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Punisher by Rick Remender
Punisher: In the Blood
Frank Castle is back. Back for revenge. Back in New York. Back to cleaning its streets. Back together, healed and strong, his mission resumed as he partakes in the sweet wet work, and notches up one of the highest body counts in Punisher history. Cyber sensei Henry Russo is back, keeping Frank proficient with an eye in the sky. Others are back as well--two of Frank's most sadistic enemies united in a new vindictive plot: Enter the Jigsaw Brothers!
Collecting: Punisher: In the Blood 1-5
Collecting: Punisher: In the Blood 1-5
120 pages, Paperback
First published June 8, 2011
About the author
Rick Remender
1,268 books1,446 followersRick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 30, 2026
2026 Review - I liked this one more this time. The Jigsaw and his son stuff is really good. I think Frank going after everyone does get a bit boring though. However, the last 2 issues are really solid and for once a happy ending. A 3 out of 5.
2021 Review - Rick Remender writes a lot of good marvel characters.
Punisher isn't one of them.
While better than the last volume I read of his work on the character, it is not very good. Punisher goes through the same bullshit hunt everyone and kill all who get in his way. Nothing fun or interesting happens with this character. He's not interesting or deep or anything. Remender doesn't have Frank's voice down at all.
Saying that I did enjoy seeing Frank's friend here and though it was more of a bitter goodbye it worked well for that character to get away from this life.
However, the rest was just okay at best.
2021 Review - Rick Remender writes a lot of good marvel characters.
Punisher isn't one of them.
While better than the last volume I read of his work on the character, it is not very good. Punisher goes through the same bullshit hunt everyone and kill all who get in his way. Nothing fun or interesting happens with this character. He's not interesting or deep or anything. Remender doesn't have Frank's voice down at all.
Saying that I did enjoy seeing Frank's friend here and though it was more of a bitter goodbye it worked well for that character to get away from this life.
However, the rest was just okay at best.
October 7, 2019
Rick Remender tries to do a creditable job with a Punisher story. To his credit, he does get the Punisher correct. It isn't that he gets Jigsaw correct either, but the entire arc of the story with the mini-me Jigsaw, Jigsaw's son and daddy issues, bringing back Franks family from the dead...all of it backed up by mediocre art all make for a 2 star book.
If that sounded like a lot to take in for a comic story, it is. While the Punisher excels in his dark-hearted quest for information and cuts a swath of pleasurable destruction, the story seems forced. It's a slight knock off of the Batman Knightfall idea-where Jigsaw tries to run Punisher ragged and hopes he makes mistakes. Great idea, except Frank Castle might be the one person who has issues even deeper than Bruce Waynes.
An ok Punisher story. I enjoyed the Punisher bits, especially when he is doing "his thing". But the overall arc ws a wee bit forced and out there.
If that sounded like a lot to take in for a comic story, it is. While the Punisher excels in his dark-hearted quest for information and cuts a swath of pleasurable destruction, the story seems forced. It's a slight knock off of the Batman Knightfall idea-where Jigsaw tries to run Punisher ragged and hopes he makes mistakes. Great idea, except Frank Castle might be the one person who has issues even deeper than Bruce Waynes.
An ok Punisher story. I enjoyed the Punisher bits, especially when he is doing "his thing". But the overall arc ws a wee bit forced and out there.
December 7, 2017
Man, don't let Rick Remender go too far.... If you do, he will have the Hood resurrect Frank Castle's family, only to have Frank set them all on fire and kill them again.
Isn't that cheery?
This book is the follow up to that heartfelt event, and focuses a lot on Jigsaw. I don't think I have read any books featuring Jigsaw before, but he isn't the most likable villain. It has a pretty good ending, though.
Isn't that cheery?
This book is the follow up to that heartfelt event, and focuses a lot on Jigsaw. I don't think I have read any books featuring Jigsaw before, but he isn't the most likable villain. It has a pretty good ending, though.
November 9, 2012
Rick Remender ends his Punisher run with this really fun book, and ties up the Henry and Microchip story lines with style. The interaction between Jigsaw and Stuart is often hilarious and their scheme to "get to Frank" is pretty twisted. Good stuff.
