Punisher

Rating:
Summary: Sinfully Fun
Review: Groundbreaking. Exciting. Well, it may not be groundbreaking, but Castle's violent adventures in this book are nothing short of exciting. With gun fights in some of the most unimaginable places, and realistic personalities, this book is great. However, it WILL get you into trouble at school if a teacher catches you reading, mainly because of the violence and the language. So heres some advice, don't read this book in Algebra. But definetly read the book.

Rating:
Summary: Frank's Back and He's Coming to Getcha
Review: ...I have been an old Punisher, but I admit, not a big time fan. I knew his origins, his MO and what made the character tick. I had heard that he died and was then brought back to life when the Marvel Knights imprint first started. His comeback, however, was not just right. Angels? Divine guns coming out of his hands? I'd buy the guns from the hands bit, but actually having them be divine? This was not the character that made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man 129 in February 1974. Though he still possessed the basic trait of the original, this Frank Castle lacked the attitude and drive of who he really was.

It didn't take long for him to grab his bearings though. Helmed by the creative team of Garth Ennis (who really is a cleverly insane British fellow) and Steve Dillon (a solemn artist that has a calm way to his art), the Punisher came back in a very strong sense of the manner. The great TPB collects, the hard to find, amazingly best-selling mini series that takes the Punisher back to his roots and truly establishes him to the status that he has achieved throughout the years in the Marvel Universe.

The TPB is a quick read of a grim story, that pits the Punisher against the Gnucci family headed by Ma Gnucci herself. The most appealing of the charcater of old was his weaponry. Chuck Dixon excelled in the use of real weapons and surveillance methods to knot things down. Garth is something else altogether. He just loves creating ways where Frank gets his way through the bad guys. These ways are so creatively horrid and unthinkable that they just leave you in awe and a little bit scared that a real person, in the form of Garth Ennis, that can think of such things is actually living among us. You actually admire Ennis's genius in that department. It was also commendable the way he tells us about the story and that the meaning of it is simply to entertain. Anyone who reads will definitely be entertained, no matter.

Garth takes us through a wild ride and just never lets go. It takes us through a page of the Punisher's life after his comeback from death, but doesn't indulge us too much with an origins storyline. Ennis shows us how people surrounding the Punisher react to his character. From the positive to the negative and what Frank actually does in both presenting situatiions. The last page of the TPB actually made me go "Whoah!!" It's so unexpected. It's so unbelieveable. It's just so punishable.

Now let's not forget the art. If the art was drawn by anyone else, I don't think the story would have been a success. I mean, house hold names like Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, or Marc Silvestri would have ruined the story if they had drawn the comic. What this story needed was the human touch, not a posey feel to it and Dillon is the right man for the job. His art is crisp and leaves you admiring it for a number of times. He really excels in creating facial expressions. Dillon works excellently with Ennis with scenes shift from one to another.

Both the story and the art cannot be just left behind after one read, you're going to have come back to it again and again. A Punisher movie should be thought of by Hollywood. Two crazy yahoos like Ennis and Dillon can provide the story and storyboard to guarantee the capture the essence of the character and make for a successful flick just like the miniseries and TPB were.

Rating:
Summary: He's BACK!
Review: After a long hiatus, the Punisher has finally been resurrected along with some of the other Marvel 're-tellings' that have been so popular as of late.

Still on the hunt, the Punisher had vowed many years ago to get retribution for the wrongs done to him by the mob. The Punisher sets his sights on the Gnucci family, a powerful mob family headed by 'Ma Gnucci.' Along the way The Punisher encounters a new enemy simply called 'The Russian,' a goofy yet deadly Russian powerhouse that's nearly impossible to kill.

The team of Ennis and Dillon is outstanding. I was excited to see the Punisher come back, and the team have done a fantastic job. A combination of excellent writing and illustration, the Punisher stands out. Like Most Marvel "Knights" and Marvel "MAX" series comics, "The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank" is absolutely not intended for younger audiences. Something I appreciate from Marvel as of late is its attention to those of whose who grew up with the likes of the Punisher and Nick Fury and others...these comics are clearly intended for us.

The story in itself is great. The writing is superb and the Punisher's internal dialogue always manages to generate a chuckle or two. His attitude and demeanor are exactly what you would have come to expect of a man of his background: gritty, cold, emotionless...with a twisted sense of humor. Hilarious side characters like 'Detective Soap' and 'Spacker Dave', and a few serious side characters add to the story overall. This collection also includes 'The Punisher Destroys the Marvel Universe,' a short that has a psychopathic Punisher go on a quest to slay absolutely EVERY Marvel Character created! This doesn't tie in to the main story however, think of it as a 'What If...' type of situation(where I beleive it was adapted from in the first place).

If you are or were ever a fan of the Punisher, then you cannot pass this up. This is definitely a great comic collection, and one of the best I've read in quite some time, probably second only to "Fury." It's been a long time since the Punisher has had his day, and its about time this classic character returned. Welcome back Frank, indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome back Frank
Review: At a time when Marvel Comics themselves were going through some big changes, the team who created the Preacher comic series (undoubtadly the best adult comic of the 90's) were enlisted to re-vitalize one of Marvel's most recognized, and most misused characters: The Punisher. Writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon brought back the heavily armed vigilante the way he was always meant to be; not as an avenging angel or superhero, but as the hard edged, criminal killing vigilante that we all know and love. This TPB collects the entire 12 issue maxi-series that was a surprising best seller (it sold so well that Marvel re-launched a new monthly Punisher series with Ennis and Dillon at the helm) and it's easy to see why. Ennis' darkly humerous and action filled storytelling along with Dillon's fantastic artwork, a combination which made Preacher a winner, breathe new life into the Punisher. The storyline revolves around good 'ol Frank Castle waging his one man war against Ma Gnucchi and her crime syndicate family. We are introduced to Frank's neighbors who you won't soon forget including the lonely and frightened Joan the Mouse, the heavily pierced Spacker Dave, and the overweight Mr. Bumpo; all of which make profound impacts in the story. We are also introduced to the Russian; a demented killer who Frank has a climatic face off against in the climax of the story. This TPB is nothing short of amazing, and it brings the Punisher back to his ultra violent gun toting roots.

