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The Punisher (2004) (Collected Editions)
The Punisher, Vol. 2: Kitchen Irish
When a bomb explodes in a Hell's Kitchen pub, Frank Castle embarks on a deadly mission that pits him against two rival gangs. One thing is certain: The Punisher won't be pulling his punches! Collects Punisher MAX #7-12.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
8 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,624 books3,170 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
January 5, 2012
Ah…crap salad! This Garth Ennis offering left my disappointment level nestled somewhere between "that's it, really?"
and "how could you do this to me?"
Ennis is among my favorite comicers and he has scripted some of the best such work I’ve ever read (the Preacher series being a prime example). The man has got skills and I don’t mean to attaint his rep with my unenthused missing-the-pointment for this particular story arc. It didn’t work for me and I didn’t particularly care for it, but it also wasn’t dreadful.
PLOT SUMMARY:
Old man Nesbitt, Irish mob boss, ruler of Hell’s Kitchen and meanest, nastiest cuss to ever walk the Earth has died. In a seeming final act of kindness (yeah right), Nesbitt has left a will worth $10M to whatever of the 3 competing Irish groups can acquire the correct code. The catch: Nesbitt gave each group one-third of the code.
And the players take the field in an all out battle royale for control of the loot and the territory. Meanwhile, Frank Castle, with some help from an ex-British soldier decides to use the chaos as an opportunity to load up the body bags with as many of the competitors as they can.
THOUGHTS:
Ennis, a Northern Irishman, uses Hell’s Kitchen to explore, with his typical violent, cynical satire, the brutality that engulfed his homeland during the Troubles as Irishmen battled not only the British, but also their fellow Irishmen for the right to act as the “voice” of the people. I get what Ennis was doing….I just didn’t think it was a very good story and it never pull me in to it.
On the plus side, there are a cadre of classic Ennis characters populating the story, including:
** Old Man Nesbit was a powerful presence when he was either on the page or being referred to in flashback mode.
** Napper, an elderly grandfather type who use to do carve jobs for Nesbit decades ago and is forcibly unretired by one of the factions to do some persuasive amputations.
**Maginty, the self described “Baddest N***** ever to come out of Dublin town," is a huge Rastafarian looking killer who runs the smallest of the 3 factions.
Nobody crafts the violently depraved social deviant better Ennis and these three are gems.
However, despite some interesting psychotics and a handful of really good scenes, the story never managed approached compelling for me. A main contributor to this lack of engagement was Frank Castle being an also ran in this episode and fluttering in and out of the narrative more like a supporting character than the star. I wanted me a whole lot more Punisher. Without him, there was central driver of the tale and it became a series of detached individual scenes rather than a cohesive story.
This was compounded by the fact that all of the gang thugs were various textures of scum and so I really never cared about what happened to any of them. Thus the killing and mayhem were without real drama or tension and thus…ho hum.
Speaking of that, the vulgarity and uber violence here seemed cheap and shortcutty rather than essentially informing to the story. This is one problem I occasionally have with Ennis, whose penchant for over-the-topness can vacillate between goregasmic perfection to off-puttingly exploitive. For the most part, the latter held the day here, though this reaction may very well be a reflection of my general detachment to the story and lack of engagement with the characters.
Overall, this wasn’t horrible and there were moments where Ennis’ lens of subversive commentary and insight are spot on and approach the border of brilliant. Still, in the end this was a bit of a miss. For a lesser writer I might have given a weak 3 stars but I know Ennis can do much, much better and so no passes will be issued.
2.0 to 2.5 stars.
and "how could you do this to me?"
Ennis is among my favorite comicers and he has scripted some of the best such work I’ve ever read (the Preacher series being a prime example). The man has got skills and I don’t mean to attaint his rep with my unenthused missing-the-pointment for this particular story arc. It didn’t work for me and I didn’t particularly care for it, but it also wasn’t dreadful.
PLOT SUMMARY:
Old man Nesbitt, Irish mob boss, ruler of Hell’s Kitchen and meanest, nastiest cuss to ever walk the Earth has died. In a seeming final act of kindness (yeah right), Nesbitt has left a will worth $10M to whatever of the 3 competing Irish groups can acquire the correct code. The catch: Nesbitt gave each group one-third of the code.
And the players take the field in an all out battle royale for control of the loot and the territory. Meanwhile, Frank Castle, with some help from an ex-British soldier decides to use the chaos as an opportunity to load up the body bags with as many of the competitors as they can.
THOUGHTS:
Ennis, a Northern Irishman, uses Hell’s Kitchen to explore, with his typical violent, cynical satire, the brutality that engulfed his homeland during the Troubles as Irishmen battled not only the British, but also their fellow Irishmen for the right to act as the “voice” of the people. I get what Ennis was doing….I just didn’t think it was a very good story and it never pull me in to it.
On the plus side, there are a cadre of classic Ennis characters populating the story, including:
** Old Man Nesbit was a powerful presence when he was either on the page or being referred to in flashback mode.
** Napper, an elderly grandfather type who use to do carve jobs for Nesbit decades ago and is forcibly unretired by one of the factions to do some persuasive amputations.
**Maginty, the self described “Baddest N***** ever to come out of Dublin town," is a huge Rastafarian looking killer who runs the smallest of the 3 factions.
Nobody crafts the violently depraved social deviant better Ennis and these three are gems.
However, despite some interesting psychotics and a handful of really good scenes, the story never managed approached compelling for me. A main contributor to this lack of engagement was Frank Castle being an also ran in this episode and fluttering in and out of the narrative more like a supporting character than the star. I wanted me a whole lot more Punisher. Without him, there was central driver of the tale and it became a series of detached individual scenes rather than a cohesive story.
This was compounded by the fact that all of the gang thugs were various textures of scum and so I really never cared about what happened to any of them. Thus the killing and mayhem were without real drama or tension and thus…ho hum.
Speaking of that, the vulgarity and uber violence here seemed cheap and shortcutty rather than essentially informing to the story. This is one problem I occasionally have with Ennis, whose penchant for over-the-topness can vacillate between goregasmic perfection to off-puttingly exploitive. For the most part, the latter held the day here, though this reaction may very well be a reflection of my general detachment to the story and lack of engagement with the characters.
Overall, this wasn’t horrible and there were moments where Ennis’ lens of subversive commentary and insight are spot on and approach the border of brilliant. Still, in the end this was a bit of a miss. For a lesser writer I might have given a weak 3 stars but I know Ennis can do much, much better and so no passes will be issued.
2.0 to 2.5 stars.
May 23, 2025
"All right. listen up. For anyone that doesn't know what's in those boxes, it's bits of Tommy Toner's body. That means he's dead an' I'm runnin' the Westies. An' if you don't like it you can ****in' eat me." -- Brenda Toner, expeditiously getting over the murder of her hubby to seize control of his organization
The Punisher, Vol. 2: Kitchen Irish has the vigilante title character playing a supporting role in his own book, with the focus being on four warring Irish-American gangs operating in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. To an individual man they are largely a sadistic and brutal group of thugs - no surprise there - but the narrative's one bright spot (cough cough) is the ascendence of a woman in command, that being Brenda Toner in the quote above. Raven-haired, chain-smoking, and voluptuous, the tough-talking dame immediately and effectively takes charge after discovering her gang leader spouse was disgustingly eviscerated alive by a rival faction. It was entertaining to watch her savagely dress down the simple-minded gunslinging mooks now under her leadership in a few scenes, which sparked some needed life into this otherwise downbeat and dreary graphic novel.
