This installment of the Goon was an interesting change of style. While the previous collections were light and quite funny, this volume is quite serious. It also exposes the origins of the Goon's distinctive scarred face. There are two running plots, a present day and flashbacks to the Goon's incident in Chinatown. The two stories are linked thematically and the art is used very well to differentiate between the two story lines. Chinatown has a rich sepia hued appearance which works quite well. It is interesting to see the personalities of some of the major characters revealed further and focuses on love, loss, and friendship.

Entertaining and provides a nice history of our favorite Goon!

I don't read the Goon comics. I don't know anything about the existing story line, or the world that the Goon inhabits in general. But someone recommended this graphic novel, and I had it written down on a list of things to take a look at.

I found it at our local comic store, flipped about 4 pages into it, and decided to get it.

Here's the things about graphic novels. You're going to end up spending at least $20 - $30 dollars on one.

For me, they've got to appeal on two levels to justify spending that amount of money. They've got to tell a good story. A story that would stand on it's own if it were told in a conventional format. And it's got to be beautiful. The art work has to be good enough that I'm happy to just sit and look at the pictures. Art work that's good enough that if I ran across it, apart from the story, I'd stop and admire it.

I judge graphic novels more harshly than I do a single comic issue or a paperback book. I've read many many bad graphic novels, and only a handful of good ones. I think that the graphic novel has the potential to be an astounding story telling vehicle. It also has the potential to be nothing more than a bunch of comics bound in a hardcover selling for 30 bucks.

The Goon: Chinatown is everything I've hoped a graphic novel could be.

It is a complete and intriguing story told with both dialogue and beautiful artwork.

I didn't feel like I should have known more about the Goon character before picking this graphic novel up.

Everything you need to know is contained in the Graphic Novel.

I've read a few criticisms that say this story lacks the "feel" of previous Goon works. Specifically that it lacks
the comedy that The Goon usually has. But if you're new to the Goon, that's not really an issue.

If you're curious about graphic novels, if you want to see what a good graphic novel can do, I highly recommend this book.

This was the story that needed to happen. It wasn't funny, but dark pasts rarely are.

This was probably my least favorite of the Goon comics. It wasn't funny, just kinda dreary and that made the brutality different somehow. In Mr. Powell's' defense the first page says in huge letters "This Ain't Funny"

Of the three Goon titles I've read in the past 10 days, I liked this one the best. It is much more a story than a string of vignettes.

So after saying in my review of the previous volume of "The Goon" that Powell is best when Powell is serious, I get a wholly serious book from Powell, and I find it a bit disappointing. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right mood for this or what, but it seemed a little anti-climactic. After all this is the long-hinted-at story of why the Goon is hideously scarred. And, really, much of it comes across like a subplot from an average crime movie--with a couple of monsters thrown in. Of course, Powell's artwork is great. And the Mr. Wicker character is pretty intriguing. But the "Mystery" doesn't feel like anything that's been earned. It's pretty arbitrary; as is the final confrontation--which basically amounts to the Goon getting pissed off and getting violent--but with a more dangerous foe than his usual comic beat-downs of bad-guys.

The best Goon collection thus far. This collection moves away from the poop jokes and pulpy insanity of the earlier stories and represents a more mature, and grown up Goon.