April 25, 2016
Darkness.
Frank needs to not let anyone in...look what happens...death mayhem and evil darkness.
Survivor, that's what he is. With a last page reveal of the humanity that keeps Frank attached to people just enough to not completely lose it.
Art was not pretty, also almost too choppy and reminded me of Mad Magazine...bleak, thank goodness it was only 5 issues.
Frank needs to not let anyone in...look what happens...death mayhem and evil darkness.
Survivor, that's what he is. With a last page reveal of the humanity that keeps Frank attached to people just enough to not completely lose it.
Art was not pretty, also almost too choppy and reminded me of Mad Magazine...bleak, thank goodness it was only 5 issues.
January 31, 2018
A pretty brutal rap up from Remender, considering how silly the monster stuff was previously. But, he wraps up the Jigsaw-family drama well and sets Frank back up to do what Frank does. The art, not just here but throughout Remender's whole run, has been great stuff as well.
November 24, 2012
Wow, I didn't know Remender could be so dark and unforgiving. This is like Hellblazer dark - the places where Constantine went, where no one wins and everyone gets more muck on them.
Enjoyed this in small doses, but I don't know if I could handle this kind of writing in all my comics - I think I'd probably step in front of a bus after a week.
Enjoyed this in small doses, but I don't know if I could handle this kind of writing in all my comics - I think I'd probably step in front of a bus after a week.
February 10, 2017
Yeeeesh. Not good. I enjoyed Punisher Dead End which is directly linked to this (the hood resurrecting the Castle family, Micro's betrayal etc) but this one was not good. The "twist"...it's just...jesus it's bad. I usually love Remender's work but this is awful, and seems like Rick didn't have a great grasp on the character at times and didn't really have any new ideas besides ones like these:
"If one Jigsaw is good...wouldn't TWO be better!?? And what if they had a really REALLY effed up double-team, three-way sex-off with...(SPOILER)!!!! Wouldn't people love that?"
No, Rick. That is dumb. None of those are good ideas.
Jigsaw has never been a genius but he's like a Jersey bro or something here. Lots of "Dude" and shit jokes and stupid slang-ey sayings. Everything is way over the top emotional, unbelievable and at times, kind of nonsensical, given how Jigsaw acts towards his son. It's all pretty underwhelming, and pretty boring too. A lot of the plot revolves around the themes of sons and fathers and it just falls flat. The cutesy ending feels shoe-horned in and unexciting.
Another gripe I have is the Punisher's internal monologue (and most of his dialogue as well). I appreciate the "take" on the character, but Remender goes too far with the gruff savageness, to where the Punisher is almost monosyllabic at times. He really reminded me of Marv or Dwight from Sin City; short, punchy sentences that state what is happening and not much else (and don't get me wrong, I love the Sin City books). Here we get lots of stuff like the following. This is almost verbatim from about two pages of the comic. Each quote is from a different thought bubble in a different panel.
(Woman enters warehouse where Punisher is poking around)
Punisher:
"Know her"
"Can't use gun"
"She knows it"
"Using Micro as bait"
"But who?"
"Those eyes"
"Know her"
"Way she moves"
"Familiar"
"Know her"
"That voice"
"That voice"
"No."
Uhhhh....ok. Some authors like to make Punisher quieter/fiercer/more no-nonsense. I get it. But this is not good. It isn't compelling, the story is lame, there's not all that much violence, the ending sucks and the bad guys are bad. Skip this one.
"If one Jigsaw is good...wouldn't TWO be better!?? And what if they had a really REALLY effed up double-team, three-way sex-off with...(SPOILER)!!!! Wouldn't people love that?"
No, Rick. That is dumb. None of those are good ideas.
Jigsaw has never been a genius but he's like a Jersey bro or something here. Lots of "Dude" and shit jokes and stupid slang-ey sayings. Everything is way over the top emotional, unbelievable and at times, kind of nonsensical, given how Jigsaw acts towards his son. It's all pretty underwhelming, and pretty boring too. A lot of the plot revolves around the themes of sons and fathers and it just falls flat. The cutesy ending feels shoe-horned in and unexciting.