The Punisher, Vol. 2: Kitchen Irish has the vigilante title character playing a supporting role in his own book, with the focus being on four warring Irish-American gangs operating in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. To an individual man they are largely a sadistic and brutal group of thugs - no surprise there - but the narrative's one bright spot (cough cough) is the ascendence of a woman in command, that being Brenda Toner in the quote above. Raven-haired, chain-smoking, and voluptuous, the tough-talking dame immediately and effectively takes charge after discovering her gang leader spouse was disgustingly eviscerated alive by a rival faction. It was entertaining to watch her savagely dress down the simple-minded gunslinging mooks now under her leadership in a few scenes, which sparked some needed life into this otherwise downbeat and dreary graphic novel.
May 31, 2018
Hmmm
The follow up to the first Punisher Max story, Kitchen Irish has its own thang [sic] going on. Eschewing a direct sequel to the consequences of its predecessor – this tale veers off into its own direction. Meshing influences of Film Noir and Hard-Boiled Cop fare, it seeks to sample both their themes and atmospheres and fills in the rest with its own furious disposition and garish perspectives. Cases are spent and bodies drop yet despite some maleficences it ends up on top.
The most difficult aspect of this story is the plot itself. Waffling between the silly and the what’s the point I found it somewhat hard to enjoy . The long and short of it is that there is a McGuffin stuffed with cash that various gang member are privy to however, the twist is that each has only a portion of the overall map needed to deduce its location. Like those blind sages reasoning their senses across the parabolically unseen elephant, these criminal equivalents are all the seeking the same reasoning for such ultimate truth yet the output isn’t the godhead but cold-hard-cash!
While all these stooges are scrambling for their loot, our titular Punisher is drawn into this maw of internecine urban warfare via a bomb explosion. Shortly thereafter an an old MI6 ally and his sidekick are encountered. Unexplained favors are due and Frank Castle completes this triumvirate to take the battle to the bad guys.
So when the guns blaze, the action as always, is a hit. Completely uncompromising and thoroughly enjoyable my eyeballs drank in every blast. And while pawing at the edges of excess, author and illustrator have steered well from what could be unbelievable or excessive to the point of self-parody (as happens all too often in the comic book world). Highly judicious decisions have been made in regards to the visuals however, the same cannot be said of the story itself.
As murky as the world Frank inhabits, the narrative writhes and whinnies its away across a few issues before it builds into anything resonant. Since we’re only given a smattering of puzzle pieces throughout until the series is almost over, it more often than not feels like a jig-saw puzzle that can only be put together out of order. Compound this with a host of ancillaries and their character developments that don’t matter much alongside various loquacious history lessons relating to the UK/IRA conflicts, Kitchen Irish can feel like a kitchen with far too many cooks spoiling the pot.
Which isn’t to say the final product is unenjoyable. Quite the contrary, it’s still a very good dish but could very well be too spicy or sweet depending on your tastes. While falling short of its predecessor Kitchen Irish retains is essential *Punisherness to its success. If you’re willing to overlook some failures – there’s a solid product underneath.
The follow up to the first Punisher Max story, Kitchen Irish has its own thang [sic] going on. Eschewing a direct sequel to the consequences of its predecessor – this tale veers off into its own direction. Meshing influences of Film Noir and Hard-Boiled Cop fare, it seeks to sample both their themes and atmospheres and fills in the rest with its own furious disposition and garish perspectives. Cases are spent and bodies drop yet despite some maleficences it ends up on top.
The most difficult aspect of this story is the plot itself. Waffling between the silly and the what’s the point I found it somewhat hard to enjoy . The long and short of it is that there is a McGuffin stuffed with cash that various gang member are privy to however, the twist is that each has only a portion of the overall map needed to deduce its location. Like those blind sages reasoning their senses across the parabolically unseen elephant, these criminal equivalents are all the seeking the same reasoning for such ultimate truth yet the output isn’t the godhead but cold-hard-cash!
While all these stooges are scrambling for their loot, our titular Punisher is drawn into this maw of internecine urban warfare via a bomb explosion. Shortly thereafter an an old MI6 ally and his sidekick are encountered. Unexplained favors are due and Frank Castle completes this triumvirate to take the battle to the bad guys.
So when the guns blaze, the action as always, is a hit. Completely uncompromising and thoroughly enjoyable my eyeballs drank in every blast. And while pawing at the edges of excess, author and illustrator have steered well from what could be unbelievable or excessive to the point of self-parody (as happens all too often in the comic book world). Highly judicious decisions have been made in regards to the visuals however, the same cannot be said of the story itself.
As murky as the world Frank inhabits, the narrative writhes and whinnies its away across a few issues before it builds into anything resonant. Since we’re only given a smattering of puzzle pieces throughout until the series is almost over, it more often than not feels like a jig-saw puzzle that can only be put together out of order. Compound this with a host of ancillaries and their character developments that don’t matter much alongside various loquacious history lessons relating to the UK/IRA conflicts, Kitchen Irish can feel like a kitchen with far too many cooks spoiling the pot.
Which isn’t to say the final product is unenjoyable. Quite the contrary, it’s still a very good dish but could very well be too spicy or sweet depending on your tastes. While falling short of its predecessor Kitchen Irish retains is essential *Punisherness to its success. If you’re willing to overlook some failures – there’s a solid product underneath.
January 1, 2018
Garth Ennis'in yazarlığını, Leandro Fernandez'in çizerliğini ve Dean White'ın renklendirmesini yaptığı, editörlüğünü Egemen Görçek çevirisini ise Emre Yavuz'un üstlendiği serinin ikinci kitabı "İrlanda Mutfağı - Hell's Kitchen" tam bir serseri mermi. Okuyunca ne demek istediğimi anlayacaksınız. Kurşunlar havada çarpışıyor. Bu aksiyon, hızlı ve akıcı okunurluğun haricinde, kurgudan dolayı üç yıldız verdiğim bir kitap oldu. Çeviride (editörü ile konuştuğumuzda küçücük bir hatadan bahsetti) sıkıntı yok ama İrlanda-İngiltere meselesi, I.R.A, çeteler mevzusu ve sanki tüm bunların arasında yancı gibi dolaşan Punisher bana biraz garip geldi. Punisher tutulacak, kontrol edilebilecek, başkalarının işinde gözünü karartıp taraf olacak biri değil. Olasılıklı hepsini bir yere toplar ve sorunu hepsini öldürerek çözer. Neyse, küçükte olsa spoiler vermeyeyim. Güzel bir maceraydı ama yaşandı ve bitti. ;)
February 9, 2019
Score: 3.33 out of 5
Grade: 67% (C+) | Decent
You better practice your Irish accent lad, you’ll need it for this one! Although I didn’t totally hate it, this is certainly one of the weaker Punisher stories I’ve read. Too many villains make for a story with very little substance despite some moments of ingenuity. Here is my review of The Punisher MAX Vol. 2: Kitchen Irish:
The Good:
Some of the villains were great! Maginty and Finn Cooley were two of the standouts for me. They had intriguing backstories and I often found myself cheering for their success despite all their messed up antics. I also grew to LOVE reading all these characters with Irish accents. Over the course of the story, aye, I felt like m’Irish accent got better!
This story definitely had its moments of genius. I actually loved the ending way more than I should have. Mostly because I didn’t like some of the characters and I was just happy with how their arcs ended. The finale as a whole was pretty darn good! Lots of guns, explosions and of course, punishing. Did you really expect anything less?
