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The Punisher (2004) (Collected Editions) #9-10
The Punisher, Vol. 5
Barracuda's back! The most dangerous foe the Punisher has ever faced has found a chink in his enemy's armor, one even Frank Castle himself doesn't know about. Heart full of blackest hate and loving every minute of it, he's out to crush the vigilante to pulp - and take his time over killing what remains.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published June 17, 2009
1 person is currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,626 books3,173 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
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 21, 2013
Barracuda's back! Oh and he's pissed off. Round 2 of 'Cuda and The Punisher. That's good enough for 4 stars there.
Throw in the fantastic 'Valley Forge, Valley Forge' Story to complete Volume 5 (and in fact, Ennis' run on Punisher) and you've got 5 stars of greatness. This story deals with the beginnings of Frank Castle in Vietnam, what he survived there, and ties into what's happening to him now. Throw in some very well written political commentary mirroring Iraq/Afghanistan to Vietnam [and showing a very unhappy Nick Fury realizing that it's all been for nothing] and you've got one heck of a story with one hell of a way to end the run.
Essential Punisher.
Throw in the fantastic 'Valley Forge, Valley Forge' Story to complete Volume 5 (and in fact, Ennis' run on Punisher) and you've got 5 stars of greatness. This story deals with the beginnings of Frank Castle in Vietnam, what he survived there, and ties into what's happening to him now. Throw in some very well written political commentary mirroring Iraq/Afghanistan to Vietnam [and showing a very unhappy Nick Fury realizing that it's all been for nothing] and you've got one heck of a story with one hell of a way to end the run.
Essential Punisher.
March 3, 2021
How does Garth Ennis keep doing this? Great Barracuda storyline and Ennis also gets in a good 6 issue arc diatribe against the Vietnam War and the similarities to the Bush Iraq strategies.
May 3, 2020
Mam nadzieję, że to nie ostatni taki Punisher, ale na pewno ostatni jak dotąd w wykonaniu Gartha Ennisa. Cały ten cykl to feeria przemocy, jakiej dotąd nie udało mi się zanotować na kartach komiksu. Czasem była doprowadzona do przesady, ale w większości zajść cechowała jakaś forma satysfakcji i dosadności.
Punisher się nie "pier$#%i" z przestępcami i jak na kogoś zagnie parol, to już sprawa praktycznie załatwiona. Ostatni tom ma wszystko to co można polubić w tej serii i stanowi taką kwintesencję całości. Mamy tu ulubieńca wśród psychopatów, Barracudę i nieco ugładzoną końcówkę, która jednak daje radość. Co się kończy, coś się zaczyna... Tym bardziej, że jest tutaj pewien aspekt, który sprawia, że omawiana historia jest bardzo osobista dla Franka.
Wypada tylko pogratulować sześćdziesięciu zeszytów przepełnionych akcją, którą mogę polecić każdemu dorosłemu czytelnikowi. To też jedna z najlepszych pozycji jaką dane mi było zakupić z oferty Egmontu. Cała seria najprawdopodobniej skończy się tam na dziewiątym tomu, bo polski wydawca od razu wprowadza też historie napisane przez Aarona, więc wypada mi tylko poczekać i zobaczyć jak inni autorzy sobie poradzą z postacią Punishera.
Punisher się nie "pier$#%i" z przestępcami i jak na kogoś zagnie parol, to już sprawa praktycznie załatwiona. Ostatni tom ma wszystko to co można polubić w tej serii i stanowi taką kwintesencję całości. Mamy tu ulubieńca wśród psychopatów, Barracudę i nieco ugładzoną końcówkę, która jednak daje radość. Co się kończy, coś się zaczyna... Tym bardziej, że jest tutaj pewien aspekt, który sprawia, że omawiana historia jest bardzo osobista dla Franka.
Wypada tylko pogratulować sześćdziesięciu zeszytów przepełnionych akcją, którą mogę polecić każdemu dorosłemu czytelnikowi. To też jedna z najlepszych pozycji jaką dane mi było zakupić z oferty Egmontu. Cała seria najprawdopodobniej skończy się tam na dziewiątym tomu, bo polski wydawca od razu wprowadza też historie napisane przez Aarona, więc wypada mi tylko poczekać i zobaczyć jak inni autorzy sobie poradzą z postacią Punishera.
