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The Punisher (2000/2001) (Collected Editions)
The Punisher, Vol. 1: Welcome Back, Frank
The Punisher, aka Frank Castle, returns to Manhattan to take on Ma Gnucchi and her crime family, and on the way he battles The Russian and encounters a vigilante squad composed of Elite, Mr. Payback, and The Holy.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2001
43 people are currently reading
2272 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 276 reviews
February 7, 2017
Deadly good reading!
This TPB edition collects “The Punisher” (2000) #1-12.
Creative Team:
Writer: Garth Ennis
Illustrator: Steve Dillon
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Covers’ art: Tim Bradstreet
BACK WITH A BANG! (ACTUALLY SEVERAL BANGS!)
Solo act again. No micro. No gimmicks: no fancy ammo, no battle-vans, no hi-tech surveillance. Just the basics. Been gone a while. Distracted. The scum of the city need a wake-up call. And here it comes.
Frank Castle aka The Punisher returned to the Big Apple…
…and the worms are starting to run away.
The Punisher declared war against the Gnucci Crime Family…
…why?...
…Why not?
The Punisher hates criminals and he plans to eliminate them so beginning with the Gnucci Crime Family is as good point to begin as anyone else, so nothing personal, no sworn vendetta, no secret motives. The Gnucci Crime Family just got the short straw in The Punisher’s War on Crime.
Ma Gnucci is the lady who runs the Gnucci Crime Family along with her sons, but soon enough she’ll notice how fast her blood relatives are starting to fall along with her minions, so she’ll call to “her people” inside of the NYPD to deal with The Punisher…
…but there are two problems in that scenario…
…first, the NYPD isn’t dumb to go against The Punisher, oh no, siree, and second, the NYPD loves Punisher’s work since thanks to him, they have a lot less things to deal with, so while they don't say it aloud, they are quite okay with Punisher's work in the streets.
However, they need to cover appearances to the public and media that are demanding a response against violence unleashed by the Punisher, so the NYPD forms a “Task Force”…
…a task force of two individuals. Good luck with that!
Even Daredevil will mess into Punisher’s blood path, but maybe the Man without Fear would prefer to stay in Hell’s Kitchen since Frank isn’t in the mood to deal with him.
And of course…
…there’s The Russian. Oh, boy!!!
I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU
Frank Castle needs to live somewhere, so with his return to New York, he is taking an apartment under a false name (John Smith… smooth, Frank) and slowly he will get used to his eccentric neighbors: Mousy Joan (fearing of everything), Spacker Dave (pierced punk) and the massive humanity of Mr. Bumpo (with a too healthy appetite).
Between casual brief talks in the corridors and odd offerings of food, Frank Castle slowly started to enjoy (in his own particular way) to have this "friends" in the place that now he is living.
However, wherever The Punisher goes, mayhem follows him, so the apartment building may turn into a war zone, more than once, but don’t worry for good ol’ Frank, since his pals are there to back him up…
…not, really! I’m not kiddin’!
If you mess with The Punisher, you mess with them too! Oh, yeah!
WHAT PSYCHO SEE, PSYCHO DO
Maybe The Punisher wasn’t actually the role model for certain “outlaw abiding citizens” but you can’t blame the media if they think that Frank Castle’s work was the inspiration for a sudden vigilante viral spree where three different individuals started to show their own particular hate against specific kind of criminals…
The Holy: A priest in the Spanish Harlem who is killing with an axe (yep) to any schmuck dumb enough to go to his church to tell him their crimes and expecting an absolution.
Mr. Payback: A working man of low status who is killing any white collar bandit who makes sneaky strategies with their companies gaining profit at the same time of causing damage to innocent poor people.
Elite: An upperclass man who is killing anybody who dares to make the slightest mess in his “clean” neighborhood.
A whole bundle of serial killers who think that they are justified of their actions, and maybe you think that Punisher isn’t any better, but maybe the actions of these wackos will help you to ponder about it.
This TPB edition collects “The Punisher” (2000) #1-12.
Creative Team:
Writer: Garth Ennis
Illustrator: Steve Dillon
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti
Covers’ art: Tim Bradstreet
BACK WITH A BANG! (ACTUALLY SEVERAL BANGS!)
Solo act again. No micro. No gimmicks: no fancy ammo, no battle-vans, no hi-tech surveillance. Just the basics. Been gone a while. Distracted. The scum of the city need a wake-up call. And here it comes.
Frank Castle aka The Punisher returned to the Big Apple…
…and the worms are starting to run away.
The Punisher declared war against the Gnucci Crime Family…
…why?...
…Why not?
The Punisher hates criminals and he plans to eliminate them so beginning with the Gnucci Crime Family is as good point to begin as anyone else, so nothing personal, no sworn vendetta, no secret motives. The Gnucci Crime Family just got the short straw in The Punisher’s War on Crime.
Ma Gnucci is the lady who runs the Gnucci Crime Family along with her sons, but soon enough she’ll notice how fast her blood relatives are starting to fall along with her minions, so she’ll call to “her people” inside of the NYPD to deal with The Punisher…
…but there are two problems in that scenario…
…first, the NYPD isn’t dumb to go against The Punisher, oh no, siree, and second, the NYPD loves Punisher’s work since thanks to him, they have a lot less things to deal with, so while they don't say it aloud, they are quite okay with Punisher's work in the streets.
However, they need to cover appearances to the public and media that are demanding a response against violence unleashed by the Punisher, so the NYPD forms a “Task Force”…
…a task force of two individuals. Good luck with that!
Even Daredevil will mess into Punisher’s blood path, but maybe the Man without Fear would prefer to stay in Hell’s Kitchen since Frank isn’t in the mood to deal with him.
And of course…
…there’s The Russian. Oh, boy!!!
I’LL BE THERE FOR YOU
Frank Castle needs to live somewhere, so with his return to New York, he is taking an apartment under a false name (John Smith… smooth, Frank) and slowly he will get used to his eccentric neighbors: Mousy Joan (fearing of everything), Spacker Dave (pierced punk) and the massive humanity of Mr. Bumpo (with a too healthy appetite).
Between casual brief talks in the corridors and odd offerings of food, Frank Castle slowly started to enjoy (in his own particular way) to have this "friends" in the place that now he is living.
However, wherever The Punisher goes, mayhem follows him, so the apartment building may turn into a war zone, more than once, but don’t worry for good ol’ Frank, since his pals are there to back him up…
…not, really! I’m not kiddin’!
If you mess with The Punisher, you mess with them too! Oh, yeah!
