The Goon- Once Upon A Hard Time # 4- How to Make a Comic Book Reviewer Eat Humble Pie

Writer & Artist: Eric Powell
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Released: 7th October 2015



Nice one Mr. Eric Powell. You got me. I read this conclusion to your excellent Goon-Occasion of Revenge/Once Upon a Hard Time arc, thought it didn’t make sense, then hurried into writing a scathing review where I described the book as ‘betraying the readers.’

Luckily for me I decided to check before I posted that review, just to clarify a few points, and guess what happened? I discovered that I am in fact a complete idiot, that my review was nonsense, that you didn’t betray your readers, and that this final issue does actually make lots of sense after all.

I made a huge assumption. I was conned. I thought that something happened when it didn't actually happen, and when the ending that I was expecting to take place failed to materialise, I instantly assumed that the writer was in the wrong, not the reader, that reader being me.

That’s a big lesson in humility for me. Just because an ending doesn’t pan out in the manner that I expect, that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad ending. When reading single issues I need to go back, check, and re-check, and only then should I post one of my daft ‘reviews.’

This book is going to read great in trades, so if you haven’t been following it, wait, and get that trade, it’s going to be awesome. The story is gripping and has emotional resonance, the art is superb, and the characters are a world removed from the two-dimensional quips and puns superheroes that you get in a lot of comic books today. Plus, the twist at the end of the book, the surprise that blindsided me, is very clever, and yes, obviously, a lot cleverer than arrogant old me.

Thank you Mr. Powell. Thanks for a top twist at the end of a thoroughly engaging and ultimately rewarding comic book arc. I promise not to make silly assumptions ever again. I promise to be a better reader. I promise to be better reviewer, and I promise to take more care and attention and not be so instantly dismissive in the future. My scathing review is binned, and I feel very embarrassed about it now, and extremely relieved that yes, I might have been daft enough to write it, but at least I didn’t post it and make myself look like a complete moron.


Rating: 10/10 (Far cleverer than me, this is a superb conclusion to a fantastic arc)