The Bad:
Goodness were the River Rats annoying!! They weren’t at all interesting and I felt like they were just whiny little brats. The whole time I was just praying that Frank would waste them so I didn’t have to keep reading their dumb sap-story. Not once did I think to myself, “Wow, watch out for those River Rats cause they’re scary and might actually pose a threat!”
This story definitely takes its time to get going. Early on, you get lost with all the new characters and it isn’t until over halfway through do you finally understand all their motivations. But at this point, it was just too late. If the number of new characters were reduced, I feel like this would have made for a stronger narrative.
The story also revolves around the antagonists more than it does Frank. I’m not saying this was a bad thing, but when you only like some of the villains, then the story feels like it drags on. Considering this is a Punisher title, my punishing thirst wasn’t quenched until the very end.
Conclusion:
Overall, this wasn’t horrible but I wasn’t as invested in the story as I should have been. With a slow start and some boring characters, the story drags on. However, I did enjoy the second half much more than the first because things finally begin to pick up. I’d recommend this book to any Punisher fan, but there are much better Punisher stories out there.
Grade: 67% (C+) | Decent
You better practice your Irish accent lad, you’ll need it for this one! Although I didn’t totally hate it, this is certainly one of the weaker Punisher stories I’ve read. Too many villains make for a story with very little substance despite some moments of ingenuity. Here is my review of The Punisher MAX Vol. 2: Kitchen Irish:
The Good:
Some of the villains were great! Maginty and Finn Cooley were two of the standouts for me. They had intriguing backstories and I often found myself cheering for their success despite all their messed up antics. I also grew to LOVE reading all these characters with Irish accents. Over the course of the story, aye, I felt like m’Irish accent got better!
This story definitely had its moments of genius. I actually loved the ending way more than I should have. Mostly because I didn’t like some of the characters and I was just happy with how their arcs ended. The finale as a whole was pretty darn good! Lots of guns, explosions and of course, punishing. Did you really expect anything less?
The Bad:
Goodness were the River Rats annoying!! They weren’t at all interesting and I felt like they were just whiny little brats. The whole time I was just praying that Frank would waste them so I didn’t have to keep reading their dumb sap-story. Not once did I think to myself, “Wow, watch out for those River Rats cause they’re scary and might actually pose a threat!”
This story definitely takes its time to get going. Early on, you get lost with all the new characters and it isn’t until over halfway through do you finally understand all their motivations. But at this point, it was just too late. If the number of new characters were reduced, I feel like this would have made for a stronger narrative.
The story also revolves around the antagonists more than it does Frank. I’m not saying this was a bad thing, but when you only like some of the villains, then the story feels like it drags on. Considering this is a Punisher title, my punishing thirst wasn’t quenched until the very end.
Conclusion:
Overall, this wasn’t horrible but I wasn’t as invested in the story as I should have been. With a slow start and some boring characters, the story drags on. However, I did enjoy the second half much more than the first because things finally begin to pick up. I’d recommend this book to any Punisher fan, but there are much better Punisher stories out there.
October 4, 2022
Not so good, not so bad.
July 8, 2011
An old Irish mobster dies leaving behind warring Irish-related factions in New York's Hells Kitchen, a ragtag bunch of former IRA terrorists and new world gangsters, intent on tearing each other apart for unimagined riches. Caught in the crossfire is Frank Castle who gets roped in by Scotland Yard undercover ops whom he owes a favour. Let the bloodbath begin!
The book features a mainstay of Garth Ennis villains - the man with the horribly disfigured face. In Preacher it was the boy who failed to commit suicide by eating a shotgun bullet, in The Boys it was the supe who came back from the dead after getting pounded to death by fists, and in this book it's the IRA terrorist whose own bomb blew up in his face but somehow didn't kill him.
The different warring factions are played off against each other by Frank and the story moves at a swift, engaging pace with plenty of action and some interesting side stories of gangster life. I've read quite a few Garth Ennis books so I guessed the ending long before I read it but it's still funny to see it play out. Overall, a strong effort from Ennis if predictable at times, but definitely a good read and a fun outing for Frank fans.
The book features a mainstay of Garth Ennis villains - the man with the horribly disfigured face. In Preacher it was the boy who failed to commit suicide by eating a shotgun bullet, in The Boys it was the supe who came back from the dead after getting pounded to death by fists, and in this book it's the IRA terrorist whose own bomb blew up in his face but somehow didn't kill him.
The different warring factions are played off against each other by Frank and the story moves at a swift, engaging pace with plenty of action and some interesting side stories of gangster life. I've read quite a few Garth Ennis books so I guessed the ending long before I read it but it's still funny to see it play out. Overall, a strong effort from Ennis if predictable at times, but definitely a good read and a fun outing for Frank fans.
February 6, 2020
Impresionante. Ennis se encumbra como el guionista definitivo de Punisher, y nos deja un cuento inolvidable sobre la mafia irlandesa de NY y la venganza... Con un giro final de los que literalmente vuelan pelucas. Repito: qué bestialidad tan impresionante, me encanta.
August 31, 2025
Punisher Max: Kitchen Irish
By Garth Ennis (Writer), Leandro Fernández (Artist)
Published by Marvel, 2004
Synopsis:
When a bomb explodes in a Hell's Kitchen pub, Frank Castle embarks on a deadly mission that pits him against two rival gangs. One thing is certain: The Punisher won't be pulling his punches!
Review:
A more satirical take of the criminal underworld from the Irish Side of town, its fitting that it's been written by a Northern Irishman. This book kind of felt like a more rated R version of the movie Lock, Stock and two Smokin' Barrels and it's paced very well. The focus wasn't on the Punisher and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, of course there is still motivation for Frank to do the deadly deeds that he does. The focus was on the hive of scum and villainy of NYC. Of course it used the famed McGuffin to pull these forced together but seeing the crazed things that these deviants were willing to do for 10 million was a sight to see. Maginty is a true menace to society and is a testament to the MAX format.
Star Rating = 4 stars out of 5
A good ole treasure hunt featuring the crazed Irish gangs of NYC, these folks are also joined in the hunt by the Punisher!
By Garth Ennis (Writer), Leandro Fernández (Artist)
Published by Marvel, 2004
Synopsis:
When a bomb explodes in a Hell's Kitchen pub, Frank Castle embarks on a deadly mission that pits him against two rival gangs. One thing is certain: The Punisher won't be pulling his punches!
Review:
A more satirical take of the criminal underworld from the Irish Side of town, its fitting that it's been written by a Northern Irishman. This book kind of felt like a more rated R version of the movie Lock, Stock and two Smokin' Barrels and it's paced very well. The focus wasn't on the Punisher and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, of course there is still motivation for Frank to do the deadly deeds that he does. The focus was on the hive of scum and villainy of NYC. Of course it used the famed McGuffin to pull these forced together but seeing the crazed things that these deviants were willing to do for 10 million was a sight to see. Maginty is a true menace to society and is a testament to the MAX format.
Star Rating = 4 stars out of 5
A good ole treasure hunt featuring the crazed Irish gangs of NYC, these folks are also joined in the hunt by the Punisher!
November 10, 2017
My Max Punisher re-read continues with Kitchen Irish, an arc thats completely different to the first volume and maybe not quite as good, its still wonderfully told.
