Punisher/Franken-Castle

I subbed this book because of the events in Punisher: The List and for the preview of Punisher #11 in the same book.

Rick Remender has a way of writing that makes me forget that I am actually reading. (If that makes any sense.) I noticed the same with his “Last Days of American Crime”. Anyway, back to Punisher. I love the Franken-Castle story arc, it puts Frank in a situation that you would never imagine him in while bringing to light a cast of Marvel characters that have been in the dark for too long. Tony Moore’s art is beautiful and is wonderfully complemented by Dan Brown’s amazing colors.

It may not be for the traditional Punisher fan but if you are a fan of comics as a whole you should definitely check this out.

Out of all the punisher series outside the Max ones this is by far one of the best.

Right off the bat issue one the Punisher is trying to kill Norman Osborn during the whole Dark Reign event. Which leads into a series of skirmishes between him and the sentry. That’s issue 1. Any other writer would have made that into an entire arc.

The story is just action straight up. It picks up right after Punisher War Journal and starts a downward spiral for Frank Castle (The Punisher). He’s once again on his own and trying to punish the wicked but it all just seems out of reach until he meets a new ally.

This ally’s past history plays similar to that of his lost ally from War Journal but instead from an angle of innocence.

Osborn puts the Hood to the task of killing the Punisher and from there you get one of the most shocking, twisted, violent punisher stories ever written.

I’m still completely shocked from the conclusion of the Dead End story (issue 10). I’ve never been shocked by a Punisher story before, I didn’t know there were any lines of brutality Frank could cross but I assure you it’s here and it ultimately leads to the death of the Punisher.

I’ve never heard of Rick Remender but this series has proven he’s a great writer. So for the most part I write this review mostly unbiased.

Anyway in regards to the art it’s like watching and old film (like grapes of wrath). The graininess only serves to enhance the story and despite the artist changes it mostly stays consistent.

So for the most part this series has won me over.

Until I hit issue 11, I was worried. What kind of thing is Franken-Castle? I thought this new great series was quickly turning over and dying.

Lo and behold this story is actually quite entertaining. Combine that with the established Marvel Monsters like Morbius it stands well in the Marvel Universe. In fact it’s commendable that such a potentially flopworthy story was written, created, and put on shelves.

This is a solid comic. I’d recommend it to anyone (except the squeamish).

(This review is written just before the conclusion of Franken-Castle (issue 16))