WHAT PSYCHO SEE, PSYCHO DO
Maybe The Punisher wasn’t actually the role model for certain “outlaw abiding citizens” but you can’t blame the media if they think that Frank Castle’s work was the inspiration for a sudden vigilante viral spree where three different individuals started to show their own particular hate against specific kind of criminals…
The Holy: A priest in the Spanish Harlem who is killing with an axe (yep) to any schmuck dumb enough to go to his church to tell him their crimes and expecting an absolution.
Mr. Payback: A working man of low status who is killing any white collar bandit who makes sneaky strategies with their companies gaining profit at the same time of causing damage to innocent poor people.
Elite: An upperclass man who is killing anybody who dares to make the slightest mess in his “clean” neighborhood.
A whole bundle of serial killers who think that they are justified of their actions, and maybe you think that Punisher isn’t any better, but maybe the actions of these wackos will help you to ponder about it.
July 15, 2016
The Punisher is back from the dead and ready to take out the Gnucci family. Meanwhile, the unluckiest cop in NYC is on his trail and several copycat vigilantes have arisen.
I was never a fan of the Punisher but I read this series in single issues as it came out because I was a huge fan of Preacher, and consequently, the tag team of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.
It's not Preacher set in the Marvel Universe but it has some of the same flavor. There's a lot of humor for a Punisher book and the usual amount of violence. The Punisher disposes of the Gnucci family in some creative ways, such as using piranhas and polar bears. He also kills about 100 mobsters, The Russian, and disposes of some copycats and random street criminals. Pretty par for the course.
Ennis does a lot to expand the Punisher's supporting cast. Soap and Molly, and all the Punisher's neighbors are a lot more fleshed out than I'd expect in a comic that's primarily about criminals getting mowed down by a vigilante. The art by Dillon is much like his art on Preacher. It sets the tone and gets the job done.
Garth Ennis' run put the Punisher back on the map after he was over-exposed in the eighties and nineties and turned into some kind of avenging angel, bringing him back to his roots. If you're a fan of the Punisher post-2000, this is a must-read. 4 out of 5 stars.
I was never a fan of the Punisher but I read this series in single issues as it came out because I was a huge fan of Preacher, and consequently, the tag team of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.
It's not Preacher set in the Marvel Universe but it has some of the same flavor. There's a lot of humor for a Punisher book and the usual amount of violence. The Punisher disposes of the Gnucci family in some creative ways, such as using piranhas and polar bears. He also kills about 100 mobsters, The Russian, and disposes of some copycats and random street criminals. Pretty par for the course.
Ennis does a lot to expand the Punisher's supporting cast. Soap and Molly, and all the Punisher's neighbors are a lot more fleshed out than I'd expect in a comic that's primarily about criminals getting mowed down by a vigilante. The art by Dillon is much like his art on Preacher. It sets the tone and gets the job done.
Garth Ennis' run put the Punisher back on the map after he was over-exposed in the eighties and nineties and turned into some kind of avenging angel, bringing him back to his roots. If you're a fan of the Punisher post-2000, this is a must-read. 4 out of 5 stars.
December 12, 2019
"Bolt clanks back and forth behind the thudding roar. Brass rains on the sidewalk. The [M-60] rattles out its song . . . a song I first heard years ago . . ." -- the deep thoughts of Frank 'The Punisher' Castle, while gunning down three carloads of murderous goons from the Gnucci crime family
Bloody and nasty little piece of business starring everyone's favorite unstoppable and armed-to-the-teeth vigilante, Welcome Back, Frank is really a relatively simple story - The Punisher vs. a particularly and understandably vengeful New York City-based organized crime family - that is chiefly bolstered by the effective doses of dark humor and its dozen or so well-drawn supporting characters. While dodging an NYPD "task force" (consisting solely of a sad-sack detective and a blackballed lieutenant who have an entertaining banter), The Punisher also has to briefly contend with a sanctimonious Daredevil, a beast-like Russian hitman, and a trio of upstart but very misguided fellow vigilantes. While some of the plot seems just a tad familiar - the three polite neighbors were also used in the otherwise forgettable 2004 movie version - it still delivers on the violent action and sadistic laughs.
Bloody and nasty little piece of business starring everyone's favorite unstoppable and armed-to-the-teeth vigilante, Welcome Back, Frank is really a relatively simple story - The Punisher vs. a particularly and understandably vengeful New York City-based organized crime family - that is chiefly bolstered by the effective doses of dark humor and its dozen or so well-drawn supporting characters. While dodging an NYPD "task force" (consisting solely of a sad-sack detective and a blackballed lieutenant who have an entertaining banter), The Punisher also has to briefly contend with a sanctimonious Daredevil, a beast-like Russian hitman, and a trio of upstart but very misguided fellow vigilantes. While some of the plot seems just a tad familiar - the three polite neighbors were also used in the otherwise forgettable 2004 movie version - it still delivers on the violent action and sadistic laughs.
May 31, 2019
Garth Ennis literally brings the Punisher back to life after the godawful previous Marvel Knights Punisher books made him some sort of avenging angel with ethereal guns that glowed after he committed suicide. (I think Marvel would like to forget that ever happened.) This is the Punisher at his baddest as he goes after Ma Gnucchi's crew. Yet, he does show some heart to his neighbors. Ennis and Dillon also bring their signature dark humor with them from their time on Preacher. Everyone is at the top of their game: Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, and Frank Castle. If there was one Punisher comic I'd hand to a friend, it would be this one.
September 26, 2015
Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank was my first exposure to the wonderfully twisted and violently deranged mind of Garth Ennis. The Punisher was always a character I wanted to like, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. All I could picture forever was Dolph Lundgren’s corny ass. That monosyllabic version of Frank still gives me the shits. Frank always fell at least a little short of the hardcore killer I wanted him to be. Dirty Harry wouldn’t use rubber bullets. Rubber bullets are for pussys. I thought I had forever labeled Frank Castle as a B-list character with sporadic glimmers of potential greatness.
Garth changed all of that. As far as I am concerned, Garth Ennis created the Punisher. A merciless, unrelenting soldier that is single mindedly focused on his mission to kill as many criminals as possible by any means necessary before meeting his own fated end. Warms my heart.
This was the seed that ultimately blossomed into Ennis’s defining run on Punisher Max. While this book, much like Garth’s work on Preacher, has more of a dark comedic feel to it than the Max series, Castle’s inner voice clearly started out here.
