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Essential Punisher #2
Essential Punisher, Vol. 2
Mobsters, terrorists, neo-Nazis, religious fanatics, armored killers - no one's too tough for the Punisher! Follow the trail of blood as Frank Castle's war on crime takes him across the country, south of the border, back to school and Down Under! Plus: The Man With Lots of Guns vs. the Man Without Fear in a crossover with Daredevil! And who will live and die when the Punisher leads what might be the world's shortest-lived crime-fighting team against the Kingpin of Crime? With Typhoid and a cameo by the X-Men!
608 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 3, 2021
Very nice co0llection of Marvel's tough on crime hero, or is that anti-hero. nice art and story telling. Recommended
May 22, 2020
Amazing?!? Astounding! This was hardcore crime fiction at its finest in graphic novel form! How did this get the CCA's stamp of approval?!? The CCA is the Comics Code Authority, formed in the '50s in response to Dr. Fredric Wertham's book, "Seduction of the Innocent". It required the CCA's stamp of approval on any/all comic books under threat of reprisals & fines.
In this collection, Big Pun (yeah, I'm hip to rap) takes on racists, public education gone wrong & a host of other unsavory types, all in the name of his vigilante justice. Daredevil/Matt Murdock makes a point/counterpoint appearance, saying that the criminal justice system, allowed to properly do its job, will adjudicate criminals legally. Pun responds that if the system did its job, then he would be out of a job, which is what he ultimately wants. It's a real Catch-22, but we are made to sympathize with him, especially given his origin, having seen his family killed & him left for dead to exact revenge.
It's a tight rope to toe, but not only do the writers, pencillers & inkers pull it off, they make it absolutely mesmerizing! I blew through this one in 1.5 days. 8=O
Guess what's next?
In this collection, Big Pun (yeah, I'm hip to rap) takes on racists, public education gone wrong & a host of other unsavory types, all in the name of his vigilante justice. Daredevil/Matt Murdock makes a point/counterpoint appearance, saying that the criminal justice system, allowed to properly do its job, will adjudicate criminals legally. Pun responds that if the system did its job, then he would be out of a job, which is what he ultimately wants. It's a real Catch-22, but we are made to sympathize with him, especially given his origin, having seen his family killed & him left for dead to exact revenge.
It's a tight rope to toe, but not only do the writers, pencillers & inkers pull it off, they make it absolutely mesmerizing! I blew through this one in 1.5 days. 8=O
Guess what's next?
April 2, 2018
I was hoping that the second book in this series would be in colour, but I guess Marvel decided to cheapen out again. Thankfully however, unlike the first volume, this instalments stories are essential reading.
The stories are well put together, and the Frank's character feels fully fleshed out. The only slight blip, would be the inclusion of the Punisher annual. We go from grounded stories, to sci-fi mech suits (still enjoyable, but can understand why it wasn't included in the main issues).
Overall, a decent read
The stories are well put together, and the Frank's character feels fully fleshed out. The only slight blip, would be the inclusion of the Punisher annual. We go from grounded stories, to sci-fi mech suits (still enjoyable, but can understand why it wasn't included in the main issues).
Overall, a decent read
August 30, 2018
What to say? Good collection, great art.
February 23, 2021
The Punisher at one point gets tortured with a bag full of pee. Glorious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2021
Choppy, grounded, grittily awesome old-school crime comics.
November 29, 2007
One of the most brilliant things about this collection is the Punisher/Daredevil crossover, i think. The two magazines (Punisher #10 and Daredevil #257) take place at the same time. The plot involves a disgruntled former employee of a large medicine company poisoning the company's products in an effort to drive them out of business, killing several random consumers. Punisher, of course, sets out to kill him. Meanwhile, Daredevil sets out to bring him to jail. The Punisher issue is told from the point of view of The Punisher, and the Daredevil one is told from the point of view of the villain. When you get a look into the villain's head in the Daredevil issue, as he witnesses Punisher and Daredevil fighting over him and bantering back and forth the virtues of their respective approaches, he sorts out what makes sense in each's arguments on whether he should be killed or jailed. It was a brilliant piece of writing, i think.
The only thing that i don't so much like about the Punisher series is the rate at which Punisher's allies are killed. I've nothing against main characters being killed in series, unlike some people, but the deaths so often seem empty and meaningless. If you're going to kill a main character, it should further the plot in some way, or at least bring some emotion to the story. Punisher, for the most part, shrugs it off and moves on immediately, with one barely-notable exception. That one takes him three whole panels to get over. It's just annoying to me to have a character played up to seem important, and suddenly get offed without contribution anything meaningful.
The only thing that i don't so much like about the Punisher series is the rate at which Punisher's allies are killed. I've nothing against main characters being killed in series, unlike some people, but the deaths so often seem empty and meaningless. If you're going to kill a main character, it should further the plot in some way, or at least bring some emotion to the story. Punisher, for the most part, shrugs it off and moves on immediately, with one barely-notable exception. That one takes him three whole panels to get over. It's just annoying to me to have a character played up to seem important, and suddenly get offed without contribution anything meaningful.
September 1, 2013
An interesting collection of stories - slightly one-note at times, and the constant throwaway repetition of Frank's origin (this happened and this is why I'm here, on with the story) was annoying, although that's probably a function of reading the collection in one go. (Although I'll also admit to finding it unforgiveably glib - having first encountered the Punisher in much later and more complex mythology, the bereavement handwave doesn't sit well with me). On the other hand there is no attempt to gussy Frank up - he's not mad or bad, just very focused - and we are asked to take or leave him warts and all. Great stuff. The artwork is beautiful throughout - sparse, simple, violent, homocentrically erotic, occasionally idiosyncratic and "cartoony", but always striking. The black and white suits tales of Frank very well. Love the Microchip stories; he's a fascinating character in his own right. Nicest surprise: the string of strong, violent, independent women who Frank gets to call on in his never-ending war... no gussies here, they kill and be killed with the best of his enemies, associates and colleagues. All in all, great fun - perhaps especially because modern Punisher wouldn't be possible without these simpler, more stylised incarnations. If I have one complaint it would be Frank is just toooooooo pretty at times... sits oddly with his explicit positioning as an older man (getting called Pops by young bloods etc). Handsome is good; pretty not so much - although I suppose it is a product of the Dalton Bond era.
August 20, 2015
I was almost constantly surprised by how good this was! The Daredevil cross over was particularly superbly done. It was super interesting seeing the same fight from the differnt perspectives, including from the villains point of view.
Some of the issues were obviously plays on what were probably current events when the story was written. They were a little strange, interesting but strange. They read almost like a cultural wish fulfillment where the bad guy was murdered before committing their crime.
Some of the issues were obviously plays on what were probably current events when the story was written. They were a little strange, interesting but strange. They read almost like a cultural wish fulfillment where the bad guy was murdered before committing their crime.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews