Once Upon a Hard Time
On the end of two eras
by Taylor Hruby
“[...] He put hard times on Dusty Rhodes and his family. You don’t know what hard times are daddy. Hard times are when the textile workers around this country are out of work, they got 4 or 5 kids and can’t pay their wages, can’t buy their food. Hard times are when the auto workers are out of work and they tell ‘em to go home. And hard times are when a man has worked at a job for thirty years, thirty years, and they give him a watch, kick him in the butt and say “Hey a computer took your place, daddy”, that’s hard times! That’s hard times! And Ric Flair you put hard times on this country by takin’ Dusty Rhodes out, that’s hard times. And we all had hard times together, and I admit, I don’t look like the athlete of the day supposed to look. My belly’s just a lil’ big, my heiny’s a lil’ big, but brother, I am bad. And they know I’m bad. [...]”
On June 11th, 2015, Dusty Rhodes died. It was out of the blue, as most wrestler deaths are, and it felt kind of distant, yet right in your backyard, as most wrestler deaths do. I guess that's kind of tough to explain to those of you who don't watch wrestling, but you come to love these characters, then you hate these characters, then you love them again, then you hate them because that's what the script is telling you to do. You follow along. That's why I've always enjoyed wrestling, the immersion in the craft. You have good guys and you have bad guys, but that'll change next week. And the good guy you've been cheering might smack his friends in the back with chairs or throw his partner through a plate glass window. That's life, that's wrestling.
I wanted to write about Dusty, but I didn't grow up watching him. I did grow up watching his son Goldust, but not Dusty. I knew I couldn't fill a whole article about Dusty, but I wanted to show some respect. The Goon just released it's final issue, called “Once Upon a Hard Time” and, when Dusty died, Powell drew that sketch you just clicked on, how fitting.
Dusty knew hard times and losing Dusty was hard times. Rest in Power, Dusty.
I've been thinking of ways to write this article. I've wanted to write about The Goon, my favorite comic of all time, since this website came to be. I mentioned it in a grab bag, but I never really dug into it. The reason I don't review stuff for PINM is that most of my reviews are “holy shit! It's so good!” or they're very spoiler-y. I'll try and avoid both of those problems, but I make no promises. The Goon is coming to an end, so i'm going to write about it. If you don't like the way this shaped up, tough shit, I guess. This is why I don't review stuff.
On October 7th, I lost a piece of entertainment that means a lot to me. Eric Powell's The Goon released it's last issue. Now, I can't remember where I heard of The Goon, I think it may have been a comic book thread on the forums for Sherdog, an MMA forum. The Walking Dead had been announced as a TV show and I was currently plowing through the trade paperbacks (or “trades” are collections of issues of comics in bigger book form. Say, 4-5 issues, in one handy book, instead of 4-5 single comic issues) at an alarming rate. I remember my wife, then girlfriend, having to deal with me polishing off a Walking Dead and heading back to Paradox Comics and Cards to buy another one that same night because I couldn't wait to keep it moving.
I don't really know how to sum up The Goon. It's about the tile character, Goon, and his sidekick Franky. They're sort of mob guys, but in some issues that doesn't really come up. Initially, they're fighting off a zombie plague. The book has a lot of supernatural stuff in it as well. The afformentioned zombies, a talking cat with a human face, a giant “Godzilla-like” monster that speaks Spanish, a talking spider, you get the idea. But it's mainly about The Goon and Franky.
One day, I decided to give The Goon a shot. The first trade, aptly titled “Rough Stuff”, was raw. I didn't so much care for the art, but I loved the characters, the setting, the writing, immediately. I bought a few trades and went on my way. Throughout the early trades, the book occasionally references “Chinatown”. You know, just like old pulp-y movies. 'You don't want a repeat of Chinatown', 'How could I forget what happened in Chinatown?' Powell, in one of the lead ins to a trade, mentions that it started as such. An in joke. But it became something more. I continued on, but I was well aware that The Goon: Volume 6 “Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker” was right around the corner. I knew that build up was going to pay off. So I sawed through 0 (“Rough Stuff” was, technically, 0) through 5, anxiously awaiting Volume 6.
I'm not going to spoil anything in this article because I genuinely think everyone should enjoy these books on their own. I know that's not going to happen, hell, I'm not even sure if anyone will read THIS, let alone some comics I tell them to read, but the fact is, me saying, “Then he wore the guy's face on his hat!*” just doesn't hold the same weight as you experiencing it for yourself. (*this is not a Volume 6 spoiler, but it is in The Goon)
I don't want to overstate here, but I feel relatively confident in saying that “Chinatown” is in the top 10 things I have ever read. Full stop. That's not hyperbole. I'm sure some of you may be thinking, “it's a comic and he's putting it in his top 10?” but it truly is a remarkable story, with remarkable art and it deserves all the praise it gets. It's sharp, witty, sad and brutal. It's everything a story should be and it has the added distinction of being illustrated by Powell, who's art is, somehow, secondary to his talents as a writer, even though his art is some of the best in the business. I can't stress this enough: read Volume 6. It is much, much better if you read 0-5 first, but it's worth a solo read.
Another top notch example of Powell's work is found in Volume 10: “Death's Greedy Comeuppance”. This trade collects the 3 issues of Powell's “Buzzard”. Buzzard had made some appearances in The Goon previously, but this standalone arc is truly impressive. Buzzard is a former sheriff who couldn't keep his town safe when the Zombie Priest came to town. The Priest puts a curse on the sheriff for not believing in the Priest, even though the rest of the town's people are following him blindly. From here on out, the sheriff will be undead. Not a zombie, but still a man and a man who feels a strong need to eat zombies. He can't die, even when he shoots himself in the face, and he's been alive an awful long time. This is a story of heartbreak and it certainly isn't your 'traditional' comic book fare.
Eric Powell has continued to produce high quality stories ever since he started The Goon and I have been privileged to read them throughout it's lifetime. There are many, many more examples of his work that I could list, but, without spoilers, what fun would that be? Generally, as with The Walking Dead and Invincible, I started reading the books as trades and waited for trades to come out, so I could eat them up in big sections. The Goon is the only book to ever get me to stop that. After Volume 10, I started buying single issues. It's that good. I needed The Goon in my life immediately.
To say The Goon got me into comics isn't true. The Walking Dead got me into comics (technically, Batman got me into comics, but I was an inconsistent reader, just dipped my toes is, but that's another story). But The Goon kept me in comics. The Goon kept me going back to the comic shop for all the years, pulling new books, buying new trades, spending wayyyyyy too much money. For that, I am immensely grateful to Powell. He is one of the best in the business. They're (hopefully) pumping out a Goon movie someday. Maybe then you'll appreciate the character enough to check it out. But you're wasting time. The Goon is essential reading. Get on it.