Ennis resets the clock again and puts Castle back where he belongs. In New York, taking down the Gnucci crime family with any and all tools at his disposal. Garth introduces a bunch of fun characters in this one. Many of whom continue to appear throughout his Marvel Knights Punisher run. The luckless Detective Soap, the unstoppable Russian, the thoroughly pierced Spacker Dave, and the Bloodthirsty Ma Gnucci to name a few. I really appreciated the way that Garth resisted using Marvel heroes extensively throughout his run on this title. Wolverine, Hulk, and Spidey all make brief appearances down the road, but not in any kind of regular manner. In the first 12 issues only Daredevil makes an appearance, but it’s a doozy. That, along with Frank taking on Ma Gnucci’s hit men in unsophisticated ways, jackin’ a polar bear’s jaw, and steppin' to the Russian mano a mano made for just a couple of my favorite moments in this collection.
This is NOT a serious book. In fact it’s often funny. But Castle always remains straight faced and true to character. Never cracking a smile or changing course regardless of the bloody craziness that ensues. Frank is also starting to show his age a little. He’s not invulnerable and is forced to rely more on his cunning than brute force. His meticulous planning and execution of the mission are part of what makes him so fuckin’ cool.
Steve Dillon does a good job here. I’ve never been a huge fan of the man, but he works well with Garth and I’ve grown to appreciate his simple cartoony style. Tim Bradstreet’s covers for the series are the shit.
Fans of Ennis’s irreverent and black comedic style will almost certainly find something to enjoy here. Welcome Back Frank is what started this fan-boy on his pilgrimage towards seeking out all of Garth’s extensive catalog of work. While most probably recognize Preacher as his highest achievement (and it is awesome), I would respectfully disagree and point towards the vast majority of his work on this character as being the high water mark of his career to date. Start here and ease into his more serious Punisher Max series. Hands down some of the best stuff out there. This is the place where Garth started to cut out his own little corner of the Marvel Universe. As for Welcome Back Frank, it’s deliciously violent ridiculousness and the start of something really, really special.
I would like to dedicate my 100th crappy review to the only Marine I like more the Frank Castle, my son Ryan. Oorah!
Get this review and more at:
Garth changed all of that. As far as I am concerned, Garth Ennis created the Punisher. A merciless, unrelenting soldier that is single mindedly focused on his mission to kill as many criminals as possible by any means necessary before meeting his own fated end. Warms my heart.
This was the seed that ultimately blossomed into Ennis’s defining run on Punisher Max. While this book, much like Garth’s work on Preacher, has more of a dark comedic feel to it than the Max series, Castle’s inner voice clearly started out here.
Ennis resets the clock again and puts Castle back where he belongs. In New York, taking down the Gnucci crime family with any and all tools at his disposal. Garth introduces a bunch of fun characters in this one. Many of whom continue to appear throughout his Marvel Knights Punisher run. The luckless Detective Soap, the unstoppable Russian, the thoroughly pierced Spacker Dave, and the Bloodthirsty Ma Gnucci to name a few. I really appreciated the way that Garth resisted using Marvel heroes extensively throughout his run on this title. Wolverine, Hulk, and Spidey all make brief appearances down the road, but not in any kind of regular manner. In the first 12 issues only Daredevil makes an appearance, but it’s a doozy. That, along with Frank taking on Ma Gnucci’s hit men in unsophisticated ways, jackin’ a polar bear’s jaw, and steppin' to the Russian mano a mano made for just a couple of my favorite moments in this collection.
This is NOT a serious book. In fact it’s often funny. But Castle always remains straight faced and true to character. Never cracking a smile or changing course regardless of the bloody craziness that ensues. Frank is also starting to show his age a little. He’s not invulnerable and is forced to rely more on his cunning than brute force. His meticulous planning and execution of the mission are part of what makes him so fuckin’ cool.
Steve Dillon does a good job here. I’ve never been a huge fan of the man, but he works well with Garth and I’ve grown to appreciate his simple cartoony style. Tim Bradstreet’s covers for the series are the shit.
Fans of Ennis’s irreverent and black comedic style will almost certainly find something to enjoy here. Welcome Back Frank is what started this fan-boy on his pilgrimage towards seeking out all of Garth’s extensive catalog of work. While most probably recognize Preacher as his highest achievement (and it is awesome), I would respectfully disagree and point towards the vast majority of his work on this character as being the high water mark of his career to date. Start here and ease into his more serious Punisher Max series. Hands down some of the best stuff out there. This is the place where Garth started to cut out his own little corner of the Marvel Universe. As for Welcome Back Frank, it’s deliciously violent ridiculousness and the start of something really, really special.
I would like to dedicate my 100th crappy review to the only Marine I like more the Frank Castle, my son Ryan. Oorah!
Get this review and more at:
July 8, 2011
Garth Ennis is rightly credited with bringing the Punisher series back to life with his interpretation of the character and writing his best work and some of the Punisher's best books. "Welcome Back, Frank" is Ennis' first book that takes Frank Castle from bizarre and frankly boring stories about angels and Heaven, and putting Frank back on the streets with a gun in his hand pointed at gangsters, where he belongs.
Ennis writes in his "mission statement" that he wanted to simplify the Punisher's adventures - great, interesting, exciting action with none of the droning introspection about "how many is enough, Frank?" and meandering thoughts on Frank's dead family. Here, and in Ennis' entire 10 book run on Punisher Max (each volume of which is highly recommended by the by), we see the Punisher do what he does best - taking bad guys down!
The Gnucci gangster family, the taskforce created to take down the Punisher, 3 copycat vigilantes, and a mad Russian make up this excellent comic book and continually set Frank up with a number of entertaining challenges to take out in increasingly entertaining ways (death by fat guy is the funniest). Ennis' trademark humour is also present in the character of Detective Soap, heading the taskforce of 2 to take down the Punisher, and a joke in his Precinct, and one of the copycat vigilantes named "The Holy" whose crimes are covered up by a senile old woman.
Having re-read this book after reading Ennis' numerous other books on the Punisher (he's written over 90 issues of this character), I'll say this is one of his most entertaining books he's ever written, counting everything he's done. Engaging, entertaining, fantastic action, compelling story, Ennis deserves all the credit for reinstating a fantastic character to his glory. His longtime collaborative partner Steve Dillon also contributes his usual high quality artwork to the book.
This is a great starting place for new readers to the Punisher and a must-read for existing fans. A brilliant comic book and a great read. If you loved this, you'll enjoy the sequel, "The Resurrection of Ma Gnucci".