Frank gets caught in an explosion and survives and goes looking for the people behind it. This brings him find out about the Westies, the River Rats, Macginty and Finn Cooley. Four factions fighting for an old bastards money.
There are a lot of great characters in this one, none of them nice, but all pretty interesting. There is a lot going on in Kitchen Irish and Ennis balances it all with ease.
Leandro Fernandez makes his Punisher Max debut and I kinda like his old grizzled punisher more that LaRosa's. Well also see more of Leandro in two volumes time. If you see him on a book, pick it up, his art is fantastic.
Frank gets caught in an explosion and survives and goes looking for the people behind it. This brings him find out about the Westies, the River Rats, Macginty and Finn Cooley. Four factions fighting for an old bastards money.
There are a lot of great characters in this one, none of them nice, but all pretty interesting. There is a lot going on in Kitchen Irish and Ennis balances it all with ease.
Leandro Fernandez makes his Punisher Max debut and I kinda like his old grizzled punisher more that LaRosa's. Well also see more of Leandro in two volumes time. If you see him on a book, pick it up, his art is fantastic.
December 20, 2016
Tercer tomo de la serie de marvel saga: el Castigador, en este caso Ennis nos lleva a la cocina del infierno en Nueva York.
Castle es testigo de un atentado en un pub en el barrio de Clinton en el que mueren y son heridas varias personas a causa de una explosión... según va tirando del hilo se encuentra una historia de guerra entre distintos clanes mafiosos Irlandeses, siempre con el terrorismo del IRA en la mente de los implicados aunque hace años que acabó.
Castle es testigo de un atentado en un pub en el barrio de Clinton en el que mueren y son heridas varias personas a causa de una explosión... según va tirando del hilo se encuentra una historia de guerra entre distintos clanes mafiosos Irlandeses, siempre con el terrorismo del IRA en la mente de los implicados aunque hace años que acabó.
May 15, 2017
Wow - good even for Garth Ennis standards. Warning though - this one is not for the faint of hear.
Tim Bradstreet's cover brings you in - Ennis and co. take you through. 5 Stars!
Tim Bradstreet's cover brings you in - Ennis and co. take you through. 5 Stars!
April 19, 2011
Garth Ennis - writer
Leandro Fernandez - artist
4/5 stars
A bomb explodes in a Hell's Kichen cafe that is one of the last remaining criminal hangouts for Irish gangsters who, before being muscled out by the Italian mafia, controlled all the criminal activities in the New York neighborhood. Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, is on a stakeout in the cafe when the bomb explodes and narrowly escapes the blast. The fracas that follows is straight out of a Guy Ritchie movie as three different Irish gangs, the New York police and even international law enforcement agencies all converge on Hell's Kitchen. Some of the players are seeking a fortune rumored to be hidden somewhere in Hell's Kitchen, some are seeking vengeance for past wrongs, and some are merely trying to do their jobs and protect innocent civilians from a violent gang war. And Frank? Frank is doing what he always does -- grimly carrying out his private, personal war against crime ... one dead punk at a time. By the time The Punisher is done with Hell's Kitchen the bodies will be stacked high...
The art in this volume is much improved from volume one! Plaudits to Mr. Fernandez, it seems like the art for this series is headed in the right direction. I still think that Garth Ennis is a great choice as a writer for a mature Punisher series, and I still feel that this Punisher is less enjoyable yet more realistic than what we've seen from other writers in the past.
If you have a strong stomach, check this one out at your local public library!
Leandro Fernandez - artist
4/5 stars
A bomb explodes in a Hell's Kichen cafe that is one of the last remaining criminal hangouts for Irish gangsters who, before being muscled out by the Italian mafia, controlled all the criminal activities in the New York neighborhood. Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, is on a stakeout in the cafe when the bomb explodes and narrowly escapes the blast. The fracas that follows is straight out of a Guy Ritchie movie as three different Irish gangs, the New York police and even international law enforcement agencies all converge on Hell's Kitchen. Some of the players are seeking a fortune rumored to be hidden somewhere in Hell's Kitchen, some are seeking vengeance for past wrongs, and some are merely trying to do their jobs and protect innocent civilians from a violent gang war. And Frank? Frank is doing what he always does -- grimly carrying out his private, personal war against crime ... one dead punk at a time. By the time The Punisher is done with Hell's Kitchen the bodies will be stacked high...
The art in this volume is much improved from volume one! Plaudits to Mr. Fernandez, it seems like the art for this series is headed in the right direction. I still think that Garth Ennis is a great choice as a writer for a mature Punisher series, and I still feel that this Punisher is less enjoyable yet more realistic than what we've seen from other writers in the past.
If you have a strong stomach, check this one out at your local public library!
July 18, 2016
Frank Castle is trying to take down the Irish Mob, but he may not have to bother. Old Man Nesbitt, a cruel and uncompromising founder of The Westies, is dead, and his $10 million dollar fortune is up for grabs. After a bomb goes off in an Irish cafe and leaves a dozen people dead, The Punisher teams up with an old friend from MI6 to try and put an end to the perpetrators, only to learn that no fewer than four different groups are trying to eliminate each other in order to get at Nesbitt's money.
While not as compelling as "In The Beginning", every Garth Ennis Punisher story is a good one, and "Kitchen Irish" is chock full of fascinating characters, crackling dialogue, hyper-violent gunfights and some surprisingly insightful debate regarding the I.R.A. and the history of the Irish-British conflict. Not as well done some of the other volumes in this series, "Kitchen Irish" is still a powerful and entertaining tale for comic book readers who like their stories on the dark and violent side.
While not as compelling as "In The Beginning", every Garth Ennis Punisher story is a good one, and "Kitchen Irish" is chock full of fascinating characters, crackling dialogue, hyper-violent gunfights and some surprisingly insightful debate regarding the I.R.A. and the history of the Irish-British conflict. Not as well done some of the other volumes in this series, "Kitchen Irish" is still a powerful and entertaining tale for comic book readers who like their stories on the dark and violent side.
May 10, 2015
Not bad! So this series comes from Garth Ennis, the writer behind Preacher! So of course this book is very provocative, but not as much as Preacher. The Story is that three Irish gangs are fighting over territory, a restaurant gets blown up and that gets The Punishers attention! The book however mostly focuses on the Irish gangs and hardly focuses on Frank, which is a deduction in points. Overall this a fun read, i hope the other volumes focus more on Frank.
June 4, 2019
When Irish mob warfare escalates into scenes from Northern Ireland Punisher decides to stop it. And this is basically how this story can be summarized.
Punisher takes on four merciless Irish gangs and plays them one against the other with the final showdown on a decrepit carrier. Lots of gore, lots of action and antagonists all so bloody and murderous that you just cannot wait for Frank to take them down.
Recommended for fans of Punisher stories.
Punisher takes on four merciless Irish gangs and plays them one against the other with the final showdown on a decrepit carrier. Lots of gore, lots of action and antagonists all so bloody and murderous that you just cannot wait for Frank to take them down.
Recommended for fans of Punisher stories.
February 5, 2017
Mejor que el primer volumen. Un 10.
Read
January 14, 2021Will pen a new review for this one at a later time.
May 12, 2015
Better and better...
October 3, 2018
In the Beginning
A bomb goes off in Hell's Kitchen. The cops suspect by the make and model that the IRA are involved. Except what are the IRA doing in the States? Frank is looking to bust some heads to find out and what he involves himself in, involves a dead Irish Mob patriarch and a fortune.