April 1, 2020
Rating: 4 - Bad art and Plot armor
I hate so much when you buy an ongoing because of the pair. The writer and the artist, then one of them leave. The art wasn't the best art I've ever seen in earlier issues, but this has almost a 90s cartoon feel. Not really fitting with the stories or subject matter. So, the stories themselves. Pretty good. Without giving much away this entire volume is about people coming back for revenge on Frank in new and interesting ways. My only complaint with the story is that one of these bad guys seems to have more plot armor than batman. Frank could melt him like they did terminator and I'm sure he'd be back in the next volume. Maybe that wasn't Ennis' call, but the editor. Who knows? Other than that the writing was solid.
I hate so much when you buy an ongoing because of the pair. The writer and the artist, then one of them leave. The art wasn't the best art I've ever seen in earlier issues, but this has almost a 90s cartoon feel. Not really fitting with the stories or subject matter. So, the stories themselves. Pretty good. Without giving much away this entire volume is about people coming back for revenge on Frank in new and interesting ways. My only complaint with the story is that one of these bad guys seems to have more plot armor than batman. Frank could melt him like they did terminator and I'm sure he'd be back in the next volume. Maybe that wasn't Ennis' call, but the editor. Who knows? Other than that the writing was solid.
July 24, 2025
I haven't read From First to Last, but I had to rate these stories as five stars. The Baracuda arc is by far the best of Ennis' run, absolutely amazing with Long Cold Dark serving as a memorable, somber finish to a very complex, disturbed and entertaining villain. Every character shines. Not to mention Valley Forge is a perfect closer bringing everything back to the beginning of this MAX run with Punisher: Born, firmly establishing what the Punisher represents. Absolutely amazing, and I say this as someone who was dismissive of graphic novels and pushing them off for years. I was wrong, it's art, and Ennis is an amazing writer. The entire series is worth a read.
May 8, 2020
I was ultimately disappointed in this volume. The first half is actually pretty good: Barracuda returns, and it's as violent as you would expect. I didn't love the art, but the story was certainly engaging. However, the second half, and Ennis' finale, has some great points to make and is SOOOOOO boring. If this was somewhere in the middle, I would treat it as simple fatigue. As a finale, it's a bit of a thud.
February 11, 2020
Best Punisher series. How the Punisher dies is not how I expected at all. Garth Ennis is a great writer, especially about war.
January 20, 2023
A on jest najgroźniejszym człowiekiem, jaki stąpał po ziemi.
November 25, 2015
Garth Ennis concludes his epic run on Punisher MAX with two excellent chapters. These stories get to the true heart of Frank Castle and the Punisher.
"Thirty years since I'd known the terror of bring a parent." That's something you don't learn until you have your own kid(s).
The first story is a rematch between Barracuda and Punisher. It's a violent, bloody, brutal affair with very personal stakes. The setup is a little iffy but the resultant story and character development of Castle is worth the leap of faith.
"The sun slipped away behind me, the last sliver seeming to pause on the horizon, then succumbing to the black. And I drove on through the shadows of America."
The biggest detriment to this story is Barracuda's back story revealed during his death throes is rather cliché. It should humanize the monstrous man but missed the mark for me. It obviously contrasts with Frank's fatherhood, though.
The real meat of this volume and the excellent capstone to Ennis' run is "Valley Forge, Valley Forge".
"In the end, the war in Vietnam was much like any other. There were those who profited. Those it devoured. And then there were those for whom there are no words."
Frank Castle's Vietnam history is always a specter haunting his character but in this story Ennis digs deeper into the events that started forging the Punisher. Each issue contains 2-4 pages of pure prose, which might turn off some comics purists but the fictional book excerpts add layers to Castle and provide damning social commentary on the Vietnam war, the military, and society at large. The actual comic is also light on violence, which is certainly surprising for a Punisher story but not unfitting for such a story. There's plenty of twists and reveals and just enough action.
"They took America from me, man. They took America. How fucked up is that?"
You can't fully appreciate either story in a vacuum since both rely on past history but even so they could be enjoyed by newcomers, which is a remarkable trait given this collects issues 50-60.
The artwork isn't stellar but is still good and certainly fits the stories. The covers are gorgeous, though.
The Punisher is a unique anti-hero vigilante in the Marvel universe. Ennis completely "got" the character during his run.