Ennis writes in his "mission statement" that he wanted to simplify the Punisher's adventures - great, interesting, exciting action with none of the droning introspection about "how many is enough, Frank?" and meandering thoughts on Frank's dead family. Here, and in Ennis' entire 10 book run on Punisher Max (each volume of which is highly recommended by the by), we see the Punisher do what he does best - taking bad guys down!
The Gnucci gangster family, the taskforce created to take down the Punisher, 3 copycat vigilantes, and a mad Russian make up this excellent comic book and continually set Frank up with a number of entertaining challenges to take out in increasingly entertaining ways (death by fat guy is the funniest). Ennis' trademark humour is also present in the character of Detective Soap, heading the taskforce of 2 to take down the Punisher, and a joke in his Precinct, and one of the copycat vigilantes named "The Holy" whose crimes are covered up by a senile old woman.
Having re-read this book after reading Ennis' numerous other books on the Punisher (he's written over 90 issues of this character), I'll say this is one of his most entertaining books he's ever written, counting everything he's done. Engaging, entertaining, fantastic action, compelling story, Ennis deserves all the credit for reinstating a fantastic character to his glory. His longtime collaborative partner Steve Dillon also contributes his usual high quality artwork to the book.
This is a great starting place for new readers to the Punisher and a must-read for existing fans. A brilliant comic book and a great read. If you loved this, you'll enjoy the sequel, "The Resurrection of Ma Gnucci".
April 19, 2021
Welcome Back Frank, Part I is a rollercoaster ride of pure fun from start to finish! I am a huge fan of the character Frank Castle (The Punisher) because he isn’t completely definable as hero or villain. An anti-hero. He has no qualms about killing anybody who has partaken in wrongdoings. Despite this, he always makes sure he protects the innocent.
As I am a fan of Alan Moore’s work, this type of hero appeals to me and The Punisher is one of Marvel’s greatest examples of that.
Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon do a brilliant job here. Steve’s artwork matches Garth’s punchy, fast paced writing so well.
This volume truly does breathe new life into the character, making him feel fresh and exciting. Don’t expect it to all be serious though, of course there are some dark and gritty moments but also times of humour and daftness. You’ll fly through reading this as it’s action-packed throughout.
The ending made me SO excited to read Part II hopefully in the near future!
As I am a fan of Alan Moore’s work, this type of hero appeals to me and The Punisher is one of Marvel’s greatest examples of that.
Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon do a brilliant job here. Steve’s artwork matches Garth’s punchy, fast paced writing so well.
This volume truly does breathe new life into the character, making him feel fresh and exciting. Don’t expect it to all be serious though, of course there are some dark and gritty moments but also times of humour and daftness. You’ll fly through reading this as it’s action-packed throughout.
The ending made me SO excited to read Part II hopefully in the near future!
February 21, 2021
5.7/10
What do you get when you have the Punisher going against a crime family? Lot's of violence
The main story is simple and there aren't many surprises along the way or to the outcome. But while Frank tries to settle that problem, there are other things going on. Most interesting of those i would say is some other vigilantes , who start killing people, each for their own reasons ( also in their minds completely justified ). It seemed this is going to lead to something great, but it ends suddenly and in an anticlimactic way.
The art works perfectly for the bad guys, only for them though. Also everyone looks related, very similar faces.
What do you get when you have the Punisher going against a crime family? Lot's of violence
The main story is simple and there aren't many surprises along the way or to the outcome. But while Frank tries to settle that problem, there are other things going on. Most interesting of those i would say is some other vigilantes , who start killing people, each for their own reasons ( also in their minds completely justified ). It seemed this is going to lead to something great, but it ends suddenly and in an anticlimactic way.
The art works perfectly for the bad guys, only for them though. Also everyone looks related, very similar faces.
May 14, 2015
Puerile, brutal, entirely to the point with the scum. Narration feels a little off compared to the silent feral animal that we've seen before and later, but I'll let it pass since it's so to the point.
The violence at the beginning is pretty over the top with some cheesy Ahnold-style one-liners, so it takes a little time to get past Ennis' contract with the reader. And it's a bit hard to have to look at Frank's face by Steve Dillon and not think, "Who pissed in Frank's cereal, shat in his shoes and soaked his undies in motor oil?"
But holy crap is it fun to watch Frank play the mob like a master fiddler (who has a friggin splinter in his picking finger). And Ennis does a great job with minimal-monologue action.
Ennis and Dillon have a great time making books like this, what with weirdo asides like Spacker Dave to keep the story from getting too grim.
But when they get down to business, they don't f**k around. Take the Daredevil story. A simple mess-around with a mob guy who wanted to use Murdock's love of the law in his favour, Ennis tarts it up with a great treatise on the fundamental difference between the Punisher and Daredevil's way of achieving justice. There was no better way of illustrating the irrevocable tension between the two.
How the creators treat Ma Gnucci is even worse - class Ennis & Dillon, dignity isn't the first deadly sin (or close relative anyway) to go, but it's sure one of the brightest stars of the show.
Punisher becomes a virus, corrupting society around New York. The knock-offs are some cocky weirdos but I like 'em, especially the Payback dude. (But then I'm a born Canadian, so socialism runs deep in my blood.)
Y'know, I should worry about Ennis more than I have. This guy knows more gruesome ways to kill people than I'd ever imagined - all sorts of tricks with military weaponry, simple extreme torments, ugly fantasies of taking out people who really aren't that likeable. Ballistic knife? Check. Zoo animals? Yep. The loving caress Ennis' words place on his beloved Claymore, every time that emerges from the arsenal.
Or a character like The Russian. Times like this I know Ennis has love in his heart somewhere, because he brings such life and joie de vivre to the big laughing beasts like Love Sausage or Barracuda.
In a way, this book reads like a sicko's version of the Three Stooges. Pratfalls, exaggerated punishment and amazing resilience in the face of pain. I didn't realize Ennis was such a fan of the classics.
In a way this is a clear, simple book. I know it gets deeper, to the point that the subsequent runs by Aaron & Rucka stand alongside it (not ahead of it). Still, this isn't quite the original romp I had remembered, and it isn't nuanced enough to stand out as an instant classic (again, not without considering the later books). It's not quite unrepentant though - in that Frank's thoughts include a little mercy and consideration for the innocents around him. Making Frank a bit more human is odd in the face of the slapstick, but in the end it's a good move.
I'm taking my original rating down a peg, but this is still a great Ennis book.
