The Pull List

What's that? Another weekly regular occurrence? I can hardly believe it - three weekly segments on my blog now, with this one being all about a favorite of mine, and a favorite of yours as well I'm sure - comics. Within this segment I'll pick a couple favorites from my weekly pull along with a random pick that may have slipped through the cracks.

Definitely won't be interesting to everyone, but I love comics so this is what you're going to get!

Co-book of the week: The Goon #25

Back in March, I threw down a review for the first OGN related to this series called Chinatown and pretty much raved about the series. As well I should, as Eric Powell's bizarre series is one of the best ongoings on the market today. This week we see our boy the Goon at a crossroads: leave his home and find happiness perhaps, or stay and protect his friends (he's the only hope for the town) and live a miserable existence. Harder question than you'd imagine to answer, as the character for all his toughness is ultimately a good guy and doesn't want people to suffer because of his actions.

This continues the path of seriousness that Powell has taken this once off-the-wall and frequently laugh out loud series down, and as much as I loved it before, it may be actually better since he restarted releasing the series. The story has progressed more in the past five issues than it had in the previous 20, and we still get entertaining yarns and glorious art from Powell - I don't know what changed...a new colorist, new inker, new art style for Powell, but this book is one of the best looking things on the market right now.

Every comic reader should be on this book. It's a must read, and has been for the entirety of its run. This issue is a fine example of all the Goon brings to the table, but would not be good for someone who has not read the rest of the series.

Co-book of the week: Action Comics #866

Since directly after One Year Later finished (a five or six issue stretch that DC imposed upon all of their books after Infinite Crisis), Geoff Johns has been the creative mastermind behind Action Comics. While his run started off very well, a combination of pairing with Richard Donner for writing and Adam Kubert's incredibly slow pencils curbed any momentum the series developed. Finally, after more than a year, that arc ended and we were graced with a new member of the creative team: Gary Frank.

The Johns/Frank team is nothing short of a match made in heaven, as brilliantly exemplified in this issue. They've already recreated the magic behind Superman's relationship with the Legion, and now they're giving us a reborn Brainiac for the ages. Also, they're finally tackling the Clark Kent side of things, as we see Johns exceptional work of handling even the most mundane of situations is just as exciting as his action work.

So long as this book continues to be released on time, it will likely continue to be one of the best books DC is releasing (Vertigo not included) and even rivals the work Johns is doing currently on Green Lantern. Exciting things are afoot in this book, and now is the best time to jump on.

"You shouldn't miss it, but probably did" book of the week: Captain Britain and MI:13 #2

I'm a big fan of Paul Cornell's comic work. This Doctor Who series writer wrote one of my favorite mini's of the past few years with Wisdom, and now he's tackling a major Secret Invasion tie-in and handling the job better than some of the most seasoned comic vets. Cornell's writing on this book make this lowly American genuinely care for the British heroes desperately staving off invasion, all the while maintaining the wit and bizarre happenings that ran rampant in the Wisdom series.

Plus, Pete Wisdom is in it. I legitimately would buy anything if he was featured. The guy is awesome.

#6 - The Goon: Chinatown by Eric Powell

#6 - The Goon: Chinatown by Eric Powell

If you ever step foot in this town again...I will kill you.

As I continue to read through my current book (Lamb by Christopher Moore), I read the occasional graphic novel to keep me somewhat near the mammoth 52 book pace I'm aiming for. Truth be told, I'm still way back, but I'm going to keep trying!

Up now? Eric Powell's first graphic novel version of his comic, the Goon. Chinatown is a massive departure from the comic series, but it's one that only makes sense. Here's a quick rundown of what the series is all about before I get into Chinatown.

The Goon is a noir stylized story of a character, shockingly named the Goon, who is the main enforcer for a gangster named Labrazio. The ongoing story is about how the Goon and best pal Franky continue fighting over rule of the city they live in against a number of foes. These foes include everything from primary villain Nameless Zombie Priest and his horde of zombies, a one eyed alien who has come down to Earth to enslave the planet, and all kinds of other ghouls, ghosts, and creatures that get in the Goon's way.

The comic is more often than not sheerly comedic, using the range of enemies the Goon fights and bizarre situations they get themselves into to get many, many laughs. Every once in a while, Powell pushes the plot further by incorporating serious plot points, but those stories are few and far between.

In Chinatown, that type of storytelling is the norm. It tells the story of the Goon's former love Isabella, his old enemy Xiang Yao, and how exactly the Goon's face became so heavily scarred. It's a tragic love story, and one that gives the character of the Goon far more depth than he used to have. Mostly absent from the story are the bizarre monsters, the irreverent and quite often intensely raunchy humor, all replaced with a story of loyalty, friendship, and betrayal. The dialogue still has the traditional snap to it, but most of the lines bite emotionally instead of with the typical levity they have.

It's a stunning departure by Powell, and one that he pulls off with every bit of success as he does with his equally great "fun" stories. Even better? This is where Powell begins incorporating a watercolor esque color scheme to his art, which he continues to do in the monthly series and has really stepped up the overall quality of the art since. Chinatown is one of the best looking graphic novels I've read since Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon's Pride of Baghdad. It's truly exceptional work by the two way comic star.

Now here is the question: with Silver Surfer: Requiem and Wanted getting full recommendations from me, will Chinatown get the same? Sadly no. Not because of quality, but because Chinatown works so well as a counterpoint and continuation of Powell's already 9 year old series. For a first time reader, it likely would not work as well.

But for those looking to pick up a bit of an unheralded and underappreciated comic series, the Goon is a great way to go. It's hilarious and constantly surprising, and it even picked up a bit of buzz after last summer's Superbad, in which character Seth (Michael Cera) had Goon posters up in his bedroom. Amazingly enough, that was plenty to spike sales a bit, but it still has a rather small audience. After you read into the series a bit, its definitely worth it to check out Chinatown.