The Goon: Once Upon A Hard Time #2 continues with Goon facing off against the men Don Rigatti sent to kill him. This issue opens up with Franky providing Goon with the information of the 2 men being sent and even has their pictures and bus schedule. So Goon decides to go wait for them despite them not scheduled to arrive until the next day. First he goes to the bookstore at the bus depot and purchases a copy of H.G.Wells’ classic novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and a 6 pack of beer. He parks himself on the bus stop bench and proceeds to become engrossed in this tale of a man changing nature to turn animals into humans. And with the recent series of events from Kid Gargantuan’s murder to discovering Ramona was a siren, there’s no telling what part of the story Goon relates to the most. Maybe he’s like Dr. Moreau, attempting to change the nature of those around him but blind to the reality of what’s occurring on the island. Or maybe he feels like Prendick, being stuck on the island by chance and subsequently exposed to the horrors taking place on it. He might even view himself as one of the animals, attempting to follow the rules for so long to not kill only to rush headlong back into the fray. If so, can he come back from the abyss or will he find a way to escape from the machinations bringing him down in the town?

Eric Powell’s Goon series have been very engrossing from the rich character development to the entertaining story taking place in an intriguing town. So the enjoyment of this issue depends on whether you prefer story progression or character reflection. And of course your appreciation of or experience with the novel, the Island of Dr. Moreau. And that’s because there’s very little story progression in this issue and the majority of it is dedicated to retelling the Island of Dr. Moreau. So the characters from that novel are shown extensively while the current Goon characters are only shown briefly. Since I already knew that story I was hoping the issue would return to the current situation in the town but that wasn’t to be the case. I felt that whatever parallel was being drawn between the 2 stories it could’ve been done without recounting the entire tale but that’s only because of my familiarity with it. However, the beauty of the way this was written with the overall connection to Goon’s mentality in light of recent events couldn’t be ignored. Since the town’s mysterious influence on its inhabitants has been brought to the forefront multiple times, including the coven’s plan to break Goon so he could feed the town with negative energy, the story of Dr. Moreau was even more relevant.
And there was plenty of action throughout, and when those sent to kill Goon arrived in town the action was pretty intense. There was still no clarification about the coven’s plan at this point but as a standalone issue giving insight into Goon’s current mentality it was really good. Now I just need to see the overall story move forward.

SUMMARY

The Goon: Once Upon A Hard Time #2 is an entertaining issue that delves deeper into Goon’s current mentality and the impact of the Coven’s plan on him. Unfortunately there isn’t much story progression as the majority of the issue is devoted to retelling the Island of Dr. Moreau instead of current events. But the writing flows extremely well and the artwork is still wonderful, so overall it’s an enjoyable issue. I just hope that next issue things move forward so the greater events are clarified.

Release Date: 3/25/15

Writer: Eric Powell

Artist: Eric Powell