Kitchen Irish is the second arc in the Punisher MAX timeline and personally I think it's one of my favourites. First off, the artist has been replaced by Leandro Fernandez and honestly, while its not the awesome art by LaRosa, it's still pretty good. Fernandez's style is more cartoony than the former, but it makes up for it with solid colouring, good shading, some awesome setpieces (the opening aftermath of the bomb is horrifying) and distinct character looks.
The story is a good one too with Frank playing more of an assistant role to the characters of Yorkie and Andy Lorimer, two Brits who had come Stateside to investigate the bombing. The bulk of the story however is about the Irish mobs and their goal to snatch up the prize left behind by old Pops Nesbitt, a nasty piece of work who ruled the Irish mob back in the day and was the one unifying factor before his death. Some people have criticized the lack of Punisher in this story, but for me it works. Frank is one of those characters who at his core is a one trick pony. Whether shooting them up, blowing them up, burning them up or torturing them up, Frank's goals are simple. He wants you dead. And when he is used poorly, he becomes something of a joke (see Punisher Purgatory or FrankenCastle for example).
On the note of other characters, we have a wide variety of pick-and-mix to choose from and for the most part, they're a mixed blend from lacking to good, with the majority being the Irish crims. I'll cover Yorkie and Andy in a bit as for the others, starting from the bottom.
1. The Toners are Frank's initial target, a pack of old Irish mobsters who still cling to delusions of grandeur and they're probably the weak link in the chain. We don't see much of Tommy Toner and what we do see is getting carved up piece by piece. And when we're introduced to Brenda Toner, his wife, the story's already reaching its climax and Brenda's a pretty one note character.
2. The River Rats are a pack of river pirates that operate out of Hell's Kitchen. The biggest weakness with them is that beyond their tight operation, they're pretty stereotypical pirates, albeit proper pirates, not some Captain Pugwash bullshit.
3. Maginty is the baddest n-word (his word not mine) to come out of Dublin and here's where things get interesting. Maginty is a very distinct character with a distinct appearance, vocal style and some real menace to his character. And when he decides to hire Napper French, Nesbitt's old associate who was good at cutting up bodies to pull a disappearing act on Tommy Toner, whew! On the note of Napper, he's surprisingly well fleshed out given his screen time. He's old, loves his grandson and repentant for his old life, but the comic never ceases to remind you that this guy was a fucking MONSTER.
4. And then we have Finn Cooley and his gang. Finn and co get the most characterisation by dint of getting the most screentime and for the most part they're the most interesting. Each of the three of them represents some character of the IRA. Michael, an associate of Finn's and of Irish descent is the sane voice in the bunch, the one who wants to give up the life. Peter, Finn's nephew is the naive newcomer, the man who honestly believes in the monstrous things he's committed to. Meanwhile Finn himself - whose face has been blasted clean off - is a hideous bastard who couldn't give a fuck about the IRA and is just in it for himself.
If there is one thing we have to address and it's always the leprechaun in the room with Ennis's work, it's the commentary. Ennis is no stranger to injecting personal opinions into his work and here's it's a little hit and miss. Yorkie is the main mouthpiece here for Ennis's views and while he's fleshed out enough to function on his own, his dressing down of Peter during a torture session feels a little too on the nose to function as anything but an author tract. It also means that Andy suffers the brunt of losing screen time as his only real motivation in the story is revenge. However it's through the villains that Ennis personal views are also at their most well-written. For all their bluff and bluster, the villains of Kitchen Irish are a petty, miserable lot. Tommy Toner fashions himself as a modern day protector of Hell's Kitchen but he gets taken out early and has no real power, while his wife is nothing but a racist, sexist thug. The River Rats run a tight ship, but they're basically Ennis flipping off the notion of modern day Robin Hoods. Maginty might be the baddest Afro Irish out of Dublin, but he lives in a squalid shithole, running petty blackmail only for Napper French to almost get the drop on him. And Finn and his boys are effectively the butt of the colossal joke that is the story. Peter gets captured, Michael has a breakdown and Finn loses his face, his pride, his arse at the hands of some black gangsters and more of his face at the hands of Frank.
Kitchen Irish is a solid followup to In the Beginning, painting us another day in the life of Frank Castle. If anything it's really only let down by weak characterisation for some characters and being a little too heavy handed on the political commentary in places. Up next is Mother Russia.
A bomb goes off in Hell's Kitchen. The cops suspect by the make and model that the IRA are involved. Except what are the IRA doing in the States? Frank is looking to bust some heads to find out and what he involves himself in, involves a dead Irish Mob patriarch and a fortune.
Kitchen Irish is the second arc in the Punisher MAX timeline and personally I think it's one of my favourites. First off, the artist has been replaced by Leandro Fernandez and honestly, while its not the awesome art by LaRosa, it's still pretty good. Fernandez's style is more cartoony than the former, but it makes up for it with solid colouring, good shading, some awesome setpieces (the opening aftermath of the bomb is horrifying) and distinct character looks.
The story is a good one too with Frank playing more of an assistant role to the characters of Yorkie and Andy Lorimer, two Brits who had come Stateside to investigate the bombing. The bulk of the story however is about the Irish mobs and their goal to snatch up the prize left behind by old Pops Nesbitt, a nasty piece of work who ruled the Irish mob back in the day and was the one unifying factor before his death. Some people have criticized the lack of Punisher in this story, but for me it works. Frank is one of those characters who at his core is a one trick pony. Whether shooting them up, blowing them up, burning them up or torturing them up, Frank's goals are simple. He wants you dead. And when he is used poorly, he becomes something of a joke (see Punisher Purgatory or FrankenCastle for example).
On the note of other characters, we have a wide variety of pick-and-mix to choose from and for the most part, they're a mixed blend from lacking to good, with the majority being the Irish crims. I'll cover Yorkie and Andy in a bit as for the others, starting from the bottom.
1. The Toners are Frank's initial target, a pack of old Irish mobsters who still cling to delusions of grandeur and they're probably the weak link in the chain. We don't see much of Tommy Toner and what we do see is getting carved up piece by piece. And when we're introduced to Brenda Toner, his wife, the story's already reaching its climax and Brenda's a pretty one note character.
2. The River Rats are a pack of river pirates that operate out of Hell's Kitchen. The biggest weakness with them is that beyond their tight operation, they're pretty stereotypical pirates, albeit proper pirates, not some Captain Pugwash bullshit.
3. Maginty is the baddest n-word (his word not mine) to come out of Dublin and here's where things get interesting. Maginty is a very distinct character with a distinct appearance, vocal style and some real menace to his character. And when he decides to hire Napper French, Nesbitt's old associate who was good at cutting up bodies to pull a disappearing act on Tommy Toner, whew! On the note of Napper, he's surprisingly well fleshed out given his screen time. He's old, loves his grandson and repentant for his old life, but the comic never ceases to remind you that this guy was a fucking MONSTER.
4. And then we have Finn Cooley and his gang. Finn and co get the most characterisation by dint of getting the most screentime and for the most part they're the most interesting. Each of the three of them represents some character of the IRA. Michael, an associate of Finn's and of Irish descent is the sane voice in the bunch, the one who wants to give up the life. Peter, Finn's nephew is the naive newcomer, the man who honestly believes in the monstrous things he's committed to. Meanwhile Finn himself - whose face has been blasted clean off - is a hideous bastard who couldn't give a fuck about the IRA and is just in it for himself.
