Dethklok Versus The Goon Makes My Brain Hurt
Two mediums collide, as well as two minds, to make animation, heavy metal, horror, gore and comedy into… well… something obviously driven by marketing. While Metalocalypse, created by Brendon Small, is absolutely uproarious on screen, with all four characters almost entirely unintelligible as they mumble the dialogue before delivering another nonsensical musical number, it really doesn’t work on paper.
Eric Powell, who is a gifted artist as well as storyteller, bumbles through the images of Nathan Explosion, Skwisgaar Skigelf, Toki Wartooth, Pickles the Drummer, and William Murderface. The cover is gorgeous, but once the book itself opens and turns to the characters of Metalocalypse, it seems that Powell is struggling.
The plot of the comic is reminiscent of the Hellboy appearance in issue #7 of The Goon. A rift in reality causes the members of Metalocalypse and their entire death tower (or whatever their abode is called) to be transported to The Goon’s world. However, the Hellboy guest appearance was haunting and hilarious. Meanwhile, Dethklok set to roam the Goon’s world is a clash of senseless violence and idiot dialogue. The only saving grace is Franky, but he and Goon both have somewhat small roles in this story. I did crack a smile at the page where Franky, sporting raccoon pants, flippers and coke stains proclaims “I’m Franky! And I do COCAINE!!!” with blood droplets flying all around.
The comic is there to make fun of the fans that actually go out and buy it. It opens with a page warning that “This comics funnies books ams has no continuditities withs any others comics funnies books or thems cartoons telabisions shows. You jack offs fanboys dildos.” Well, thank god for that. I would be quite terrified for The Goon’s future, and even that of Metalocalypse, if this story was in any way indicative of what’s in store.
The story telling is so poor it is hardly saved at all by a thought bubble that Goon has “Hmmm, the he-she drawing this thing must be getting slack in his story-telling skills to have to fall back on something like this.” The reference is to the thought bubble itself, but really, everything in this comic can be summed up with that one thought bubble quote. Being aware of producing crap, doesn’t make it any less crappy. The inevitable band performance spread has a similar purpose, and even though I don’t mind being made fun of for being fan enough of both show and comic to want to see what they can become together, I am still disappointed by the results.
I haven’t watched Metalocalypse in a while, but I am not quite the fan of the show that I once was. Brendon Small, whose credit is that of “dialogue and plot assists” for this issue, probably needs a new story to tell. The Goon is not that story. Since I usually love everything Powell delivers, I am going to place everything I hated about this issue at Small’s door. I will disregard this issue and not let it influence me in my admiration of Eric Powell and his abilities, but I will take it as a warning sign of bad company he may be keeping.
Comic Book: 32 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse (July 2009)
Oh god, this was terrible. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing when it came out, but wow, just a complete low. The show really has gone downhill too. There’s only so much you can do with the characters before it gets old.
true dat, true dat. goddamn! but I thought it was gonna be good! I am so naive…
Did you see that they also are launching a Dimmu Borgir comic book? I saw the preview issue only and it ended just before any horrific action was to take place and I wonder how it will work now since its obvious the lineup will be shifted and those gone members will not want their faces in a comic without being paid out.
I think its hard to make a characterization like what goes on in Metalocalypse translate properly to the comic book page because of what makes them so special in the first place. There is a quick paced nature to the show and I think that would be lost in any printed page and then there is the musical aspect of the band that is the largest part of their appeal. Oh well, can’t win ’em all
Yeah, I saw something about the DB comic and I’ll be surprised if it does well. I think I actually saw it on your site. And yeah, comics can become cartoons, maybe, but not really the other way around. So much of television is about timing, and although it’s possible to show a “blank look” in a comic, it IS really hard to give dialogue that’s a mile a minute.