The violence at the beginning is pretty over the top with some cheesy Ahnold-style one-liners, so it takes a little time to get past Ennis' contract with the reader. And it's a bit hard to have to look at Frank's face by Steve Dillon and not think, "Who pissed in Frank's cereal, shat in his shoes and soaked his undies in motor oil?"
But holy crap is it fun to watch Frank play the mob like a master fiddler (who has a friggin splinter in his picking finger). And Ennis does a great job with minimal-monologue action.
Ennis and Dillon have a great time making books like this, what with weirdo asides like Spacker Dave to keep the story from getting too grim.
But when they get down to business, they don't f**k around. Take the Daredevil story. A simple mess-around with a mob guy who wanted to use Murdock's love of the law in his favour, Ennis tarts it up with a great treatise on the fundamental difference between the Punisher and Daredevil's way of achieving justice. There was no better way of illustrating the irrevocable tension between the two.
How the creators treat Ma Gnucci is even worse - class Ennis & Dillon, dignity isn't the first deadly sin (or close relative anyway) to go, but it's sure one of the brightest stars of the show.
Punisher becomes a virus, corrupting society around New York. The knock-offs are some cocky weirdos but I like 'em, especially the Payback dude. (But then I'm a born Canadian, so socialism runs deep in my blood.)
Y'know, I should worry about Ennis more than I have. This guy knows more gruesome ways to kill people than I'd ever imagined - all sorts of tricks with military weaponry, simple extreme torments, ugly fantasies of taking out people who really aren't that likeable. Ballistic knife? Check. Zoo animals? Yep. The loving caress Ennis' words place on his beloved Claymore, every time that emerges from the arsenal.
Or a character like The Russian. Times like this I know Ennis has love in his heart somewhere, because he brings such life and joie de vivre to the big laughing beasts like Love Sausage or Barracuda.
In a way, this book reads like a sicko's version of the Three Stooges. Pratfalls, exaggerated punishment and amazing resilience in the face of pain. I didn't realize Ennis was such a fan of the classics.
In a way this is a clear, simple book. I know it gets deeper, to the point that the subsequent runs by Aaron & Rucka stand alongside it (not ahead of it). Still, this isn't quite the original romp I had remembered, and it isn't nuanced enough to stand out as an instant classic (again, not without considering the later books). It's not quite unrepentant though - in that Frank's thoughts include a little mercy and consideration for the innocents around him. Making Frank a bit more human is odd in the face of the slapstick, but in the end it's a good move.
I'm taking my original rating down a peg, but this is still a great Ennis book.
February 18, 2022
Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon and Jimmy Palmiotti bring The Punisher back to life, and what an amusing and epic re-introduction it was!
Fueled by vengeance, Frank Castle goes on yet another rampage against the mob in an over the top, humorous and entertaining adventure. The supporting characters are so well written, they just add another layer to the comic book.
This book shows that The Punisher is not a saint; his confrontation with Daredevil, and their conflicting views was very intriguing to read.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and fun comic books I have read to date.
Fueled by vengeance, Frank Castle goes on yet another rampage against the mob in an over the top, humorous and entertaining adventure. The supporting characters are so well written, they just add another layer to the comic book.
This book shows that The Punisher is not a saint; his confrontation with Daredevil, and their conflicting views was very intriguing to read.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and fun comic books I have read to date.
October 31, 2014
This was just nuts and the ending was totally unexpected. I swear I've picked this up about 5 times thumbed through it and set it back on the library shelf. Really glad I gave it a chance this time.
December 31, 2015
Ennis's brilliant early take on the character of Frank Castle. It is pretty shallow, in all honesty, but still very fun to read. Artwork by the great Steve Dillon is also really good as usual, adding a lot to the madness that is this book.
October 16, 2016
My second Punisher read, as he embarks on a one-man mission to take down the Gnucci crime family! It's a bit of a mixed bag, in that it doesn't seem as good as the later MAX series, but there's still some good stuff here: Frank's cautious relationship with the other residents of his apartment building, his connection to them despite his intent to remain a brooding loner. The Punisher accidentally inspiring a wave of over-the-top vigilantes who want to emulate him in cleaning up their neighbourhoods (unsurprisingly, he is Not Impressed). And again, two cops mired in a corrupt department and trying to fix the broken status quo.
It's a bit too off-the-wall and kooky, but there's admittedly some darkly funny moments: Frank punching polar bears. Ma Gnucci as criminal queenpin & matriarch is hilarious. The Russian as an oddly jovial murdering monster.
It makes for a relatively enjoyable tone to intersperse the horror of the violence, but I still prefer the more srs feelsy storylines, which personally docks this to 3.5 or 4 stars.
But man, his neighbours. Frank's small touches of sentimentality, though he tries to come across as stone-cold. And the wonderful issue "The Devil by the Horns", which pairs him against Daredevil in a riveting scene known as "The Choice" and which was adapted pitch-perfectly to the Netflix series:
(Also, other small touches that made it into the TV show: Frank hiding in plain sight in a crappy diner, baseball cap pulled low over his face.)
I'm not a huge fan of Steve Dillon's art here -- I felt like his cartoony style worked a bit better in Hellblazer because John Constantine is a nonstop wisecracking troll, unlike the more grim straight-man that is Frank Castle -- but it's fine. And at least there are still Bradstreet covers! HE'S THE BEST.
It's a bit too off-the-wall and kooky, but there's admittedly some darkly funny moments: Frank punching polar bears. Ma Gnucci as criminal queenpin & matriarch is hilarious. The Russian as an oddly jovial murdering monster.
It makes for a relatively enjoyable tone to intersperse the horror of the violence, but I still prefer the more srs feelsy storylines, which personally docks this to 3.5 or 4 stars.
But man, his neighbours. Frank's small touches of sentimentality, though he tries to come across as stone-cold. And the wonderful issue "The Devil by the Horns", which pairs him against Daredevil in a riveting scene known as "The Choice" and which was adapted pitch-perfectly to the Netflix series:
(Also, other small touches that made it into the TV show: Frank hiding in plain sight in a crappy diner, baseball cap pulled low over his face.)
I'm not a huge fan of Steve Dillon's art here -- I felt like his cartoony style worked a bit better in Hellblazer because John Constantine is a nonstop wisecracking troll, unlike the more grim straight-man that is Frank Castle -- but it's fine. And at least there are still Bradstreet covers! HE'S THE BEST.
February 26, 2017
Awesome Punisher comic! This comic was a major inspiration for the shitty 2004 movie and the second season of the Daredevil Netflix series. Unfortunately the other books are out of print though so I won't be able to read them :(
April 14, 2018
And the unforgettable song with Amy Lee 'Broken'.