If there is one thing we have to address and it's always the leprechaun in the room with Ennis's work, it's the commentary. Ennis is no stranger to injecting personal opinions into his work and here's it's a little hit and miss. Yorkie is the main mouthpiece here for Ennis's views and while he's fleshed out enough to function on his own, his dressing down of Peter during a torture session feels a little too on the nose to function as anything but an author tract. It also means that Andy suffers the brunt of losing screen time as his only real motivation in the story is revenge. However it's through the villains that Ennis personal views are also at their most well-written. For all their bluff and bluster, the villains of Kitchen Irish are a petty, miserable lot. Tommy Toner fashions himself as a modern day protector of Hell's Kitchen but he gets taken out early and has no real power, while his wife is nothing but a racist, sexist thug. The River Rats run a tight ship, but they're basically Ennis flipping off the notion of modern day Robin Hoods. Maginty might be the baddest Afro Irish out of Dublin, but he lives in a squalid shithole, running petty blackmail only for Napper French to almost get the drop on him. And Finn and his boys are effectively the butt of the colossal joke that is the story. Peter gets captured, Michael has a breakdown and Finn loses his face, his pride, his arse at the hands of some black gangsters and more of his face at the hands of Frank.
Kitchen Irish is a solid followup to In the Beginning, painting us another day in the life of Frank Castle. If anything it's really only let down by weak characterisation for some characters and being a little too heavy handed on the political commentary in places. Up next is Mother Russia.
November 12, 2025
STORY: 4/5
Ennis injects a ton of Irish culture into the second volume of Max Comics Punisher. There’s a segment towards the end of the book where a British Vietnam veteran and Secret Service agent interrogates a captured Peter Cooley, member of the Provisional I.R.A. Within this heated conversation, we are showered with a barrage of vague statements on the animosity between the British and the Irish. History, wartime jargon, whatever you want to call it. This comic would probably be a great read for political enthusiasts, especially those knowledgeable on the history of Irish/British conflict. I, an unknowledgeable person, was out of my depth, and unwilling (at the time) to spend what time it would take to research the history and the terms. What I can say positively about Ennis’ writing here, is that I appreciate that he doesn’t hold our hand. I appreciate that he utilizes his understanding of his culture and the wartime history involved to craft an authentic conversation. It was very well-written, but I simply couldn’t follow it, and that’s okay!
About the plot, I thought the conclusion was mostly predictable, more so than many of Garth Ennis’ joints. Nevertheless, I found Kitchen Irish to be a fun tale of multiple gangs chasing after the same tail. The last leg of the comic is the strongest, while the beginning spends much time building up to an explosive conclusion. There are many pieces at play here, and the board needs to be set. Once things pop off and the pieces start shooting at each other, it’s a blast. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters Garth Ennis wrote here. He’s definitely got a knack for writing despicable antagonists, especially ones with physical deformities!
I was satisfied with the conclusion of this Punisher tale, however, there was a plot thread left astray, that of a young child who witnesses something horrifying. I needed to know that he would be okay, but this was simply forgotten?
ART: 3.5/5
Line-work duties are assigned to Leandro Fernandez in volume Two. I thought he did a great job. It’s nothing remarkable, but works wonderfully in the storytelling department. Lots of widescreen panels and black boarders, keeping things cinematic. I’m reminded of Jacen Burrows. He does well with expressions, though all the young characters are devoid of definition, sometimes leaving them looking puffy in the face.
The Tim Bradstreet covers continue to be hit and miss for me.
Ennis injects a ton of Irish culture into the second volume of Max Comics Punisher. There’s a segment towards the end of the book where a British Vietnam veteran and Secret Service agent interrogates a captured Peter Cooley, member of the Provisional I.R.A. Within this heated conversation, we are showered with a barrage of vague statements on the animosity between the British and the Irish. History, wartime jargon, whatever you want to call it. This comic would probably be a great read for political enthusiasts, especially those knowledgeable on the history of Irish/British conflict. I, an unknowledgeable person, was out of my depth, and unwilling (at the time) to spend what time it would take to research the history and the terms. What I can say positively about Ennis’ writing here, is that I appreciate that he doesn’t hold our hand. I appreciate that he utilizes his understanding of his culture and the wartime history involved to craft an authentic conversation. It was very well-written, but I simply couldn’t follow it, and that’s okay!
About the plot, I thought the conclusion was mostly predictable, more so than many of Garth Ennis’ joints. Nevertheless, I found Kitchen Irish to be a fun tale of multiple gangs chasing after the same tail. The last leg of the comic is the strongest, while the beginning spends much time building up to an explosive conclusion. There are many pieces at play here, and the board needs to be set. Once things pop off and the pieces start shooting at each other, it’s a blast. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters Garth Ennis wrote here. He’s definitely got a knack for writing despicable antagonists, especially ones with physical deformities!
I was satisfied with the conclusion of this Punisher tale, however, there was a plot thread left astray, that of a young child who witnesses something horrifying. I needed to know that he would be okay, but this was simply forgotten?
ART: 3.5/5
Line-work duties are assigned to Leandro Fernandez in volume Two. I thought he did a great job. It’s nothing remarkable, but works wonderfully in the storytelling department. Lots of widescreen panels and black boarders, keeping things cinematic. I’m reminded of Jacen Burrows. He does well with expressions, though all the young characters are devoid of definition, sometimes leaving them looking puffy in the face.
The Tim Bradstreet covers continue to be hit and miss for me.
July 4, 2024
Punisher MAX Vol. 2: Kitchen Irish
Marvel. Collects issues 7-12
In Hell’s Kitchen, a bomb goes BOOM! and so does the local bar, the Kerry Castle.
Frank survives. Eleven dead. Thirty injured. The bar was the stomping grounds of Tommy Toner, the head of the Westies, an Irish gang.
Frank’s plan – A bullet for Tommy’s idiots, a bullet for each of Tommy’s knees, and then they go for a ride. Plans change. Someone gets to Tommy first. He’s kidnapped.
Meet Maginty. Kidnapper. He means business. Meet Napper French. He has a past of making people disappear. Maginity has Napper’s grandkid as a hostage. Maginty has a need for Napper’s knives and has a question for the old man, “Did you ever do a Houdini on a man who was still alive?”
From an old colleague and current M.I.6 Agent, Frank learns the bar bomber is Finn Cooley ex I.R.A. Finn knows a thing or two about explosives. Look at his face. Like looking at a plate of raw hamburger, courtesy of a bomb going BOOM! early. The bomb at the bar was meant to take out Finn’s rivals.
Old Man Nesbitt ran Hell’s Kitchen but he’s dead. Nesbitt hated everyone but he had connections – Finn, Maginty, Tommy Toner, the River Rats. They all want Nesbitt’s inheritance – ten million in cash. The catch – they all have part of a code but need to unite to locate the cash.
Maginty gets his, courtesy of Napper’s knives. His men make the save minus some of Maginty’s fingers. Exit Napper.
After countless spent bullets, explosions, and mailed body parts, Finn meets with Brenda, Tommy’s wife. The pair make peace to get the cash. Enter Maginity and what’s let of the River Rats. They put the codes together, find the location of the inheritance, along with Nesbitt’s final message – Boom!
Best quote. Frank – “I know how it is when you want some Piece of Sh!t dead like nothing else on Earth.”
Best quote runner-up. Frank on Nesbitt, “…once a bastard, always a bastard.”
Best quote. Bronze medal goes to Napper. “Why I am I naked? Well, I don’t wanna ruin a perfectly good suit, do I? That’s strictly amateur hour.”
