|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 17, 2014 5:17:36 GMT -5
During his run Ennis wrote three 48 page one-shots detailing key points in Frank's life that were collected in the TPB "From First to Last." While chronologically the final story, and the last story in that book, this is the first of the three interruptions to his run. The Punisher: The End (June 2004)  Art and cover by Richard Corben Color by Lee Loughridge Summary: "Soon." It is sunset at Sing-Sing. The Governor is ordering the guards to execute all prisoners. His assistant, Charlie, asks if there is any hope at all. The Governor explains that the Dublin peace talks have shut down and the Chinese refuse to extract their forces from Burma. The end of civilization is coming and the Governor cannot allow whatever is left to be populated by prisoners. The missles are on their way. He tells Charlie to go home to his family but his mother is in Seattle. The Governor invites Charlie to stay for a last drink, setting out a bottle of Johnny Walker, two glasses and a pistol. In the prison the guards have executed most of the prisoners. The leader laughs at the guards who went home to die with their wives, he knows about a bomb shelter that was built into D-Block. They head down to finish their job before getting to safety. The prisoner in D-Block was transferred there to prevent him from killing every other prisoner in the facility. He'd been a successful vigilante but age caught up to him and he got arrested. By the end of his first month in Sing Sing he'd killed 36 people. By the end of his first year going to Sing Sing was considered a death sentence. As they enter his cell the lights go out. There is confusion and the prisoner gets ahold of a rifle. One year later Frank Castle, big and bent and grey and old, crawls out of a sewer pipe. He is accompanied by Paris Peters, a con-man who got sent to Sing Sing for biting off more than he could chew. Paris is horrified by the state the world is in. The sky is orange with thick black clouds that still burn and snow ash. Frank tells them that by exiting the tunnel they have damned themselves to die in 72 hours. It would take a thousand years for the background radiation to reach a safe level. Frank's plan is to head to New York. On the highway they find an endless line of ash-covered cars. The skeletons of the occupants are still inside. When they heard the world was going to end they all got out of the city at once and got stuck in gridlock. The EMP killed the cars and the fallout killed them. The ash storm gets too heavy so they seek shelter in a school bus filled with the skeletons of children who had killed themselves. Paris asks how things turned bad. Over the course of a decade the War on Terror turned into World War III. Iraqw, North Korea, Pakistan and China were all involved. Paris asks Frank what his plan is. Frank says he still has work to do. It doesn't matter that the world has ended, there are still people who do right and wrong and he must kill the wrongdoers. From atop a building on Long Island Frank assesses the damage. Brooklyn got a direct hit, Manhattan was barely missed, Jersey was decimated. New York is a burning ruin. They ride a makeshift raft across the East River, which has turned black. All life is extinguished. Frank is beginning to bleed from the eyes, nose and mouth. Paris pukes blood. Frank's target is a secret bomb shelter. It was constructed ninety storeys below the WTC, built in the aftermath of 9/11. The access it through a subway station that was shut down after the attack. They reach the entance and Frank punches in the access code. Knockout gas pours from the floor of the elevator. Frank wakes up in an infirmary. His doctor is wearing a rad suit. Frank has hours to live. Armed guards stand watch as Frank is injected with adrenaline. The powers that be want to talk to him. Frank gets dressed and takes the doctor hostage with a scalpel. One cut to her suit and she's dead. When the guards come in Frank murders them, then executes his doctor. He takes their weapons and makes his way through his bunker, killing everyone he sees. He remarks on the evil people who ran the world. They destroyed the environment with their industries, enslaved entire nations, hoarded their money instead of using it to help the world. They could sell anything to anyone. The presidents were in their pockets and they kept pushing the wars until they pushed too far. Frank finds the leaders inside the comm room. He tells them they should have killed William Teacher. He was the man who designed the bunker. When he started having second thoughts he was sent to Sing Sing. He was in the hospital when the war started and since the hospital was next to D-Block he was able to take shelter with Frank and the guards. When the people started going crazy he got shanked. Before he died he told Frank about the captains of industry and their bunkers. There were bunkers in Washington, Dallas, LA and New York. The bunkers are stocked with human embryos. These men, known as The Coven, would be able to rebuild the world and continue their evil. Teach gave Frank the location, layout and access codes for the bunkers. Frank waited for the radiation to subside enough for him to be able to make it to New York. The leader of The Coven begs. He plays a recording sent from Washington of the President raping the Secretary of State. In the LA bunker everyone went crazy and killed each other. Dallas was completely destroyed. After three months all other signs of human life faded. The men in the bunker are the last humans on Earth. Frank opens fire and kills the entire Coven. "They could sell anything to anyone, except me." Paris asks why he did it. Frank tells him that the human race only led to evil. He asks Paris why he was in D-Block. Afterall, he's just a smalltime crook. Paris says one of his scams was committing arson for insurance. One of the buildings he burned down was next to a kindergarten and the kids were burned alive. Frank asks if he wanted to be judged or if he was just too cowardly to kill himself. "You see what I mean about the human race?" He strangles Paris. As he exits the bunker his skin and hair are falling off. In his mind it's 1976. He starts walking to Central Park to save his family as he burns in the nuclear apocalypse. Observations: So... yeah. Wow. This is Ennis at his most chilling. His interpretation of world affairs is taken to its most cynical conclusion. From the opening caption to the final image of Frank Castle burning alive this story is pure nightmare fuel. The main idea here is, of course, how does Frank Castle respond when the entire human race kills itself? He responds to it like he does any other murderer: He kills it in cold blood. Frank has reached the point where humanity itself has crossed a line and its evil must be destroyed at the expense of it never being able to demonstrate goodness again. This is as dark as it gets folks. Frank murders characters who are fairly innocent (there is never an indication that the doctors and guards are part of the elite that destroyed the world) but to him it doesn't matter because no human is innocent anymore, the entire race is monstrous. Like his refusal to join the CIA, this is a story that has many scratching their heads and calling out-of-character. Not me. This is exactly what the Punisher is. He is the one who casts judgment and so he has done here. The symbolism of The Coven having their bunker below Ground Zero is self-explanatory. I don't want to get into politics but Ennis is making some very cutting statements here. No punches pulled. Ten years on the story reads like a time capsule of the deepest paranoia circa 2004: Was it an inside job? Are they after oil? Where are the WMDs? What is the world coming to? Will this turn into WWIII? In 2004 I was 14 and I was still scared stiff of being drafted when I turned 18. This retroactively adds an extra facet to the story and it's hard to believe that Marvel had the balls to publish something like this. Every page contains some sort of visual horror. The gradual but steady decomposition of Frank and Paris as they succumb to radiation sickness, the school bus full of child skeletons, the complete deadness of the East River, the stunning two-page shot of the destroyed New York, even Frank's completely inhuman face as he explains the situation to Paris in the end. Corben delivers art that is equally unconventional and unforgetting. Pointilism is a rarity in comics, with hatching being the prefered form of shading (excluding Moebius of course) but Corben utilizes it very well and gives the whole thing a very eerie atmosphere. And Loughridge's colors are breathtaking. I can't quite tell if they're watercolor or digital but either way they are very moody with a heavy use of yellow tones and heavy casts (almost rendering sections of the book monochromatic) adding a sickly rotting feel to everything. This is the scary story folks. If you can only read one issue from Ennis I say read this one, I doubt you'll regret it. A |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 17, 2014 16:29:21 GMT -5
Back on track after the diversion of The End (and some computer problems). The Punisher #7 (August 2004)  "Kitchen Irish, Part 1" Art by Leandro Fernandez Colors by Dean White Summary: Frank Castle is sitting down for lunch in a Hell's Kitchen diner. He comments on the gentrification of the area and how pathetic it is that they call it "Clinton," as if that changes its past as a gang war zone. The waitress brings him his lunch and as he bends down to eat there is an explosion at the bar across the street. A piece of glass flies over his head and decapitates the waitress. The person behind him gets the brunt of the glass but Frank is still blown over by the explosion and catches a shard of glass in his arm. As he pulls himself together and stops himself from going into shock he sees a poor woman with her arms blown off and a shard of glass rammed down her throat. She is crying and silently begging him to help. He realizes he doesn't know what to do (the first time in a long time) and is relieved when he drops dead. He heres someone calling for help and finds a young man with a hole in his chest. Frank reaches into his chest, finds the hole in his heart and seals it with his thumb. Imagining the man has a wife and kids Frank finds himself emotionally invested in the man's survival. When the first responders arrive a young firefighter finds Frank and the man. Thirty minutes later they have saved him and ensured his survival, with Frank having taught the firefighter a valuable skill. Despite the skull on his chest (he had been wearing a zipped up jacket but the zipper was blown open in the explosion) the firefighter is grateful and helps him without reporting him to the authorities. Frank ponders the unlikelihood of meeting your polar opposite. He hangs around out of sight to listen to what the cops have to say and find out who did this. Everyone thinks it's al-Qaeda but Frank doesn't think that makes sense. He hears one cop arguing that it's the I.R.A. Makes sense to Frank. On the porhc of a beach house a man named Finn is discussing the bombing with two associates, one of whom is his nephew. The bombing was apparently an assassination attempt intended for the Westies, the river rats and a man named Maginty. The radio detonator was set off by someone using a short range transmitter on the same frequency. As they talk and argue the plot comes out: An old man named Nesbitt has stashed millions of dollars and these guys, who are representatives of the I.R.A. are desperate to find it in order to fund their terrorism back home and keep Britain out of Ireland. Finn predicts there will be an all out war for the treasure. Oh, and Finn has had half his face blown off and wears a clear plexiglass mask over his exposed facial tissue. Back at the bombings Frank is surveying the area from a rooftop. He describes the Westies as a few Irish gangs that ran Hell's Kitchen until the seventies. They were focused more on savagery than on planning and ended up being destroyed by the mob. A man named Tommy Toner is attempting to restart the Westies. It was his bar that was bombed and he has been investigating all night. Frank intends to kill his goons then kidnap and interrogate him. His plan is derailed when a van pulls up and Tommy ends up kidnapped. At a playground an old man named Napper watches his grandson play. A black man with dreadlocks sits on the bench beside him and asks him how long it's been since he did a Houdini on someone. Napper tries to deny it but can't: Thirty years ago he disposed of bodies for the Westies, specifically the aforementioned Nesbitt, chopping them into so many pieces they could never be found and indentified. This man, who we find out is Maginity, tells Napper that Nesbitt died last year and he wants to hire Napper for himself. Gramps wants nothing to do with him but Maginty points to his van. His grandson is being held at gunpoint. He agrees to work with Maginty, who asks him if he ever did a Houdini on someone that was still living. Observations: Being an Irishmanthe I.R.A. is a particularly touchy subject for Ennis. He did an I.R.A. story in issue 18 of the previous series but here he takes advantage of the MAX imprint to go all out. Frank does a lot of soapboxing about Irish culture and its history in America while the story opens with the horror of a car bomb, an I.R.A. signature. Frank