Rating:
Summary: I wanted to Love It...
Review: But there just wasn't anything there. Even after reading Garth's intro, where he says that he is just writing "entertainment", nothing complex, even after that, I was still felt terribly let down. The story is extremely shallow, the characters less than paper caricatures. The whole series, it seems, was cranked out like shovel-media, in order to fill pages with minimal thought, and fastest market delivery.

I hope that Garth realies that some of his fans need more than thoughtless, perdictable pulp, and puts his thinking cap back on.

Rating:
Summary: Okay Punisher book, but....
Review: Ennis has done a lot better with the character. The Punisher was never meant to be told so rediculously. It's like Garth Ennis was told, "Okay, you can do the Punisher but you can't do it how you want to." And with every issue of this run of the Punisher books things become more and more rediculous and more and more cartoony. The only thing that is left gritty are the covers. Albeit this is the best volume in the re-vamped Punisher Marvel Knights run, but still, it could be better. This isn't to say that Ennis doesn't know how to write the Punisher excellently though; check out the new MAX run of The Punisher, and the collection Punisher:Born. Oooh, these are really, really good, especially Born, Frank's origin story in Vietnam- In my opinion the best Punisher collection and single book on the market, maybe ever. If you'd like to buy this, by all means, do, it's worth the price. But stop here, and save the rest of your cash for the brand new The Punisher MAX run in stores. Peace, killers.

Rating:
Summary: Garth Ennis Meets The Punisher:A Perfect Match Made In Hell
Review: Every once in awhile, a book will come along and touch your very soul. Yes, sometimes even a comic book will speak with such truth that it will prey on your mind forever because it has taken hold of your heart. Many of these books inspire us to be better people, or just being better at whatever it is that we do,or want to do. You want to tell as many people as you can about that particular book and hope it affects their life as it has yours.That's why it's hard to explain the writing of Garth Ennis. Garth Ennis is one of the most vile, violent, disgusting, distasteful, rude, and absolute best writers this medium has ever had, as evidenced by his work on DC/Vertigo's PREACHER, also with Steve Dillon doing the interior.Mr.Ennis is at his most violent and reprehensible best in his take on the Marvel icon,THE PUNISHER. Originally published as six part mini-series under the Marvel Knights banner,Mr.Ennis pumps new life,and a few bullets,into the stale Punisher.The storyline basically goes like this;Frank Castle,aka The Punisher,continues his one man war on crime by going after mob boss Ma Gnucci.Along the way we meet some of Frank's colorful neighbors, as well another costumed vigilante recently given new life by Kevin Smith;The Daredevil.Let's not forget the Russian hitman and the crazy priest. This is one of those books you may not want to like because it is so violent for violence sake,but Mr.Ennis is such a talented,and funny writer you can't help but like it.Trust me,watching Frank lure a pack of mafia goons through a zoo to meet their just desserts will leave you rolling! Violence and carnage will never be as fun unless Garth Ennis is the one behind it.And never will it look as good unless Steve Dillon is penciling.If you're a fan of their work on Preacher and if you're a Punisher fan PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!

Rating:
Summary: Top writer brings Punisher back from the dead!
Review: For a while, 'The Punisher' was a character in Marvel comics that really hit rock bottom with fans. In the 80's, the character had gained prominance with it's harsh, violent gun-toting look at vigilantism, but in the late 90's things weren't so good. Bounced from one boring, out-dated story to the next, Punisher was wasted.

That was until Marvel decided to reboot the series and allow the awesome team of writer Garth Ennis and artist Steve Dillon to helm a 12 issue mini-series. The two had worked on amazing titles like Hitman and the acclaimed Preacher series, and just as Marvel had hoped, brought the same magic to the pages of 'The Punisher'.

Collected in this trade paperback, this 12 issue story is a fun, exciting story that reminds fans why they so enjoyed the original Punisher stories to begin with.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back, Frank!
Review: Frank Castle---The Punisher---is back. Expect heads to roll and limbs to fly apart. Literally. This graphic novel tells a twisted tale of the best possible ways to kill or maim people---with style, of course. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon have accomplished one of the most impossible feats in comics today: They incorporated a "Tarantino-esque" pulp crime-fiction style in reviving a much ignored legendary comicbook anti-hero. So I won't say much here. Just buy this book and get severely whacked by this familiar loony-bin comicbook vigilante. Because the Punisher's gone back from the dead and is very much here to stay. Welcome back, Frank!

Rating:
Summary: This book will make you forget Kevin Smith's Daredevil story
Review: Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon restore the Punisher to the one man war on crime charcater he is, in this paperback that reprints the 12 issue run that Ennis and Dillon wrote for the Marvel Knights books. This is not kiddie literature, this is a very adult style of writing that gives new life to a character many Marvel fans thought was over and done with. It's for fans of the Godfather films and would make an interesting movie, if dones on a big budget. But please remember, this is for adults only, not kids.