Best Panels. Maginity Vs PedEf Express, arguing on the phone about shipping charges on mailing body parts of Tommy to Tommy’s wife.
Best Cover. Issue 11.
Great read. This is a Gang War done right. Where’s the Disney series?
Marvel. Collects issues 7-12
In Hell’s Kitchen, a bomb goes BOOM! and so does the local bar, the Kerry Castle.
Frank survives. Eleven dead. Thirty injured. The bar was the stomping grounds of Tommy Toner, the head of the Westies, an Irish gang.
Frank’s plan – A bullet for Tommy’s idiots, a bullet for each of Tommy’s knees, and then they go for a ride. Plans change. Someone gets to Tommy first. He’s kidnapped.
Meet Maginty. Kidnapper. He means business. Meet Napper French. He has a past of making people disappear. Maginity has Napper’s grandkid as a hostage. Maginty has a need for Napper’s knives and has a question for the old man, “Did you ever do a Houdini on a man who was still alive?”
From an old colleague and current M.I.6 Agent, Frank learns the bar bomber is Finn Cooley ex I.R.A. Finn knows a thing or two about explosives. Look at his face. Like looking at a plate of raw hamburger, courtesy of a bomb going BOOM! early. The bomb at the bar was meant to take out Finn’s rivals.
Old Man Nesbitt ran Hell’s Kitchen but he’s dead. Nesbitt hated everyone but he had connections – Finn, Maginty, Tommy Toner, the River Rats. They all want Nesbitt’s inheritance – ten million in cash. The catch – they all have part of a code but need to unite to locate the cash.
Maginty gets his, courtesy of Napper’s knives. His men make the save minus some of Maginty’s fingers. Exit Napper.
After countless spent bullets, explosions, and mailed body parts, Finn meets with Brenda, Tommy’s wife. The pair make peace to get the cash. Enter Maginity and what’s let of the River Rats. They put the codes together, find the location of the inheritance, along with Nesbitt’s final message – Boom!
Best quote. Frank – “I know how it is when you want some Piece of Sh!t dead like nothing else on Earth.”
Best quote runner-up. Frank on Nesbitt, “…once a bastard, always a bastard.”
Best quote. Bronze medal goes to Napper. “Why I am I naked? Well, I don’t wanna ruin a perfectly good suit, do I? That’s strictly amateur hour.”
Best Panels. Maginity Vs PedEf Express, arguing on the phone about shipping charges on mailing body parts of Tommy to Tommy’s wife.
Best Cover. Issue 11.
Great read. This is a Gang War done right. Where’s the Disney series?
September 9, 2019
Ennis dalej czaruje, aczkolwiek nie jest to taki znakomity kawałek roboty jak odwalił przy cześci pierwszej jego nowej serii w barwach MAX. Niemniej nie mogę nie docenić sylwetek postaci jakie prezentuje nam podana opowieść. Tak różnorodnych zwyrodnialców próżno szukać gdzie indziej. wyraziste postacie są mocną stroną tego autora.
Rozpoczyna się makabrycznie, ale powoli przywykam już do Ennis'owych zawiązań fabularnych. Frank nie ma możliwości skonsumować nawet spokojnie posiłku, gdyż obok baru wybucha bomba. Obraz zniszczeń jest bardzo sugestywny. Zwłaszcza kobiety, w której gardle tkwi kawał szkła. Autor nie bawi się w półśrodki, tylko pokazuje okropieństwa takich czynów. Za to plus. Jasne może i jest to nieco przerysowane, ale jakie sugestywne. Frank dołącza do akcji ratunkowej i przy okazji znajduje kolejny cel dla swojej vendetty. Irlandzkich terrorystów... Z IRA. Tak. Tej IRA.
Cała zgraja mafiozów zaczyna że sobą walczyć, po to aby uzyskać pewne kody, jakie dadzą współrzędne miejsca gdzie znajduje się skarb starego przestępcy. Stawką jest 10 milionów. Tak zaczyna się festiwal rzezi. Frank tym razem nie jest osamotniony i łączy siły z dwójką agentów z MI6.
Antagoniści. Tak. Cooley zapadł mi chyba najbardziej w pamięć, ale to raczej przez brak twarzy. Mamy też rzeczne szczury, Westies, Magintiego wraz z jego dziadkiem "do krojenia". Zakończenie jest w pewnym stopniu przewidywalne, ale i tak zapewnia dużą satysfakcję. Ot taki ostatni psikus starego wygi.
Graficznie drugi tom wypada równie dobrze, co cześć pierwsza, choć historia, poza kilkoma niuansami nie jest tak porywająca jak ta w jedynce. Dlatego też mocne cztery. Czekam na kolejne "wyczyny" Castle'a.
Rozpoczyna się makabrycznie, ale powoli przywykam już do Ennis'owych zawiązań fabularnych. Frank nie ma możliwości skonsumować nawet spokojnie posiłku, gdyż obok baru wybucha bomba. Obraz zniszczeń jest bardzo sugestywny. Zwłaszcza kobiety, w której gardle tkwi kawał szkła. Autor nie bawi się w półśrodki, tylko pokazuje okropieństwa takich czynów. Za to plus. Jasne może i jest to nieco przerysowane, ale jakie sugestywne. Frank dołącza do akcji ratunkowej i przy okazji znajduje kolejny cel dla swojej vendetty. Irlandzkich terrorystów... Z IRA. Tak. Tej IRA.
Cała zgraja mafiozów zaczyna że sobą walczyć, po to aby uzyskać pewne kody, jakie dadzą współrzędne miejsca gdzie znajduje się skarb starego przestępcy. Stawką jest 10 milionów. Tak zaczyna się festiwal rzezi. Frank tym razem nie jest osamotniony i łączy siły z dwójką agentów z MI6.
Antagoniści. Tak. Cooley zapadł mi chyba najbardziej w pamięć, ale to raczej przez brak twarzy. Mamy też rzeczne szczury, Westies, Magintiego wraz z jego dziadkiem "do krojenia". Zakończenie jest w pewnym stopniu przewidywalne, ale i tak zapewnia dużą satysfakcję. Ot taki ostatni psikus starego wygi.
Graficznie drugi tom wypada równie dobrze, co cześć pierwsza, choć historia, poza kilkoma niuansami nie jest tak porywająca jak ta w jedynce. Dlatego też mocne cztery. Czekam na kolejne "wyczyny" Castle'a.
February 20, 2024
Ennis' blind spots are fully engaged here in a manner that actively interferes with the sociopolitical forces he wants to examine. It's understandable how a man who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles would have a negative view of the IRA. Within the story he has structured, there is room for nuance here that allows critical examination of the moral decay at the heart of that militarism. That's not what happens here. Omitting the storied history of Loyalist paramilitaries committing similar atrocities, the book drops in two British representatives whose positions are presented fairly uncritically and seem to be present primarily for the author to soapbox on. It's one thing for Yorkie to give a patronizing speech singling out the IRA as a source of human suffering, but given that he's in the middle of an excursion that is explicitly pitched as extrajudicial assassination on foreign soil without that country's consent, who is he to talk? It's not even a situation where the subject would be improved by it not being a Punisher story, as the Punisher himself only really exists as a bystander (beyond a fantastic introduction sequence in the first issue that is a clear standout of the arc). There's a good reason this arc is considered the black sheep of his MAX run, and one could comfortably skip this without losing anything of vital importance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2017
Малюнок став стильнішим, або я втягнувся у атмосферу цієї дічі. Так чи інакше, задники стали краще. З мінусів: я досі майже не розрізняю між собою обличчя персонажів, бо відрізняються вони одне від одного скоріше одягом (знову ж таки, за виключенням деяких сцен).