Another gripe I have is the Punisher's internal monologue (and most of his dialogue as well). I appreciate the "take" on the character, but Remender goes too far with the gruff savageness, to where the Punisher is almost monosyllabic at times. He really reminded me of Marv or Dwight from Sin City; short, punchy sentences that state what is happening and not much else (and don't get me wrong, I love the Sin City books). Here we get lots of stuff like the following. This is almost verbatim from about two pages of the comic. Each quote is from a different thought bubble in a different panel.
(Woman enters warehouse where Punisher is poking around)
Punisher:
"Know her"
"Can't use gun"
"She knows it"
"Using Micro as bait"
"But who?"
"Those eyes"
"Know her"
"Way she moves"
"Familiar"
"Know her"
"That voice"
"That voice"
"No."
Uhhhh....ok. Some authors like to make Punisher quieter/fiercer/more no-nonsense. I get it. But this is not good. It isn't compelling, the story is lame, there's not all that much violence, the ending sucks and the bad guys are bad. Skip this one.
March 2, 2019
I wasn’t caught up with Remender’s Punisher Run when I read this, so I felt a little lost in the sauce at first. Apparently Frank Castle’s family was somehow resurrected by Jigsaw, and Castle burned them to death or something. I was confused.
That didn’t last long though... eventually, the story becomes your standard, Punisher kills everyone spectacularly type thing. Which rocked. There was quite a bit of drama, some satisfying kills, great art... and a page where Frank beats the shit out of Venom! I liked this alot and now I want to check out Remender’s other Punisher stuff.
That didn’t last long though... eventually, the story becomes your standard, Punisher kills everyone spectacularly type thing. Which rocked. There was quite a bit of drama, some satisfying kills, great art... and a page where Frank beats the shit out of Venom! I liked this alot and now I want to check out Remender’s other Punisher stuff.
September 23, 2025
Technically better than the previous volumes but just because they were awfully bad.
Frank gets back to New York and he has to face Jigsaw.
The story is not bad per se, but the cost to it was too great.
The Hood resurrected Frank's wife and kids and he decided to burn them.
This should have been a very big moment for the character and the story should be defining that character.
But instead this moment falls flat.
Don't get me started on how the use his wife in a catwoman like outfit and made her have intercourse with Jigsaw... Just distasteful and and pure shock value without moving the story forward.
Remender has written some good books over the years (Black Science, Deadly Class,Fear Agent) but this run was bad, plain and simple.
Frank gets back to New York and he has to face Jigsaw.
The story is not bad per se, but the cost to it was too great.
The Hood resurrected Frank's wife and kids and he decided to burn them.
This should have been a very big moment for the character and the story should be defining that character.
But instead this moment falls flat.
Don't get me started on how the use his wife in a catwoman like outfit and made her have intercourse with Jigsaw... Just distasteful and and pure shock value without moving the story forward.
Remender has written some good books over the years (Black Science, Deadly Class,Fear Agent) but this run was bad, plain and simple.
October 8, 2017
Starts off a little slow and corny (skull-shaped glider), but gets dark fast and the conclusion pays off!
July 23, 2020
I’m late to the game on this part of the Punisher series but I’ve enjoyed it. Remender is a great writer and the arts awesome.
August 24, 2022
I just want to take a second and Thank Rick Remender and Roland Boschi for giving me a great punisher read and maybe my last great punisher read.
December 27, 2022
Menuda porquería de comic, Rick Remender debe estar bastante mal de la cabeza y los dibujos son simplemente mediocres.
Nada recomendable . Nada aprovechable
Nada recomendable . Nada aprovechable
February 22, 2017
3.5 really
June 24, 2013
When literally every character is more sympathetic than the titular character you know you have got a problem.
Seriously? I never read The Hood storyline, but through this arc it was made clear that Frank chose to burn his resurrected family back to death rather than accept they were alive (those last sixteen words are so ridiculous that I need to take a second to reevaluate my life).
