Comic Book Of The Week - The Punisher Welcome Back, Frank - Review

This trade collects The Punisher Vol. 3 issues 1-12, written by Garth Ennis, drawn by Steve Dillon and inked by Jimmy Palmioti.

This was the beginning of Ennis's run on The Punisher and boy does it start with a bang, the first issue sets up The Punisher as an absolute bad ass returning to take down crime in New York City, and it really grabbed my attention and made me forget any preconceptions I had about the character I just thought this comic is gonna be fun as hell.

 

 

The story has similarities in dialogue, violence and the absurdity that were prevalent in Ennis and Dillon's Preacher series, which really suit the character of The Punisher. If you've seen The Punisher movie( the one with John Travolta) you can tell this is one of the books the writers got a lot of their ideas from. But this comic doesn't play up the emotion that drives the character like the film does instead this comic is really just about fun, Ennis says as much in the foreword of the trade, and Dillon's slightly simple artwork and bright colours by Chris Sotomeyer really add to the cartoony feel of the book. It's hyper violent but in a playful way, you never feel worried about Frank Castle getting his head smashed in with a fridge door or someone getting striped to the bone by piranhas, it's just funny. I don't know if Ennis is trying to make a comment on the desensitisation of violence or how comics have become to realistic especially in their portrayal of violence. Maybe neither, either way the violence in this comic is so exaggerated I couldn't take it seriously and it just added to the over the top fun of it all.

 

 

The issue covers are done by Tim Bradstreet, one of which is used as the cover for the trade, they portray a much darker,realistic Punisher in direct opposition to Dillon's panel work. The covers create an expectation in your mind of the usual serious, sombre Punisher story, which is instantly dispelled when you start reading, its like Ennis and Dillon are saying 'only joking!' every time you pick up an issue.

 

 

I did fell the story dipped a bit, its' 12 issues long,and without any real jeopardy or emotional drive I found my interest waining in parts. I just thought it would have worked better as a 6 issue series, give or take. 12 issues was a bit too long for what was a fairly straightforward story, and the fun over the top violence did become a little sickly sweet after a while. But all that being said this trade is great if your just looking for a fun break from more serious books.

 

The next comic book of the week will be The Punisher Army Of One.