February 13, 2021
This is The Fuckin’ Punisher done right. Rest well Mr. Dillon, Christ Almighty you fucking ruled. I love this book.
5/5 Skulls 💀💀💀💀💀
5/5 Skulls 💀💀💀💀💀
September 23, 2016
An enjoyable read. I could see that the 2004 movie took some inspiration from this one, and even the scene in Season 2 of Daredevil in which Frank ties up Daredevil and gives him a choice has been taken from this story.
After Preacher and this one, Ennis is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. Took me some time to get used to Dillon's art in Preacher, but did not face any such problem in this book.
There were some pretty badass moments, but sometimes it felt like the character is a bit overpowered.
October 15, 2018
After reading the greatness that is Punisher MAX Vol 1 (also Garth Ennis), this is pretty meh.
Steve Dillon’s art was weak. It didn’t match the dark tone that a Punisher comic needs.
The story was pretty lightweight. No time was spent reinforcing Frank’s motives.
Maybe if this was “rated R”, they would have had the freedom to make the badguys more bad. That might have increased my emotional investment.
There were a couple things I liked. Frank’s neighbors added some amusing notes, there were some good one liners and scenes of Frank wasting a bunch of badguys...
It wasn’t a complete waste of my time, but I definitely recommend reading Punisher Max instead.
Steve Dillon’s art was weak. It didn’t match the dark tone that a Punisher comic needs.
The story was pretty lightweight. No time was spent reinforcing Frank’s motives.
Maybe if this was “rated R”, they would have had the freedom to make the badguys more bad. That might have increased my emotional investment.
There were a couple things I liked. Frank’s neighbors added some amusing notes, there were some good one liners and scenes of Frank wasting a bunch of badguys...
It wasn’t a complete waste of my time, but I definitely recommend reading Punisher Max instead.
March 31, 2013
Offensive, over the top, and a lot of fun. Especially once Ennis really hits his strides halfway through this book, it's top rate.
January 18, 2022
This is the second punisher book I read, and I got to tell you,it is not as graphic as the first one, but I still enjoyed it.
December 18, 2020
Τι ωραία καφρίλα και καλτίλα ήταν αυτή; Και δεν νιώθω καμία ενοχή που απόλαυσα όλο αυτό το έπος βίας και αιματοχυσίας σε τόσο μεγάλο βαθμό. Εντάξει, δεν μπορώ να του βάλω πέντε αστεράκια (έτσι θα αδικούσα άλλα κόμικς που απόλαυσα περισσότερο), όμως πέρασα τέλεια την ώρα μου, ήταν αυτό ακριβώς που περίμενα με βάση τις κριτικές αριστερά και δεξιά. Η ιστορία είναι γεμάτη δράση, βία, αίμα, τρελά σκηνικά, γενικά γίνεται της ιεροδούλου το κιγκλίδωμα, όμως υπάρχει και ένα κάποιο βάθος σε ορισμένους χαρακτήρες (λάτρεψα τον "Ρώσο"), μια κάποια... φιλοσοφία πίσω από όλο αυτό το χάος. Και το σχέδιο είναι πραγματικά πάρα πολύ ωραίο, με το δυνατό στοιχείο να είναι η αποτύπωση των χαρακτήρων (των προσώπων και των κινήσεών τους δηλαδή), καθώς και οι σκηνές δράσης και οι διάφορες σπλατεριές, που είναι εξαιρετικά γλαφυρές και ζωντανές. Εννοείται πως δεν είναι για όλα τα γούστα και όλες τις ορέξεις, ενώ συν τοις άλλοις το χιούμορ που υπάρχει διάσπαρτο παντού είναι αρκετά κάφρικο, προσωπικά όμως μου άρεσε πολύ.
July 12, 2015
I really like Garth Ennis, he has some kind of brutality to him.
Punisher is back, not sure where he went but he's back and after the Gnucci family. While he is running through Ma Gnucci's men there are 3 wannabees out killing who they think to be bad guys, and they are, corporate scum bags and drug dealers.
Well when Ma Gnucci calls in the Russian to deal with the vigilante and when the Russian finds him, it takes hot pizza and a really fat guy to kill the monster Russian. The supporting characters in the apartment Frank lives in is something I have come to expect from Garth. A giant man named Mr. Bumpo, what a name, then there is Spacker Dave with a face full of jewelry that gets pulled out by the bad guys hoping to find the Punisher.
I can see why people love comics so much, you get cool art with your amazing story and each issue ends with a mini cliffhanger. On to find the next comic.
Punisher is back, not sure where he went but he's back and after the Gnucci family. While he is running through Ma Gnucci's men there are 3 wannabees out killing who they think to be bad guys, and they are, corporate scum bags and drug dealers.
Well when Ma Gnucci calls in the Russian to deal with the vigilante and when the Russian finds him, it takes hot pizza and a really fat guy to kill the monster Russian. The supporting characters in the apartment Frank lives in is something I have come to expect from Garth. A giant man named Mr. Bumpo, what a name, then there is Spacker Dave with a face full of jewelry that gets pulled out by the bad guys hoping to find the Punisher.
I can see why people love comics so much, you get cool art with your amazing story and each issue ends with a mini cliffhanger. On to find the next comic.
Want to read
October 11, 2022The Punisher Vol. 1: Welcome Back, Frank
The names of graphic novels are being changed to their subtitle only, removing the actual comic title and volume number from the name. If you find this as appalling as most comic readers do, I suggest you let Goodreads know what you think of the change by contacting them via the Contact Us page.
If you would like more information on what is being done to comics on this site and why, please feel free to message me for more information.
The names of graphic novels are being changed to their subtitle only, removing the actual comic title and volume number from the name. If you find this as appalling as most comic readers do, I suggest you let Goodreads know what you think of the change by contacting them via the Contact Us page.
If you would like more information on what is being done to comics on this site and why, please feel free to message me for more information.
November 13, 2014
Welcome Back Frank is one of the funniest comics I've read full stop. No one does this type of hardcore action comedy better than Garth Ennis. If you liked Preacher, you have to try out his Punisher.
November 22, 2017
È proprio il caso di dirlo: “Bentornato, Frank”. Questo è un personaggio dal grandissimo potenziale incorso troppo spesso in gestioni infelici, Ennis l’ha portato alla ribalta con stile, il suo. Il Punitore, pur conservando la sua natura di ‘o.m.a.c.’ in guerra contro il crimine quindi, assume connotazioni volutamente esagerate che sfociano spesso nel comico - un umorismo nero ma dannatamente divertente. Ai disegni c’è Dillon, ha un tratto molto personale che però si sposa perfettamente alle storie di Ennis (come hanno dimostrato in più di un’occasione).