says that being overly sentimental about the past is an unfortunate Irish trait and in a way Ennis seems to be going after Plastic Paddies as well (people who claim to be Irish despite having never lived there because they've got some Irish in their family tree. These people tend to pop up around St Patrick's Day and boast about how much they can drink). He mocks Tommy Toner because he buys into the myth of the Irish gang hanging out in an Irish bar keeping the non-whites out of the neighborhood. At the same time he also criticizes the gentrification of the area and the city's attempt to sweep its history under the rug. I think part of Frank's problem with it is it means theres not as much killing to do in Clinton as there was in Hell's Kitchen. Finn is an interesting character. Unlike the last arc where it took several issues for the villains of the series to explain their motives here we get it right away: There is something of a treasure hunt and several factions are gunning for it. Finn wants to wipe them out so he can bring the money back to Ireland and stave off the British. It's an interesting story and a change of pace from the last issue. Visually Finn is an example of a character that just wouldn't fly in mainstream Marvel. He looks disgusting and Fernandez adds a detail of snot leaking from his nose. Gross. Finn isn't the only horror in the book. The woman Frank sees after the explosion is so pitiful and sad that it alone could stop people from drinking "Irish Car Bombs" on St Patrick's Day. Going back to Fernandez I must say that, in my opinion, he is the definitive Punisher artist and the best artist on this book. His work is more realistic than Larosa's with a much cleaner line. It's an aesthetic that really helps the series hit that "Sopranos/Goodfellas" cinematic tone. Dean White is still fantastic, as usual. Overall this is a very good issue and a promising start to the second arc. B PS: I mentioned earlier that the series progresses in (somewhat) real time. We get the first indication of that here. While the last arc was set in Spring, with the trees lush and green, here the trees are barren. A good six months have passed since the last arc, giving Frank time to recuperate from his injuries last time. For fun I've decided to run a tally on every one of Frank's injuries as he recieves them. Lets see how hardcore this guy really is. Heres the count so far: Gained this issue: - Caught in an explosion resulting in a nosebleed and bleeding from the ears. - Upper left arm impaled by shard of glass. Past issues: - Seven gunshot wounds across his body (Born #4) - Seven stun rounds to the body, hand and face (The Punisher #2) - A bullet fired at point blank range grazing his forehead (The Punisher #5) - Right arm grazed by a shotgun (The Punisher #5) - Hit in the chest and possibly other parts of his body by a shotgun through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Fell through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Shot in a left rib by a shotgun at point blank range. (The Punisher #6) - Lung grabbed and squeezed through the wound in his side. (The Punisher #6) - Punched in the face. (The Punisher #6) - Slashed on the right forearm, right thigh and left side of the head (The Punisher #6) - Right hand stabbed by shard of glass (The Punisher #6) - Stabbed in the back at least once (The Punisher #6 |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 17, 2014 20:46:16 GMT -5
The Punisher #8 (August 2004)  Art by Leandro Fernandez Color by Dean White Summary: In a diner adjacent to the bomb site two Brits are having lunch. The older one, Yorkie, tells the younger, Andy, that as long as they stay visible in this area he will make contact. And at that moment Frank asks him what he's doing there. In Maginty's hideout Napper is protesting his "assignment." Chopping a body to pieces when the person is dead is hard enough, when they're alive it's just cruel. But he has no choice. He says goodbye to Billy as the boy is taken to the next apartment over. In the bedroom Tommy Toner is shackled to the cot. Maginty orders Napper to start with his hand. On the river a crew of pirates called the River Rats, led by siblings Polly and Eamon, fall upon a yacht. On the last weekend of every month the yacht sales up the river to the Hamptons. The pirates load up on valuables and cut the fingers off a man who tries to defend himself. As they escape one of the pirates, Danni, is waving the loot around and gets yelled at by Polly. One of the pirates implies that Polly is jealous of Danni over a (non-existent) relationship with Eamon. Eamon is disgusted by the incest joke and kicks the pirate off the boat. In the diner Yorkie explains what he and Andy are doing in New York. They're after Finn Cooley, an ex-I.R.A. soldier who had been hiding in Canada and the man who bombed the bar. MI6 had gotten a tip that Cooley had crossed into the US. He met up with Michael Morrison, a gun and drug smuggler and Mafiya associate. He is a major contributor to IRA causes. When Sinn Fein - the I.R.A's political wing - are talking with Tony Blair they drop a hint that Cooley dying would be good for everyone and his location is slipped into the conversation. Cue Yorkie going to New York. But Washington won't sanction a Brit assassin on US soil so Yorkie has turned to Frank for help. Frank wants to know what Andy's part in this is. Andy is an infantryman and the son of the last British serviceman to be killed in Northern Ireland. He was killed by Peter Cooley, Finn's nephew. He wants revenge and Yorkie, being a friend of his Dad, wants to help. Frank understands and agreees to cooperate under the condition that this is a one time situation. Maginty is arguing with FedEx over the phone. He's trying to mail some of Tommy's body parts to The Westies but FedEx wants $48 for same-day. He freaks out but eventually concedes because hey, FedEx is still better than UPS. At O'Malley's pub Finn and his crew are waiting for any Westies or River Rats that might show up, as this is their favorite hangout. Finn despises the clientele, calling them Narrowbacks - Irish Americans, or Plastic Paddies. One of them recognizes Finn, praises him as a hero and the entire bar raises their glass to him. They don't notice Frank standing in the doorway until he makes himself known: Anyone not wanting to die for Ireland better clear on out the back." Observations: This is primarily an issue of exposition. Having met The Westies, Maginty and Finn Cooley last issue we now meet the River Rats, the fourth of the Irish gangs. We also meet Yorkie, which is something with its own implications that I'll explain in the bit. Frank now knows who to go after but is now drawn into a larger plot. At least here