"Thirty years since I'd known the terror of bring a parent." That's something you don't learn until you have your own kid(s).
The first story is a rematch between Barracuda and Punisher. It's a violent, bloody, brutal affair with very personal stakes. The setup is a little iffy but the resultant story and character development of Castle is worth the leap of faith.
"The sun slipped away behind me, the last sliver seeming to pause on the horizon, then succumbing to the black. And I drove on through the shadows of America."
The biggest detriment to this story is Barracuda's back story revealed during his death throes is rather cliché. It should humanize the monstrous man but missed the mark for me. It obviously contrasts with Frank's fatherhood, though.
The real meat of this volume and the excellent capstone to Ennis' run is "Valley Forge, Valley Forge".
"In the end, the war in Vietnam was much like any other. There were those who profited. Those it devoured. And then there were those for whom there are no words."
Frank Castle's Vietnam history is always a specter haunting his character but in this story Ennis digs deeper into the events that started forging the Punisher. Each issue contains 2-4 pages of pure prose, which might turn off some comics purists but the fictional book excerpts add layers to Castle and provide damning social commentary on the Vietnam war, the military, and society at large. The actual comic is also light on violence, which is certainly surprising for a Punisher story but not unfitting for such a story. There's plenty of twists and reveals and just enough action.
"They took America from me, man. They took America. How fucked up is that?"
You can't fully appreciate either story in a vacuum since both rely on past history but even so they could be enjoyed by newcomers, which is a remarkable trait given this collects issues 50-60.
The artwork isn't stellar but is still good and certainly fits the stories. The covers are gorgeous, though.
The Punisher is a unique anti-hero vigilante in the Marvel universe. Ennis completely "got" the character during his run.
June 6, 2011
Sometimes I wonder how Frank Castle isn't hobbling around with a tinfoil hat and a walker -- dude's survived so many crazy beatdowns you'd think he'd sprinted airborne out the collapsing South Tower with twelve survivors on his shoulders -- and here he is letting the most hilarious MacGuffin ever (hint: it's the Punisher's drugged-up BABY!) put him at war with the Barracuda. Again. Fight of the century, and I gotta say there's one cool life-passing-before-thine-eyes sequence in the climax here that queers the whole moral inevitability of the story. Well done.
Second story here is an anti-war parable where Frank is deliberately pitted against American generals and soldiers, complete with stagey and dull text excerpts from a Vietnam vet's testimonial. Some very cool Punisher-entrapment moments here, and I dig the political undertone -- that wars are now sponsored and maybe even run by corporations -- but on the whole it felt overdetermined and silly.
Second story here is an anti-war parable where Frank is deliberately pitted against American generals and soldiers, complete with stagey and dull text excerpts from a Vietnam vet's testimonial. Some very cool Punisher-entrapment moments here, and I dig the political undertone -- that wars are now sponsored and maybe even run by corporations -- but on the whole it felt overdetermined and silly.
June 23, 2009
The only Punisher stories you really need to read are those from the Max series by Garth Ennis published between 2004 and 2008. No white booties, no superheroes, no teary breakdowns at the graves of his family- just hardcore, wholesale slaughter. I might have a teary breakdown remembering how great these stories were.
September 21, 2018
This is amazingly written and drawn, the story is well thought out and put together. I really respect that the story follows a timeline and does not change to allow things in. Once I picked the first issue up I could not put it back down, I had to keep reading. This was time well spent and I recommend this series to all comic book fans and non fans.
September 13, 2016
5 stars for the brilliant noir as f**k Long, Cold Dark Night storyline.
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May 24, 2016I have now read enough Garth Ennis comics to last me for the rest of my life, I think.
May 29, 2016
Really good volume.
September 24, 2017
Barracuda is back, and I wish he never did. LOL. The only thing I liked was Castle having a family again, a child from O'Brien. Im glad this run with Barracuda is finally over. LOL.
As for 'valley forge valley forge', its a good story for Castle's origin and his Vietnam war days. Fighting soldiers is a good plot as well. A nice conclusion for the Mother Russia storyline ans Ennis' run with Punisher.
As for 'valley forge valley forge', its a good story for Castle's origin and his Vietnam war days. Fighting soldiers is a good plot as well. A nice conclusion for the Mother Russia storyline ans Ennis' run with Punisher.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews