Punisher: Confederacy of Dunces (Punisher)

Rating:
Summary: The last hurrah
Review: Garth Ennis' run on the re-launched Marvel Knights Punisher has had its' up's and down's, and Confederacy of Dunces is no different. This TPB has it's share of good and bad points, but it's a worthy sendoff of the book before it was re-laucnhed (yet again) as a Marvel Max title. In this book, Marvel's big three characters (Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Wolverine) team up to take down the Punisher, but good 'ol Frank has a few surprises in store for them, including a special guest star who will no doubt leave the reader laughing. Ennis' disdain for superheroes shows here as he shows the three bumbling amd fumbling through their mission. The big downside here however, is that there are times when the book seems like it will go into that bizarre Ennis territory that he was known for in Preacher, and nothing ever comes from it. The art by Ennis' Hitman partner John McCrea is solid, and it suits the character well, but if you want to read an excellent Punisher story, pick up any issue of the new Marvel Max series, where Garth Ennis has made the Punisher a force to be reckoned with once again.

Rating:
Summary: Not funny at all
Review: This book is an insult to anyone who reads it, Ennis wrote one of the best punisher stories ever in welcome back frank, and then he writes the worst punisher story ever here.

Ennis admits he hates superheroes, so he writes daredevil, wolverine and spider-man like some fanboy would write them, Punisher does not need skill or tactics to beat them like he has over the years, no the writer does away with their powers at random, spider-mans spider sense just no longer exists for a scene so punisher can trick him, daredevil a kung fu artist, who has take on an army of ninjas, loses his powers at random as well, his radar sence that warns him as people get close, his super hearing, his sense of smell, all gone, this enables punisher to just jump him and take him down.

no reason is given, it's just a smear on the characters, if you want humor and characters beign made fun of in a well written manner than try She-Hulk: single white female or a young justice book.

Also the reasons for them goign after him make no sense, wolverine is a killer with maybe a higher body count than punisher, daredevil has made truces with punisher and has teamed up with him many times, and has killed people himself, spider-man has never been one to track him down, so all of a sudden they just want to go after him?

the heroes are written as idiots, they can be fooled by punisher offering a hamburger, wolverine, who yes has a temper, is shown flying off the handle like he's insane.

the story drags as well, the heroes acting like idiots goes on for 5 issues, if this was the gong show it would have lasted only half an issue.

so save your money, there are many more punisher stories out there.

Rating:
Summary: Built upon Humor...
Review: this book, the last before the begining of the MAX series is one of the best. I would rank it tied for second, behind only "Welcome Back, Frank"...if you include it, and tied with "Business as Usual" Vol.3.
This TPB is so great because of it's off-beat and crude humor, which would probably only be appreciated by Punisher fan's. For example, after the Punisher,covered with cuts, bruises and bandages, walks into a room, he is asked "what happened to you"...he then replies "I fell...now eat you soup".
It also features Daredevil, Wolverine, Spider-man, and the Hulk...and a cameo by Iron-Man, who are on a hunt to stop the Punisher and hs menacing ways. The way they go about these, surely proves them to be a "confederacy of dunces" and further continues the humorous theme.
Overall, if you consider youself a Punisher fan...buy the book.

Rating:
Summary: The spacking ends here
Review: With the help of former `Hitman' illustrator and cohort John McCrea (this collection features some of his best artwork IMO), Garth Ennis brings his revival of the Punisher full circle by winding up the final pre-Max Punisher run in this collection. The `Confederacy of Dunces' is the team-up of Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Wolverine, who set out to take the main man off the streets once and for all, and avenge their humiliation at his hands in previous issues (thus the whole "full circle" dealie). And thanks to Ennis' disdain for writing super-hero comics, he makes the spandex-clad trifecta look and sound VERY dunce-ish as they bumble through their mission! Oh yeah, let's not forget the obligatory cuttin' down of a few dozen scumbags by the Punisher's guns/knives/bare hands; THAT's always good for a chuckle or two...

While I didn't find the situations in this particular TPB quite as wackily bizarre or darkly humorous as some of Ennis' previous work, there's still quite a bit of fun to be had. Pun's "recuperation" and unleashing of a familiar-looking "secret weapon" on his pursuers was a pretty cool angle, and further reflected the writer's aversion to scribing super-hero-team-up tomes. Throw in a few silly moments with the hapless Detective Soap and the clueless Dave (formerly Spacker Dave), and you've got a reasonably good send-off for the titular anti-hero as he heads to the land of gory blood-&-guts, filthy language, naughty bits, and barfing (actually, the barfing I can do without) that his new Max title promises to deliver. And deliver it does, lemme tell ya. But, that's another review for another time...

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