he has partners. Maginty having Napper dismember a still-living Tommy under threat of his grandson's murder is some of the highest concentration of disgusting animal behaviour I've read in a comic. While the last arc had villains who were mainly after Frank and Frank alone, here we have villains who are much more destructive and openly evil. But believe it or not, it doesn't rate as high as events further into the series. Maginty's tirade against FedEx is blackest of the black humor. Ennis continues with his deconstruction of modern Irish mythology. He describes Finn as part of a radical I.R.A. shootoff but even they are turning against him. His criticism of the "Narrowbacks" is a dead-on skewering of the people who try to take pride in things they ultimately have no part of. Going back to Yorkie, this is the first case (retroactively the second) of Ennis bringing in elements from his previous work. Yorkie appeared in the Marvel Knights series, which was set in 616 Marvel. This is obviously the same character and like Frank may just be a second version, although since both Yorkies were Ennis creations they just might be the same. Artwise the goodness continues. I'm not kidding when I say Fernandez is the best. He and White are a great pairing. Overall the momentum of the arc is killed by the heavy exposition but things are really just getting started. As a single issue it's not very thrilling. C Frank's injuries this issue: None, Frank doesn't engage any opponents. |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 18, 2014 3:04:19 GMT -5
The Punisher #9 (September 2004)  "Kitchen Irish, Part 3" Art by Leandro Fernandez Color by Dean White Summary: From cover behind the bar Yorkie and Andy watch the crowd of people run for their lives. Yorkie gives strict orders that they are to take prisoners only and he can't take his revenge yet. Inside Frank is about to interrogate Finn when the River Rats show up. Danni is first inside and when she sees Frank she goes for her pistol. Bad move, he blows her head off with his shotgun. The Rats engage him and Frank dives behind the bar while Finn and his crew escape out the back. Yorkie and Andy successfully ambush them, shooting Michael in the hand, Peter in the legs and Finn in the head, which just knocks his mask off. They run back inside and find the guy who made a spectacle of Finn. The River Rats maintain pressure on Frank but Polly, clearly the only one with any brains, tells Eamon that it's the Punisher and they HAVE to get out of there. Polly, Eamon and their henchman Bunk escape while the rest are killed or wounded with a grenade. Frank executes the maimed while Finn, using the Plastic Paddie as a human shield, escapes with Michael, leaving Peter for the three amigos to take as prisoner. At the Rats' hideout the three survivors are patching themselves up and assessing the situation. They recognized Finn and know they need an army if they want to take him on in addition to the Westies and Maginty. With their henchmen decimated Polly has to call in some cousins. At Frank's bunker Peter Cooley is read his rap sheet: Member of the IRA from '94 to '98, spotted in the company of terrorists in Colombia, Spain and Saudi Arabia, suspected of the murders of three members of the British Security Forces. Peter is defiant so Yorkie tells him who he's at the mercy of: An M.I.6 operative by way of S.A.S. by way of Parachute Regiment. The Punisher, who has taken a personal interest in the bar bombing. And the son of a man he killed. Peter is horrified. At another bar Finn and Michael have bandaged themselves up. Finn has had to tape the remnants of his face onto his skull. He doesn't know who the Punisher is so Michael fills him in and suggests they back off. Finn is tired of being someone's, uh, N-word. First it was the Protestants who took Ireland, then it was the British, then it was the army council that sent Finn to fight for them and sold him out. He screams that he will never be anybody's N-word again. At this point he realizes the bar's clientele is entirely black and they are not impressed by him. At the bunker Peter is still resisting interrogation. He says he would never betray Finn to a Brit. Yorkie points out that Finn betrayed him and that Peter's toughness is all an act as he has never experienced torture or real pain. Yorkie and Andy leave him with Frank, who pulls out a knife and says he has to take out the bullets in his leg. Andy is in disbelief. Even though he knows that Peter killed his father he is having trouble associating the murderous sniper with the snivelling kid tied to a chair. As Peter starts screaming Yorkie tells Andy to get some air. As an infantryman torture is out side of his professional duties. Brenda Toner has started getting the FedEx packages. She shows no real concern for her husband and is more interested in who sent it. While her subordinates are clueless she is sharp enough to know that because Tommy was kidnapped by black crooks Maginty is responsible, which means he's in Hell's Kitchen. She wants the $10,000,000. She grabs an AK-47, puts out an order for the Westies to meet at their nightclub and tells her henchman to throw the package away so her kids don't find it. Back at the bunker Peter has. He tells them about Nesbitt's treasure, the gangs that are after it and the circumstances of the bombing. Frank wants to know where Finn is but Peter says he doesn't know. Frank tells him that he'd better start spilling his guts because the "torture" was just Frank ripping off his bandages and it made Peter pass out for two hours. If he doesn't start talking the real pain will start. Observations: This issue is a mixed bag. We get a nice action scene at the beginning and the rest of the issue is more exposition. The problem is a lot of it is what we already know. We have gang characters talking about the various plot points and now we have those points conveyed to Frank and his allies. It's been a running problem in this arc but it's especially bad here. How many times can we find out who Maginty is, who Nesbitt is, etc? This makes the issue sort of a chore. Brenda's introduction is the most interesting scene in the story, and even then her talk about the $10,000,000 is repeated three pages later. Even with Fernandez's artwork in the action sequence this really is mediocre, especially for this series. C Frank's injuries this issue: None. While Frank engages the enemy he walks away unscathed |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 18, 2014 6:13:59 GMT -5
The Punisher #10 (October 2004)  "Kitchen Irish, Part 4" Art by Leandro Fernandez Color by Dean White Summary: After three issues of hints and redundencies we finally get the full backstory courtesy of Peter. Old Man Nesbitt hated everybody. He liked to call them the C-Word. But he was an old school Westie and people still feared him and any possible connections he might have. Nesbitt used to supply Finn with cash to fund his terrorism. Tommy Toner looked up to Nesbitt and thought he'd be proud that he was carrying on the Westies name. The siblings that run the River Rats were his great-niece/nephew. And Maginty was a black man who grew up in Dublin, which Yorkie figures would make him hard as nails. When Nesbitt died last yet Finn got a letter from a New York lawyer. It said that Nesbitt wanted him to have a share in hsi will, which was to be split between Finn, Maginty, Tommy and the Rats. Everyone's letter had part of the code and only together could they find the ten million dollars. The letter said Nesbitt was sick of the infighting, robbery, racketeering, drug running, etc. They were destorying Hell's Kitchen and it was his fault, as they all looked up to him. He wanted them to get paid and leave crime and the neighborhood. It was his legacy. Frank, Yorkie and Andy leave Peter to discuss his case. Frank believes the situation with the cash and the letter but doubts Nesbitt's motivations. Yorkie agrees with him. Andy wonders why the four groups don't call a truce but Frank says they hate each other too much to agree. Trusting people is a good way to get killed. But Frank has a plan. He knows the number of Toner's club and he can set up a fake meeting. The other gangs will hear about it and go to the same location. Once they're together they can ambush them and kill 'em all. Andy can't believe Frank's brutality. At the "Pot O'Gold" nightclub the Westies, now run by Brenda, are getting set up. They recieve more body parts and while the men are scared Brenda isn't phased. She tells them that it's supposed to scare them and they shouldn't let it work, not when theres so much money involved. Later, they get a call from "Maginty." "Maginty" proved his identity by telling them the exact circumstances of the kidnapping (which Frank witnessed, of course). Brenda leaps into the action and calls her men to arms. The meeting site is The Intrepid, the Sea-Air-Space Museum which is on an aircraft carrier. Finn and Michael, having escaped the black nightclub a little worse for wear but intact, are watching the club. When the Westies move out they follow. At the River Rats' hideout they get the word that the Westies are gone. Polly flirts with Bunk, the last soldier, and sends him to check on the boats. Eamon tells her that Bunk isn't good enough for her but Polly laughs. She doesn't like Bunk, he's just easy to manipulate. Then she rasks him why he wasn't so protective when their drunk father would rape her. He doesn't have an answer. At Maginty's place Napper is still working on Tommy, who is still alive. He turns around and sees Billy staring at him. Maginty brought him in just for kicks. Billy runs screaming and Napper is furious but helpless. Maginty just thinks it's hilarious. At Intrepid Frank, Yorkie and Andy are set up. Yorkie and Andy are manning an M60 atop Concorde. Frank is armed with an M16 in a Huey. The Westies show up and they open fire. Frank remarks that it's been a while since he killed people from a Huey. Yorkie shows Andy how to herd a crowd by shooting at the flanks. He herds them right into range of Frank, who slaughters the rest. Andy is stunned by Frank's effectiveness. Yorkie just says he should have seen him in Vietnam. Finn and Michael aren't in the fray. Neither are the Rats. Both are in boats below the carrier. Meanwhile, Maginty and his crew are on the roof of the Huey, preparing to ambush Frank... Observations: So here we go. After two issues of exposition we get... More exposition. BUT we finally get the answers! Now Frank and Yorkie are going into action and the story kicks back into high gear. Seeing Frank work as part of a co-ordinated team is very cool (Micro wasn't very helpful in the last arc). As lethal as he is on his own he's even better with a partner. This issue is much more fun and hopefully the exposition is OVER. Not much more to say than that. B |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 18, 2014 21:12:03 GMT -5
The Punisher #11 (November 2004)  "Kitchen Irish, Part 5" Art by Leandro Fernandez Color by Dean White Summary: A police helicopter is surveying the scene. When they see the Punisher is involved they call in tactical. Frank is just about done, satisfied with killing three dozen Westies. Above him Maginty prepares to strike but the Huey can't take the weight and a plate pops loose. Frank fires into the ceiling and Maginty leaps to safety while his men are slaughtered. The Westies take advantage of the distraction to make a final push against Frank but the grenade launcher on his M16 makes short work of them. Frank, Yorkie and Andy take off. Brenda caught a bullet in her rear end and Gerry, her dopey assistant, is helping her to safety. They come across the scalped head of Tommy and Gerry freaks out. Maginty pops up and slams a machete into Gerry's head but Brenda fires at him and scares him off. On the water Bunk sees Frank leaving the carrier. He opens fire and Frank fires back, shooting Bunk and perforating their boat. As it starts to sink Polly kisses Bunk goodbye and leaves with Eamon. Bunk drives the boat after Frank as a diversion and gets shot. Polly just thinks h'es a moron. The replacement River Rats decide this is too much to handle and clear out. On the pier Finn is waiting for Brenda and offers her a lift. Back at the nightclub Finn patches her up and they agree to a truce. They pour drinks and Michael wonders if it's love. When Maginty gets back to his hideout he's knocked unconscious by Napper, who takes him into the torture room. When he wakes up he's shackled to the bed. Back at the bunker Frank is satisfied with the night's work. The Westies have lost all of their muscle, Finn never had any muscle and both Maginty and the Rats have very little, otherwise they would have made a move against the Westies. Now they should be desperate enough to make a truce. Yorkie gives Peter a sandwich. He mocks the boy for actually believing Finn is going to use the money to support the I.R.A. and he mocks him for believing in his "cause." Peter asks how a thirty year conflict isn't a cause but Yorkie tells him that to the British fighting the Irish was just a job. As passionate as the IRA were to the British it was no big deal. Unless a friend was killed in action it was very impersonal, the Irish were unsuccessful in making the English passionate about the conflict. All they had to do was keep the Irish at bay and it made for good training. Once the I.R.A. realized it was a lost cause they were more than happy to negotiate. Peter calls him a cynic but Yorkie says it's better than being a believer. Being uncompromising and unrelenting isn't worth it when your country gets blown to Hell. Peter is outraged that Yorkie is suggsting the Irish quit and give up. Yorkie tells him that the Irish did quit and give up and now they're going on with their lives while Peter is going to be executed as soon as they get their hands on Finn. In the main room Andy is lost in thought. This job makes Iraq look like training. He never considered that there'd be so much killing involved. Yorkie tells him "Welcome to Ireland" while Frank loads his guns. Observations: After the climax of the last issue we're now dealing with the aftermath. There is little to no firepower between the four gangs, with the Westies and Maginty's crew being annihilated and the Rats backing out. Yorkie steals the show with his monologue to Peter. Idealism is one thing, getting killed for a cause instead of just enjoying life is another. The I.R.A. is clearly a personal subject for Ennis and he is taking every opportunity he can get to soapbox about it. Whats really interesting is how Frank's mission parallels Peter's idealism. They have their goals and they will never ever give up. But I think the best part of the issue is finally seeing Napper get some revenge on Maginty. B Frank's injuries this issue: None. While Frank engages the enemy he walks away unscathed. However, firing his gun inside the Huey like that probably caused some hearing damage. |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 19, 2014 3:11:29 GMT -5
The Punisher #12 (December 2004)  "Kitchen Irish, Conclusion" Art by Leandro Fernandez Color by Dean White Summary: The finale to this arc opens with Napper and Maginty stark naked. Napper has taped garbage bags to the walls and begins cutting of Maginty's fingers. He is not happy that his grandson now knows what he is. Before he can do more damage two of Maginty's goons find them and shoot Napper. Maginty wraps up his hand and heads out. As a side note, while this series doesn't shy away from showing boobies and butts all genitalia is obscured. Maginty walks into the Pot O'Gold. Brenda is furious but Finn gets it. The Rat siblings show up as well. On their own they've decided that their war is just Nesbitt screwing with them from beyond the grave and it's time to settle things. Everyone hands over their codes and they check on a map. With the location of the treasure now out in the open everyone reaches for their weapons. At this point Michael snaps. He berates them for leaving the warzone of Ireland, coming to America and carrying on with the same senseless violence. They're free to act on their own accord without having to slaughter each other. As the hoodlums leave the club Frank, Yorkie and Andy tail them. They can't engage here, too many civvies. Frank is still suspicious of Nesbitt's will, it doesn't make sense to him. It turns out the treasure was on an old cargo ship thats been anchored in the harbor for years. The hoodlums get aboard and head below deck. Our heroes follow close behind but Eamon spots them through a tear in the hull. As they're about to get topside Frank drops a stun grenade into the hold. Finn, being the one person there with combat experience, closes his eyes. The others are hit and fire blindly, with Brenda shooting Eamon. As Frank makes his way down the ladder Finn throws a grenade at him and it blows him off the ladder. As Finn leaps to attack him Yorkie finds Michael, who begs for mercy. Yorkie blows him away and calls him a wanker. Frank manages to bite Finn's cheek off but the grenade kicked the crap out of him. Yorkie hauls him off the ship as the hoodlums find the treasure box. They open it. Theres a block of C4 with the C-Word carved in it. The bomb goes off and sends Yorkie and Frank flying into the harbor. Andy hauls them into their dingy and they leave as the freighter sinks. In the morning there is still some unfinished business. Andy pulls Peter from the trunk of the car and walks him into a shed. Frank warns Yorkie not to return and leaves. Andy comes back and says he doesn't feel any different. Yorkie tells him to look at old Frank walking away and asks him if he thinks he feels different. Observations: The second arc comes to a close. This issue is a much quicker read than the others. In a way it's an anti-climax. We think Napper is finally going to get revenge on Maginty, then he gets killed. We think there'll be a big final battle between Frank and Finn but that gets cut short when Frank gets wounded. The treasure turns out to be a massive prank. And Andy's execution of Peter is done offscreen and is revealed to be a bit of a letdown. However, I believe this to be intentional and it makes for a particularly entertaining comic book. The message of the story is beginning to clear up. The point here seems to be drawing parallels between Frank and the IRA and how both are cases of extreme violence in the name of a shaky cause that comes at the cost of self-destruction. Andy seems to be heading down the same path but in the end he just can't relate to what Frank does. Andy is also very similar to Peter. Both are young, both follow in the footsteps of older relatives, both have their cause. Peter's devotion to his cause ends up costing him his life, as he realizes too late that the cause is BS. Andy is able to figure it out through exposure to Frank and pulls out of it. Ennis' views on Irish culture are the focal point of the arc. There is a ton of material there that probably benefits from deeper meaning. It is suggested that Finn wants the money not to help the IRA cause but to get plastic surgery. He values his image and how others percieve him over his roots. This doesn't make him much different than the Narrowbacks he was complaining about. Of course, Ennis also makes the point that Finn is right to do this, but its his hypocrisy that is his real flaw. Ultimatley it's better to pick your battles and know when to fold but don't keep waving a flag you don't stand for. Maybe if I was Irish I might have more insight into what Ennis is saying but only being the child of Irish immigrants I don't have the perspective I'd like. In a way thats a major flaw in this arc. Ennis' soapboxing is over the top and it isn't just about an evil in the world, it's about an entire culture of phonies. It gets to be a little much. The real flaw though is the pacing. While the story has nice layers and a great cast it's made much more complicated than it needs to be with excessive exposition. With five factions all telling each other repeat information it feels like the story could be told in half the issues. But at the same time the size of the cast and scope of the story could warrant a larger arc. In the end it feels too short and too long at the same time. In the end this arc is just OK. While "In The Beginning" was a great rundown on Frank's character, "Kitchen Irish" focuses more on a broader culture with the Frank Castle material taking a backseat. A disappointing follow-up to the opening arc. Issue rating: B Arc rating: C Frank's injury count: Gained this issue: - Grenade shrapnel to the right arm - Probable concussion (from grenade) Past issues: - Seven gunshot wounds across his body (Born #4) - Seven stun rounds to the body, hand and face (The Punisher #2) - A bullet fired at point blank range grazing his forehead (The Punisher #5) - Right arm grazed by a shotgun (The Punisher #5) - Hit in the chest and possibly other parts of his body by a shotgun through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Fell through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Shot in a left rib by a shotgun at point blank range. (The Punisher #6) - Lung grabbed and squeezed through the wound in his side. (The Punisher #6) - Punched in the face. (The Punisher #6) - Slashed on the right forearm, right thigh and left side of the head (The Punisher #6) - Right hand stabbed by shard of glass (The Punisher #6) - Stabbed in the back at least once (The Punisher #6) - Caught in an explosion resulting in a nosebleed and bleeding from the ears. (The Punisher #7) - Upper left arm impaled by shard of glass. (The Punisher #7) Next: One of my favorite arcs, "Mother Russia." |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 19, 2014 17:51:03 GMT -5
The Punisher #13 (January 2005)  "Mother Russia, Part 1" Pencils by Dougie Braithwaite Inks by Bill Reinhold Colors by Raul Trevino Summary: Frank is having lunch at a bar. Next to him an old man is complaining about the current state of Russia. The country is ruined and the people are screwed. He asks for another drink. The bartender tells him it's the last drink from the last bottle of this Russian brand of vodka. The old man complains about it being the only good vodka. On TV there is a news report of Russian gangster Leon Rastovich being released from prison. The old man rants about how damaging it is to people's perception of the Russian community. The bartender tells him he's stupid for talking like that about Rastovich in this bar. The old man says his name is Alexandr Baranovich Formichenko and he is not afraid of a cockroach like Rastovich. Rastovich shames the name of Mother Russia. He was at Leningrad when the Nazis came, he was a real soldier, not the mobster scum that follows Rastovich. The bartender tells him to get out and keep his mouth shut. Alexander says "Eff Leon Rastovich" and walks out. Three hoodlums follow him. Frank pays for his sandwich. He has been hunting Rastovich for two days and just had a lead fall in his lap. He threatens the bartender at knifepoint, telling him Alexandr Baranovich Formichenko is protected, and heads out. In the street the hoodlums are calling after Alexandr. When he turns around to face them they're gone. In an alleyway Frank is holding them at gun point. He asks where Rastovich is and doesn't get an answer. He shoots two of the thugs and asks again. The thug says he's at his mother's house. Frank wonders why he didn't think of that and executes the thug. On a private jet Colonel Nick Fury is being asked to stop smoking. Fury tells him he just made his day. The general he is sitting with tells him he was always a ray of sunshine. Fury says theres nothing in their agreement about sucking each other's balls. The generals ask him if he knows that a early last year a CIA approached Frank with a similar offer and they were wiped out under unclear circumstances, including a special forces unit from Bragg. Fury says that if you mess with the bull you get the horns. He tells the dumbstruck generals that since they came to him with this job that means they want it done right, otherwise they would have run a simulation at the pentagon, gotten Delta Force cut to pieces and watched it in CNN. He says he doesn't need opinions, classified reports or any of that nonsense. If he needs advice on how to fight his way up the president's ass without covering fire he'll come to them for help. Until then they can shut up and be assured that Frank is the only man for this job. Frank is set up outside Rastovich's hideout. He can easily kill Rastovich but his dozen men would probably run free. It's Rastovich's men that saved him when Frank went after him two years prior. Frank made a move on him at his nightclub but he had more men than Frank had ammo. Rastovich was able to escape and went to the police. He got thirty-to-life and safety from Frank. His mother is a piece of work as well. She is rumored to be the one bringing in the children for his child prostitution ring, sourcing them from a Kazakhstan orphanage. The feds couldn't make the charges stick. Rastovich gave up a lot of his partners at the trial but he wouldn't give up his Mama. While Rastovich is eating dinner and his mother is in the kitchen Frank blows his head off with his shotgun. He climbs in through the window as the mother comes at him with a cleaver. He considered letting her live but thinks "Screw it" and blows her head off too. He turns the stove's gas on and leaves. When the thugs run into the kitchen Frank throws a grenade in. There wasn't enough gas to kill more than a few but the rest are on fire. As they run out of the house Frank guns them down. If you work for the devil you better be ready to die for him. Fury compliments Frank on his work. He tells him he arranged Rastovich's release and kept tabs on him because he needed to find him. They stop into a bar. Fury offers him one jo.b High risk, practically impossible, if Frank screws up nobody had ever heard of him. Frank's not in the market but Fury has an incentive. It's an envelope with login credentials for FBI, DEA Customs, Coast Guard and every local PD on the East Coast. Frank would have access to all of their intel, putting every crook on the East Coast in Frank's gunsights. Frank asks him who he's working for. He's surprised to hear he's working for the Army and Air Force considering SHIELD is UN-backed. Fury is none too impressed with UN backing. If he pulls this job off he gets SHIELD back for good. SHIELD has been a joke for years. They put accountants in charge and now the agency is nowhere near as effective as it once was. Thats why Fury has come to Frank, theres nobody left who can handle the job. Even though the military has exceptional operatives they don't have the moral backbone Frank as, there is nothing they wouldn't do. Frank accepts the job and Fury leaves to engage in the services of prostitutes. As he's heading out Frank asks