Il nostro protagonista rientra a New York e solleva un vespaio, spinto dal noto desiderio di vendetta che gli dona una fonte inesauribile di energia: odio allo stato puro. La sua presenza dà subito un forte scossone ai delinquenti che si erano adagiati sugli allori, e per mandare chiaro a tutti il messaggio che il Punitore è tornato designa come suo bersaglio Ma’ Gnucci. Questo lo porterà ad affrontare un nemico molto… diciamo pittoresco, il Russo :D E non è tutto, legate alla sua ricomparsa ci sono pure diverse sottotrame che si collegano alla storia principale, ognuna delle quali degne di nota: Discutibili vigilanti fai-da-te che malauguratamente lo prendono a esempio, i rapporti di buon vicinato e, una scalcagnata ‘task-force’ (sempre che due soli individui si possano definire tale) che gli dà la caccia. Non dimentichiamoci poi il team-up XD
Un perfetto comitato d’accoglienza per dare letteralmente il bentornato al nostro Frank Castle.
Il nostro protagonista rientra a New York e solleva un vespaio, spinto dal noto desiderio di vendetta che gli dona una fonte inesauribile di energia: odio allo stato puro. La sua presenza dà subito un forte scossone ai delinquenti che si erano adagiati sugli allori, e per mandare chiaro a tutti il messaggio che il Punitore è tornato designa come suo bersaglio Ma’ Gnucci. Questo lo porterà ad affrontare un nemico molto… diciamo pittoresco, il Russo :D E non è tutto, legate alla sua ricomparsa ci sono pure diverse sottotrame che si collegano alla storia principale, ognuna delle quali degne di nota: Discutibili vigilanti fai-da-te che malauguratamente lo prendono a esempio, i rapporti di buon vicinato e, una scalcagnata ‘task-force’ (sempre che due soli individui si possano definire tale) che gli dà la caccia. Non dimentichiamoci poi il team-up XD
Un perfetto comitato d’accoglienza per dare letteralmente il bentornato al nostro Frank Castle.
July 31, 2025
i truly don't know how comic books fans do it. this was rough. so so rough...
the concept's more interesting than the execution. i like the idea of frank accidentally inspiring copycat vigilantes and i like the idea of frank living in an apartment complex and the neighbors don't care that he's the punisher (that's funny!). joan constantly dropping off baked goods bc she's simping over frank is also a hysterical concept. so why was i left so wanting? it's bc there's no conflict here.
sure, there are mobsters and the pesky vigilantes running around town, but somehow everyone is hardly an inconvenience - heck, even frank's punctured lung is hardly an inconvenience! - bc frank always just waltzes in, manages to not get shot despite the 4 billion guns pointed at him, and he blows them away. and that's such a boring take on this character. he's just a guy. let him be a guy.
the concept's more interesting than the execution. i like the idea of frank accidentally inspiring copycat vigilantes and i like the idea of frank living in an apartment complex and the neighbors don't care that he's the punisher (that's funny!). joan constantly dropping off baked goods bc she's simping over frank is also a hysterical concept. so why was i left so wanting? it's bc there's no conflict here.
sure, there are mobsters and the pesky vigilantes running around town, but somehow everyone is hardly an inconvenience - heck, even frank's punctured lung is hardly an inconvenience! - bc frank always just waltzes in, manages to not get shot despite the 4 billion guns pointed at him, and he blows them away. and that's such a boring take on this character. he's just a guy. let him be a guy.
February 20, 2013
Moving into the new millenium, the Marvel Comics character Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, was not in a good place. Part of his problem was that he didn’t really fit with the rest of the Marvel pantheon of heroes and villains–he wore the standard-issue spandex, but that take on the character seemed just a little…..off. For the unitiated, Frank Castle was one of the last American troops out of Vietnam when we jumped ship, finally returning home for good at the end of his third tour of duty. Soon thereafter, he and his family are having a quiet picnic in Central Park when a gangland hit goes bad, catching Castle and his family in the crossfire. With his wife and kids dead and several new scars to add to his collection, Castle does what he does best: goes to war. This time he’s declared war on the entire criminal underworld, and he intends to off every criminal he can get in his sights. Except that a good amount of his time in the early days is spent chasing supervillains….Okay, yeah, they’re criminals, but there’s a question of tone here. Castle’s thing is guns. Doctor Doom uses an army of androids that look like himself. So he dresses like a superhero/villain to go after common criminals, and uses his very plausible military skills to take on a variety of superpowed beings. Are you seeing the disconnect here?* Sales fell, series were canceled, and in 1999 Marvel made the……interesting……decision to kill the Punisher and bring him back as a supernatural enforcer. Things looked bleak for Punisher fans.
Then, in 2000, Marvel relaunched the character with a twelve-issue miniseries written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Steve Dillon. And it was good. With just a throwaway line about how the Angels had found him less than cooperative and returned him to Earth as punishment, Frank Castle is back in the game and gunning for the Gnucci crime family. Gone are the white gloves and more “super-heroey” elements of the costume, in their place are trench coats and combat pants. The series thrives on a sense of dark humor running through. There are some real great moments here, including a gunfight in the morgue between a bunch of Gnucci goons and the Punisher (“Gunfight in the morgue, rule one: Don’t hide behind the thin guy.”), a wounded Punisher being pursued into the New York zoo by more goons (“I have a forty-five. He has a machine gun. The night goes downhill from there….”) and having to improvise ways to take them out using the animals–piranha, boa constrictors and even polar bears get pressed into service here, resulting in my single favorite comic book panel of all time…
This particular miniseries is probably best rated PG-13, although compared to a lot of the stuff that followed it was fairly mild. Profanity is missed out in the traditional comic book swearing form ($#!^), although it is always perfectly clear what this is standing in for–specifically, rather than “villain mumbles cursing” or however they wrote the scripts for the book in the 60s. There is no overt sexual content, although there are a few particularly sleazy insinuations made by one of the Gnucci boys in the first issue. Maybe other innuendos, nothing that stuck out at me. Violence, however, is another issue. This is a Punisher comic. People will die, in a variety of interesting and gruesome ways. As I said, PG-13–the violence is mostly seen in shots of Castle or the villains blazing away, silhouette shots of characters being hit, shots of the aftermath, or some combination thereof. I want to say its not graphic, but it is to a degree. Compared to some other Punisher I’ve read its not bad at all, but objectively its not for those who don’t handle gore well. Injured characters bleed. The art is moderately stylized and simple (see above), not photorealistic, but its there nonetheless.
For readers who check this out and like it, Ennis and Dillon continued the plot and revisited a number of the background characters with the ongoing series of the same name that started soon after. This mostly kept the same style and level of content as the miniseries. When that ended, Ennis moved on to writing the Punisher for Marvel’s line of MAX comics, not technically part of the main Marvel canon, but much freer with content restrictions (MAX comics were not sold at newsstands, and so were able to be essentially R-rated content-wise without getting into trouble). As I say, great writing, probably the best version of the character, but not for the faint of heart. Also, the 2004 Punisher film starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta draws a lot of subplots and background characters from this miniseries. A lot of people hate on it; I think its a great treatment of the character, personally. It is, however, VERY R-rated, so be forewarned.
I will say once again, this is a comic for adults, or at least for teens. Not a work intended for kids! But well done nonetheless.
*To be fair, there have been some great stories pitting the Punisher against supervillains. Frank Miller did some great things on his run with DareDevil, contrasting the two characters and their approaches to fighting crime. Also interesting, Castle’s most recent thing is tricking himself out with toys stolen from his enemies….His favorite is a Goblin Glider stolen from one of Norman Osborne’s old caches….
Also, it should be admitted that this is written from a bias of having read a lot of the more recent, grittier comics where Frank Castle takes on mobsters, drug runners, serial killers and sex slavers. I feel this is a better take on the character. It should also be noted that this is a much more adult-themed take on the character, getting Marvel’s equivalent of an R-rating.
Then, in 2000, Marvel relaunched the character with a twelve-issue miniseries written by Garth Ennis and drawn by Steve Dillon. And it was good. With just a throwaway line about how the Angels had found him less than cooperative and returned him to Earth as punishment, Frank Castle is back in the game and gunning for the Gnucci crime family. Gone are the white gloves and more “super-heroey” elements of the costume, in their place are trench coats and combat pants. The series thrives on a sense of dark humor running through. There are some real great moments here, including a gunfight in the morgue between a bunch of Gnucci goons and the Punisher (“Gunfight in the morgue, rule one: Don’t hide behind the thin guy.”), a wounded Punisher being pursued into the New York zoo by more goons (“I have a forty-five. He has a machine gun. The night goes downhill from there….”) and having to improvise ways to take them out using the animals–piranha, boa constrictors and even polar bears get pressed into service here, resulting in my single favorite comic book panel of all time…
This particular miniseries is probably best rated PG-13, although compared to a lot of the stuff that followed it was fairly mild. Profanity is missed out in the traditional comic book swearing form ($#!^), although it is always perfectly clear what this is standing in for–specifically, rather than “villain mumbles cursing” or however they wrote the scripts for the book in the 60s. There is no overt sexual content, although there are a few particularly sleazy insinuations made by one of the Gnucci boys in the first issue. Maybe other innuendos, nothing that stuck out at me. Violence, however, is another issue. This is a Punisher comic. People will die, in a variety of interesting and gruesome ways. As I said, PG-13–the violence is mostly seen in shots of Castle or the villains blazing away, silhouette shots of characters being hit, shots of the aftermath, or some combination thereof. I want to say its not graphic, but it is to a degree. Compared to some other Punisher I’ve read its not bad at all, but objectively its not for those who don’t handle gore well. Injured characters bleed. The art is moderately stylized and simple (see above), not photorealistic, but its there nonetheless.
For readers who check this out and like it, Ennis and Dillon continued the plot and revisited a number of the background characters with the ongoing series of the same name that started soon after. This mostly kept the same style and level of content as the miniseries. When that ended, Ennis moved on to writing the Punisher for Marvel’s line of MAX comics, not technically part of the main Marvel canon, but much freer with content restrictions (MAX comics were not sold at newsstands, and so were able to be essentially R-rated content-wise without getting into trouble). As I say, great writing, probably the best version of the character, but not for the faint of heart. Also, the 2004 Punisher film starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta draws a lot of subplots and background characters from this miniseries. A lot of people hate on it; I think its a great treatment of the character, personally. It is, however, VERY R-rated, so be forewarned.
I will say once again, this is a comic for adults, or at least for teens. Not a work intended for kids! But well done nonetheless.
*To be fair, there have been some great stories pitting the Punisher against supervillains. Frank Miller did some great things on his run with DareDevil, contrasting the two characters and their approaches to fighting crime. Also interesting, Castle’s most recent thing is tricking himself out with toys stolen from his enemies….His favorite is a Goblin Glider stolen from one of Norman Osborne’s old caches….
Also, it should be admitted that this is written from a bias of having read a lot of the more recent, grittier comics where Frank Castle takes on mobsters, drug runners, serial killers and sex slavers. I feel this is a better take on the character. It should also be noted that this is a much more adult-themed take on the character, getting Marvel’s equivalent of an R-rating.
July 24, 2025
though it’s clear ennis loves blowing up houses, murderous older women and laid back side characters willing to take a hit for the protags (cassidy and spacker dave man’s best friend fr), this was exactly the dark humour i was feigning for
if i wasn’t brubaked i’d definitely read more ennis
4/5
if i wasn’t brubaked i’d definitely read more ennis
4/5
January 30, 2023
Esta serie, que supongo que ya debe considerarse un clásico, narra la vuelta del Punisher a las calles de New York, luego de atravesar por un período extraño y sobrenatural.
Ennis y Dillon devuelven al personaje la magnitud que había perdido, no escatiman en cuanto acción y violencia, la trama es sencilla pero efectiva, con un gran número de clichés y buenas dosis de humor. En cuanto a la parte gráfica, confieso que tuve un periodo en que detestaba el dibujo de Dillon, afortunadamente superé esta aversión y actualmente me permito disfrutar del particular estilo del británico.
Historia divertida y fundamental, excelente introducción para el personaje.
Ennis y Dillon devuelven al personaje la magnitud que había perdido, no escatiman en cuanto acción y violencia, la trama es sencilla pero efectiva, con un gran número de clichés y buenas dosis de humor. En cuanto a la parte gráfica, confieso que tuve un periodo en que detestaba el dibujo de Dillon, afortunadamente superé esta aversión y actualmente me permito disfrutar del particular estilo del británico.
Historia divertida y fundamental, excelente introducción para el personaje.
April 21, 2017
Garth Ennis es genial. Cuantas más obras leo de él, más me gusta.
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