Punisher #1 (2016) –
Marvel Comics
Written by Becky Cloonan
Art by Steve Dillon
Colors by Frank Martin
Letters by VC’s Cory Petit
Cover by Declan Shalvey & Jordie Bellaire
Ever since Daredevil Season 2 on Netflix, the popularity of The Punisher has skyrocketed. Given the venue to do justice to the character, Marvel was able to bring a true version of the character to life for, in my opinion, the first time on screen. With the family friendly angle that the publisher has been on early, bringing Frank Castle back to comics won’t be easy. So when I saw a new Punisher series was coming, I had to see for myself what they would do.
The story is based around a drug operation that could change the landscape of military operations and crime forever. We’re quickly introduced to the ground level thugs and their crazy boss. When I say crazy, this guy just keeps dialing it up, and the reveal at the end is crazy. You know that The Punisher will be all over an operation like this, but what he didn’t expect was to run into someone from his past. You also know that the government will play a role in this, which we also see throughout the issue. We also get the classic “who is responsible for all this” type of ending to this first issue.
So did Marvel hold back? No they did not. You see The Punisher as he’s supposed to be, and Steve Dillon is a major reason for that. His art is spot on, matched very well with Frank Martin’s colors. Cloonan’s writing is good, and she definitely sets the stage with the supporting characters, but wasn’t really able to take her new Frank Castle toy out for a spin personality wise in this issue. Given what we have so far, I’m confident she’ll be up to the task. This book definitely isn’t a “penny and dime,” but is a worth addition to your pull list.
RATING: PULL