Дуже шкода, що поки що ми маємо не єдиний наскрізний сюжет, а набір "банда тижня" або чогось на кшталт того. Сюжет досі непоганий, так. І я б навіть глянув такий серіалець, але... відчувається в цьому Marvel, прямо таки сидаліщним нервом я його у Punisher МАХ чую. Особливо із появою ірландця із напівзнесеним обличчям, аби це виглядало "по-коміксному", напевно. Якби в нього просто були опіки чи не вистачало б однієї із кінцівок, то драма персонажа б лишилась, а Marvel у стилі Netflix без присутності хоч яких кроссоверних персонажів відчувався би значно менше.
Досі напружує також вставка персонажів-функцій задля "накрутки жесті", як от із дідусем-гудіні, образ якого так і не розкрили.
Трохи у мінус також ідуть відсилки до Панішера зі старих фільмів на обкладинках та у зовнішньому вигляді Френка, бо характер він має зовсім інший.
З плюсів: то скоріше історії "за участі Френка Касла", аніж із ним у головній ролі. Круто, коли так роблять у екшн-сюжетах.
Їдемо далі...
Дуже шкода, що поки що ми маємо не єдиний наскрізний сюжет, а набір "банда тижня" або чогось на кшталт того. Сюжет досі непоганий, так. І я б навіть глянув такий серіалець, але... відчувається в цьому Marvel, прямо таки сидаліщним нервом я його у Punisher МАХ чую. Особливо із появою ірландця із напівзнесеним обличчям, аби це виглядало "по-коміксному", напевно. Якби в нього просто були опіки чи не вистачало б однієї із кінцівок, то драма персонажа б лишилась, а Marvel у стилі Netflix без присутності хоч яких кроссоверних персонажів відчувався би значно менше.
Досі напружує також вставка персонажів-функцій задля "накрутки жесті", як от із дідусем-гудіні, образ якого так і не розкрили.
Трохи у мінус також ідуть відсилки до Панішера зі старих фільмів на обкладинках та у зовнішньому вигляді Френка, бо характер він має зовсім інший.
З плюсів: то скоріше історії "за участі Френка Касла", аніж із ним у головній ролі. Круто, коли так роблять у екшн-сюжетах.
Їдемо далі...
February 10, 2018
Kitchen Irish:
Hm. This story wasn't nearly as good as the first two. It was more of a pulp crime novel than a Punisher book, really. Frank Castle was in it. But he was not the protagonist. In truth, he wasn't really important to the story. The art was, unfortunately, not as good as the first two, either. While the first two were among the best of how the medium can look, this one started weak, and worked its way up to competent. I found it ugly to even look at until halfway through, and never good enough to not be distracting. This was disappointing. That this same illustrator comes back for the fifth and sixth story in this collection does not excite me. But maybe, by then, he will have improved, as he improved during these six chapters. The covers/chapter breaks continue to be amazing.
Two Stars
February, 2018
Hm. This story wasn't nearly as good as the first two. It was more of a pulp crime novel than a Punisher book, really. Frank Castle was in it. But he was not the protagonist. In truth, he wasn't really important to the story. The art was, unfortunately, not as good as the first two, either. While the first two were among the best of how the medium can look, this one started weak, and worked its way up to competent. I found it ugly to even look at until halfway through, and never good enough to not be distracting. This was disappointing. That this same illustrator comes back for the fifth and sixth story in this collection does not excite me. But maybe, by then, he will have improved, as he improved during these six chapters. The covers/chapter breaks continue to be amazing.
Two Stars
February, 2018
July 24, 2021
Ennis centra el argumento en un entorno atípico para El castigador: la mafia irlandesa en EE.UU. y sus vínculos con el IRA. El tema se desarrolla a través de un pequeño enjambre de cuatro grupos enfrentados por la herencia del patriarca recientemente fallecido, lo que requiere de una cierta elaboración para describir a cada uno. Esta se queda un poco en agua de borrajas porque Ennis no puede evitar sazonar la mayoría de sus deformaciones de brocha gorda (el pavo al que le explotó la bomba y lo mutiló de manera grotesca; las esposas que tienen más "cojones" que sus maridos...). Además Leandro Fernández, a esta altura de su carrera, todavía era un Eduardo Risso de serie B, con una narrativa y una caracterización muy limitadas. Pero esto no quita para que aprecie el cambio respecto al tomo anterior y la historia fluya de principio a fin.
July 7, 2024
Two volumes in and I'm really struggling with this series. Ennis is, at his best, an amazing writer and the artists here are no slouch either, but Ennis has yet to introduce a single character across twelve issues that I care even the slightest bit about. Certainly not the series' protagonist.
The plotting is fine (though Kitchen Irish, in particular, really dragged) and the dialogue is solid, if a bit too edgy for edginess sake, but between the book's general nastiness and the lack of sympathetic characters, I'm holding on by a thread. I got the whole series for next to nothing so I will carry on, but if I didn't, I think this would have been it for me. And at least there is some hope in that I have really, really liked some of the one-shots that were released during this run.
Hopefully this is just a slow start but Hitman or Preacher, this ain't.
The plotting is fine (though Kitchen Irish, in particular, really dragged) and the dialogue is solid, if a bit too edgy for edginess sake, but between the book's general nastiness and the lack of sympathetic characters, I'm holding on by a thread. I got the whole series for next to nothing so I will carry on, but if I didn't, I think this would have been it for me. And at least there is some hope in that I have really, really liked some of the one-shots that were released during this run.
Hopefully this is just a slow start but Hitman or Preacher, this ain't.
November 3, 2017
Hay un conflicto de bandas Irlandesas que quieren un tesoro, todos quieren una parte de el, además de conflictos del IRA, agentes del M16,y en la mitad esta el Castigador, que quiere cobrarse sangre y lo hace feliz, a borbotones . El primer numero nos enseñaba a un Castle herido y que se ve llevado por las circunstancias, pero esto se queda ahi, ya de resto, Frank es solo un mero conector entre el resto depersonajes, como si Ennis nos quisiera recordar lo duro que son los Irlandeses y la sangre que han dejado en su patria y al formar America, pero de resto, muy normalito .El dibujo de Leandro Fernandez esta al nivel de siempre, o sea, buenisimo,aunque a alguno pueda rayarle que sea mas suave que el masazo que había sido el de Lewis Larosa, el argentino cumple y de muy buena manera.
February 7, 2018
Ya en las primeras páginas tenemos la primera matanza, con un atentado donde vemos a un Punisher impotente ante las víctimas: "Por primera vez en mi vida me doy cuenta de que no se qué hacer. Cuando ella vomita sangre y cristales y cae muerta, estoy agradecido". Ante esa violencia no puede haber otra reacción para Punisher que desatar la destrucción y el caos sobre todos los responsables. ¿Quienes son? Irlandeses pro IRA, pero no por ello Punisher acabará con el resto de mafiosos irlandeses para limpiar la ciudad. Una trama en la que el gran Garth Ennis aprovecha para hacer una metáfora del conflicto irlandés junto a unos diálogos mordaces y unas escenas violentas y poderosas. Toda una delicia para los lectores.
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