzard, an immortal warrior condemned to live and suffer forever by one of the Goon's antagonists. This third story sees the Buzzard sent on a journey to save a town in the wilderness whose villagers are being transformed into monsters. Unable to appreciate any of the rewards he's offered, and knowing that any who travel with him will likely die, the Buzzard's somber quest is haunting and tragic. Illus. (Feb.)