Not only that, but Microchip is back, I guess. Resurrected. And he tries to reason with Frank, see? He explains that those people Frank burned REALLY were his family, not some evil phonies or demons or whatever, and you know what Frank does? Do you know how he reacts to this? He reacts by sinking a knife into Micro's throat. What in the hell?
There are more terrible aspects of this story arc I could point out, but I really am not in the mood. My only advice to you Punisher fans out there: Stick to Garth Ennis, and stay the hell away from Rick "Hobo Piss" Remender.
Seriously? I never read The Hood storyline, but through this arc it was made clear that Frank chose to burn his resurrected family back to death rather than accept they were alive (those last sixteen words are so ridiculous that I need to take a second to reevaluate my life).
Not only that, but Microchip is back, I guess. Resurrected. And he tries to reason with Frank, see? He explains that those people Frank burned REALLY were his family, not some evil phonies or demons or whatever, and you know what Frank does? Do you know how he reacts to this? He reacts by sinking a knife into Micro's throat. What in the hell?
There are more terrible aspects of this story arc I could point out, but I really am not in the mood. My only advice to you Punisher fans out there: Stick to Garth Ennis, and stay the hell away from Rick "Hobo Piss" Remender.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2013
I like Remender a lot, but it's so strange to see him hit more or less the same themes almost note for note book to book. Abusive dads, questionable surrogate dads. The whole Punisher run is an amazing centerpiece (Frankencastle) surrounded by stories that are very fun, but not necessarily the writer's strongest work.
Ah well. All the Remender stuff since this thing read like Frankencastle so who am I to complain???
Ah well. All the Remender stuff since this thing read like Frankencastle so who am I to complain???
March 21, 2012
I love how the overriding theme of Remender's whole run has been "Frank keeps screwing up and keeps on having to fix it". And man, what better way to drive that home than with Jigsaw? Because, really, when your deal's killing criminals, and you keep on not killing this one guy, I'd think that's your biggest screw-up. Just great stuff.
July 29, 2012
Cargada al exceso y la pirotecnia fácil, "In the Blood" busca atar cabos sueltos y cerrar líneas para allanar el camino a una nueva etapa; premisa que ve afectada por un ritmo exagerado, acción sin control y diálogos instrumentales hasta el aburrimiento. Prescindible para los fans del buen Frank.
March 8, 2012
Very dark and twisted almost to the point of being acidic.
Need I say, Violent?
Shows what a sick f~(k Frank is,
and yet STILL manages to get us to sympathize with him
(at least a little.)
The art was absolutely perfect for the story.
Need I say, Violent?
Shows what a sick f~(k Frank is,
and yet STILL manages to get us to sympathize with him
(at least a little.)
The art was absolutely perfect for the story.
October 3, 2012
En los tomos intermedios (los más bolaceros) la pasé bastante bien, pero tanto el primero como este último de la etapa de Remember me resultaron de mediocrones para abajo. Cuando pueda agarro la etapa de Rucka a ver si es la maravilla que dicen.
August 13, 2015
A somewhat self-aware rendering of the Punisher, where Castle is a villain seeking oblivion. But there isn't much to the story, and if one is not thoroughly invested in the Punisher's past deeds and enemies, it feels quite empty.
December 30, 2011
Terrible. The punisher is fighting old friends who were.... wait for it.... raised from the dead? You gotta be kidding me.
May 4, 2015
Rick tried and failed. Roland also tried. He also failed.
This was just stupid and bad.
This was just stupid and bad.
March 7, 2016
this read like a mess. The whole way through I felt bored. Even when crazy/violent/action scenes were happening. It just felt empty
May 20, 2016
It's good and bloody. But the characters aren't very interesting. Maybe if I had grown up reading these stories, it would be better.
April 1, 2017
Ale jo, povedený zakončení
April 30, 2017
While I don't always love the Punisher and his appeal, I really enjoyed this book. I wish it was actually part of the regular Punisher ongoing because its clearly part of something bigger. Rick Remender does a great job of painting Frank Castle as a black and white type but still instills some heart into the character. The book is obviously bloody and is overt but it fits the title. The art fits the book really well. Overall, this was a really good Punisher story.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews