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The Goon Library Editions

The Goon Library Volume 4

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Lonely Street comes under all manner of threats both tragic and hilarious in this hardcover edition of The Goon .

After surviving the return of Labrazio, Goon wants nothing more than to settle onto a barstool with some whiskey, but a succession of cake-mad hobo gods, snake-hurling hillbillies, and bodacious burlesque dancers have other ideas.
And somewhere on Lonely Street, a resurgent zombie priest plots his next attack...

Collects The Goon trde paperbacks volumes 10-12.

Praise for Eric Powell's The Goon
"Every panel [is] gorgeously detailed, like a Max Fleischer cartoon if Cthulu spat some sort of hellish bile all over it. Few artists can actually, truly justify the purchase of a comic through their art alone, but Powell is certainly one of them."
-ign.com

"Eric Powell's great series The Goon deftly combines lowbrow humor with unexpected emotional depth in its ongoing story of a big, not-so-dumb guy who does battle with zombies in a town seemingly dreamt up by Tom Waits."
-The Onion A.V. Club

416 pages, Hardcover

Published October 18, 2016

About the author

Eric Powell

501 books272 followers
Eric Powell has contributed work on such comics titles as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Hellboy: Weird Tales, Star Wars Tales, The Incredible Hulk, Black Panther, The Avengers, The Hood, MAD Magazine, Devil Dinosaur, Swamp Thing, the Avengers, She-Hulk, the Simpsons, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell and Action Comics.

Although eking out a meager living in the comics field since 1995, Eric didn't find true success until he launched his critically acclaimed dark comedy series The Goon. The Goon was subsequently picked up by Dark Horse Comics and boasts a diehard cult following.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for OmniBen.
1,245 reviews32 followers
September 10, 2022
(Zero spoiler review) 4.5/5
Whilst nothing Eric Powell does (since I lost my G plates a few months ago) is anything other than a feast for the eyes and funny bones, this would probably be my least favourite of the bunch so far. But hey, you're still looking at very high marks and a book and series I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone. This was the most eclectic mix, which produced the least amount of laughs or feels from me. And despite the namesake, there is not as much of The Goon and especially Franky in this collection. We also only got one panel of Spider (WTF).
If you're reading a review for book four in the series, likely you already know how good The Goon is, so absolutely pick this one up along with all the rest. But when the reread comes around, I'll be reaching for volume one or three before I reach for this one. Eric Powell is very much a victim of his own stratospherically high standards. Still undoubtedly essential though. 4.5/5


OmniBen.
Profile Image for Relstuart.
1,223 reviews108 followers
December 15, 2016
One of the very best stories Powell has written so far appear in this volume as the man that cannot die travels in search of a cause that matters and that could give him a longed for end. The intro to the book warned it might make you feel like crying. I didn't believe it. I was wrong. It's a toss up between this story and Goon's origin story (book 2?) as to which is the best in The Goon.

The rest of the book has some ok material and some silly material. The above mentioned story is far and away the best thing here IMHO. I may have to find a book with just that story for a friend.
Profile Image for David.
579 reviews19 followers
December 3, 2021
This was not great. Ironically, all the Goon stories were weak - the prohibition ones being actually at least funny, the vacation and especially the "hahhahaah superheroes" were too cringey to be fun. In the end, the sidestories of different characters were much better. The Buzzard is a solid melancholic fantasy, The Corpus ones were tragic and even emotional.

In summary, I was mostly disappointed. Goon can be so much more.
Profile Image for Baal Of.
1,243 reviews64 followers
March 29, 2017
More of the same, which is a good thing. Powell is consistent with his mix of serious and emotionally effective stories, with funny and gross stories containing lots of action. The artwork is attractive as usual.
Profile Image for Szymon Dudziński.
104 reviews1 follower
May 16, 2024
My "cool quotes" note has definitely grown from reading this Goon Library. However it's not my favourite. It has more sentimental themes than previous Goons. I'm grateful that Buzzard got his own big chapter here, I love his plot.
Profile Image for Jinji.
93 reviews
August 14, 2017
The Goon Library Edition Vol.4!!! After reading all these coherent stories of superheroes and twilight zones, I went the other way and read a fuck-all story. The Goon, the only series where you see a sad group of female workers escaping a burning factory in one issue, and Goon beating up gay-sparkling-vampires the other. The Buzzard, trying to find an escape from his dragging immortal life in one chapter, and kids throwing mud in the mouth of a hungry hobo the next. Though this particular volume is more of that stabbing-someone-in-the-eye kind of fun that The Goon is known for, and not much of the Goon-finally-being-able-to-find-a-significant-value-in-his-life story (which oddly enough is what The Goon is also known for). This volume contains standalone issues, but it gave a small glimpse on the upcoming arc that would lead to the end of the series. As always, the series is a fun light read, and the art is gorgeous as ever. Oh, and dear old Eric Powell made a satirical issue about the current trend in the superhero comic industry that is definitely a must-read. I don’t know what else to say so, KNIFE TO THE EYE!!!!!
Profile Image for Michael Emond.
1,215 reviews21 followers
July 17, 2017
I have been late to the game as far as The goon was concerned - I am not a zombie loving guy. But over the past year I decided to check in and see what all the fuss was about and became a HUGE fan. The art is jaw dropping - so beautiful. And in this Library series you get thick big pages which let the art shine through. the humour, when it works, is hilarious with perfect timing and great interplay between The Goon and his buddy Frankie. It is a bit R-rated but done in a tongue in cheek way. And like any good comedy there are moments of drama to make the moments of comedy that much better. These feel like real characters not just punchlines to jokes.

This volume keeps that going and adds a mini series with a side character The Buzzard which was the highlight in terms of story and art. Unfortunately, near the end of this collection the "stories" become more parodies and we lose some of the great story telling of the earlier issues to get some VERY silly comics. One that just takes a shot at the comic's industry. SO far this is the weakest of the collections but still enjoyable.
Profile Image for Richard Tirpák.
76 reviews3 followers
February 9, 2021
V poradí štvrté volume mi prišlo možno ešte horšie ako prvé volume. Humor sa neustále opakuje, "záporáci" miznú naďalej šmahom ruky a celé mi to príde dosť naťahované. Klinec do rakvy bol príbeh so superhrdinským nádychom, pri ktorom som sa musel nútiť k čítaniu, pretože ma to už naozaj nebavilo. Tri hviezdičky dávam iba kvôli kapitole s Buzzardom, kapitole s Goonom, ktorá je úplne bez slov a taktiež za príjemný origin tety Kizzie. Od hlavnej linky, ktorá ma bavila sa v tomto volume odklonilo a skôr mi samotné kapitoly pripadajú ako one-shoty. Pre mňa sklamanie.
Profile Image for Shane Perry.
472 reviews3 followers
February 15, 2017
The Goon is so good. So funny, but, when it occasionally gets serious, Eric Powell's writing chops really show off. Of course Powell's art continues to be the star attraction here. My biggest complaint about this Volume is that all of the stories were one shots, with no overarching story to any of the trades in this book. Still would highly encourage you all to read this series. Such a wonderful, unique comic.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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