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The Punisher MAX
Born
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson and Tom Palmer
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 1: In The Beginning
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Lewis Larosa and Tom Palmer
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 2: Kitchen Irish
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 3: Mother Russia
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Dougie Braithwaite
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 4: Up is Down and Black is White
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 5: The Slavers
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 6: Barracuda
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 7: Man of Stone
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 8: Widowmaker
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Lan Medina
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 9: Long Cold Dark
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov and Howard Chaykin
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The Punisher MAX
Vol 10: Valley Forge, Valley Forge
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov
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The Punisher MAX
From First To Last
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John Severin Lewis Larosa and Richard Corben
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Poetry.
It's there in The Tyger (collected in From First To Last) which as you can probably guess gets it's title from William Blake and his "fearful symmetry" [1] and shows you that the dark heart of Frank Castle goes deeper than you may have first suspected ("They'll blame it all on Vietnam. And they'll be right. And they'll be wrong."). And it's there at the brutal closing of Valley Forge, Valley Forge - which may just be the best finale of any "superhero" [2] comic out there - and shows you that you don't need your ending to go big and overblown in order to make an impact: rather you can just zero into the characters until there isn't enough room to breathe.
But - really - what I mean to say - is that it's there throughout - (and I'm sorry if this sounds a little overwrought) but what Ennis has done with these books is take a character that's always been one-note and one-dimensional and made him into goddamn poetry. Dark? Yes. Bloody? Yes. Ultra-violent, ugly and nasty? Yes. Yes. Yes. But there's a finesse and agility to the writing here (buried underneath all the killing) that makes this a beautiful read.
Originally created in 1974 as a Spider-Man bad guy Frank Castle (aka 'The Punisher') is not someone that you wanna mess with... A Vietnam veteran whose wife and kids were killed in front of him (collateral damage from a gangland hit) the guy is a border-line psychopath who has dedicated his life to "punishing" crime. Once paired with his sidekick 'Microchip' (who served as a Q/Alfred Pennyworth character) but since then gone solo Frank has no special powers and no fancy weapons - just a bad attitude, high pain threshold and a T-Shirt with a skull drawn across it. Garth Ennis began his Punisher run with Steve Dillon in 2000 with a 12 issue miniseries that came across as a little brother to their Preacher series - full of schoolboyish humour and slightly cartoony situations. Then in 2004 he returned with the seminal Punisher 'MAX' series ('MAX = 2001 Marvel imprint for adult readers - "free to feature explicit content") that took a serve towards something went more realistic, serious and bleak with Frank Castle himself refashioned into Clint Eastwoody kinda mould, less a character - more a walking/talking force of nature - his Saint of All Killers character from Preacher poured into a twentieth century mould. Taking on everything from corporate fraud to sexual slavery and The War on Terror with supporting characters from the CIA, KGB, Secret Intelligence Service, SAS, the IRA, militaries and militias from the Balkans and Middle East, all with agendas rooted in past conflicts like the Cold War or the Yugoslav wars Punisher MAX brings the reader into parts of the world that you normally not best think about. So - yeah - it's not exactly what you could call a "light" read - but over the 10 volumes (not including the prequel "Born" and the collection of one-shots "From First to Last") you get a very nicely written, thoughtful, interwoven thriller that will grip, shock and enthrall with each successive volume topping the last in terms of how far Frank (and Ennis) are prepared to go. Yes it is (very) violent but it's never mindless (it's even closes with a poem - woo). And it's probably the best thing Ennis has ever written - and makes all other Punisher stories redundant. So what you waiting for?
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[1] Which I'm guessing most of you only know from Watchmen. Right?
[2] But let's face it - even tho he's got the name [3] and the costume and zest for killing band guys - The Punisher isn't really much of a typical superhero. He's more like an elemental force of nature - dark urges made flesh - like something Jack Kibry would have dreamed up if he spent a weekend hanging out with James Ellroy.
[3] Fun fact: I can't find exact source on the internet (damn you google): but I'm pretty sure that The Punisher got his name - not from his creators - but from Stan "Excelsior!" Lee. The story goes that the writer - Gerry Conway - was stuck on to call him (his best idea was: "The Assassin") and so approached Lee - who was the chief editor of Marvel at the time (or something) and said something like: "We've got this guy, he's this guy who's lost his mind and goes out there to punish criminals..." and Stan will interrupt and go "Call him .. The Punisher!" And that would be that.
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Links: Savage Critic Article: A History of Punishment for Adults: Jog reaches the last, black page on 8/13, 4th Letter Review, Read/RANT Review of Vol 1 / Vol 2 / Vol 3 / Vol 4, Comic Book Resources Review of Vol 9 and Vol 10, GraphiContent Article: The Cycle of Violence in Punisher: Widowmaker, Tearoom of Despair: The Punisher Made Me Cry, The M0vie Blog Review Punisher: Born / Vol 1 and 2 / Vol 3 and 4 / Vol 5 and 6 / Vol 7 and 8 / Vol 9 and 10 / From First To Last.
Further reading: 100 Bullets, Preacher, Daredevil (2001 - 2006), Criminal, Hitman, Gotham Central, 303, Button Man.
Profiles: Garth Ennis.
All comments welcome.
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