him why he isn't doing it. Fury says he'd be crazy to get his head blown off on a suicide mention, he's got to get SHIELD back and save the world! Frank admits to himself that Fury is the only man on the planet he truly trusts. Somewhere in the Middle East a man named Rawlins has just arranged for a hijacking and terrorist strike. They've gotten final approval and are ready to go. Rawlings will be happy to get out of the Middle East. The men on the other end of the phone are the Generals Fury is working with. Observations: This issue really has it all. In a way it's a repeat of the series's first few issues. Frank takes down some gangsters in a spectacularly violent manner while the government approaches him with a job offer. But while the first arc takes three issues to make it clear that Frank is being contracted it's covered in one issue here. We know the government wants something from Frank and they're using someone he knows to facilitate it. Nick Fury steals the show in this issue. Ennis's version of the character previously appeared in the highly controverisal "FuryMAX" in 2001. That story became infamous for a few reasons: Stan Lee wondered why Marvel felt the need to put so much violence and gore into their stories while George Clooney, who was in talks to play Fury in a movie, read the story and was so disgusted that he dropped out of the role, infuriating Avi Arad. That story portrayed Fury as a violence junkie who smokes too much, drunks too much and has sex with prostitutes by the half-dozen. Ennis has caught a lot of flack for "corrupting" a Lee/Kirby character but I don't see it like that at all. While the character seen in Sgt Fury and Agent of S.H.I.E.D. was a soldier/spy filtered through a lens of Saturday morning matinees, Ennis's version is a reinterpretation of the concept designed for adults. Fury has the personality quirks you would expect from the most badass man in comics. He plays rough, wastes no time on political correctness, cuts straight to the point and has no interest in people who can't do their job. FuryMAX was a black comedy series like the Marvel Knights Punisher run. Here he is in a serious story and he is just great. Seeing him cut through the nonsense of the generals with common sense was great. His complaints about not being allowed to smoke are funny. But the best part is even in this dark world he has strict lines that he won't cross. He brings Frank in because they're both old school men who have things they won't do. Seeing Frank speak to someone on an equal level is a lot of fun. Fury's presence also brings up another question about continuity. It's well established that this series is not set in 616 Marvel. Yorkie, a character introduced in 616 Marvel, appears and creates a slight continuity gaffe. Fury appearing opens up a question of what qualifies a character for suitability in the MAX world. Fury is obviously valid because he's not a superhero, he's a government agent and Ennis reinterpreted him in that mold. What other characters could fit here? Could a non-Iron Man'd Tony Stark fit? As a potential figurehead of the military-industrial complex (which is a topic Ennis rails against time and time again in the series) he would be the only representative of the industrial end of that relationship. While Tony never appeared in a Punisher MAX story Jason Aaron would introduce other 616 characters into his run: Bullseye, Elektra and Kingpin. But thats for another thread (in about 10 years). Ennis is already building a few thematic threads. One of them is nostalgia. Alexandr mourns the loss of Russia's dignity and power while Fury mourns the demise of the old New York and the rise of the modern corporate climate. And Frank and Fury both respect each other for being built and operating in the old way, two dinosaurs in a culture of soft talk and inaction. The other is the history of Russia, Russian culture and Russia's current standing in world affairs. Alexandr remarks on the resiliance of the Russian people, who in 1941 held Leningrad for three years and resisted Nazi invasion, and how they've degraded in the last few decades. There are echoes of the IRA soapboxing from "Kitchen Irish" but since Ennis doesn't have a personal stake in Russia these things are handled which much more grace. We also meet Russian criminals for the first time, after meeting the Italian Mob in the first arc and the Irish mob in the second. While the Italians run the show and the Irish were thieves and smugglers, the Leon Rastovich dealt in child prostitution. Thats pretty heinous stuff and Frank turning his brains into paint was very satisfying. Dougie Braithwaite is an artist I think is more well known for being painted over. Alex Ross painted over him for "Justice" and I believe he has done similar work for Hickman's current Avengers series. I'm not sure why, as his art works fantastically when it's inked. He fits into a sort of middleground between Larosa and Fernandez. His constructions are a little more focused like Fernandez's but his lines are a little more abstract like Larosa's. It's a good fit. Raul Trevino takes over from Dean White and he does an admirable job, although not as memorable as White's work. Overall it's another bang-up start to a story arc. It does what it needs to do but goes above the call of the duty by giving us a great action scene and some outstanding Fury dialog. A |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 20, 2014 1:59:49 GMT -5
The Punisher #14 (January 2005)  "Mother Russia, Part 2" Pencils by Dougie Braithwaite Inks by Bill Reinhold Colors by Raul Trevino Summary: Frank meets with Fury at the Rhode Island Air Force Base. They sit in the screening room and as the film starts Fury tells Frank he's going to Russia. On the screen there is footage of men strapped to tables. Fury explains that they're Chechen rebels that were imprisoned in '84 and never released. One of the rebels suddenly turns into a skeleton. Fury tells Frank that it wasn't a trick shot or timelapse, it's what Frank is going in to get. Evgeny Stenkov grew the supervirus, nicknamed Barbarossa, in a lab for the Russians but he got in contact with a US General and gave him the tape they just watched. He was offered a new life in the states so he burned his research, shot his assistant, took the one sample of virus and his daughter, Galina, and ran. A Spec Ops Blackhawk was waiting for him but a Russian fighter shot it down. Evgeny injected his daughter with the virus as part of his arrangement with the Generals. If they were going to be caught he would inject the daughter with the virus and the antidote and the US would extract them both from Russia. From her blood samples and information on the tape - which the Russians don't have - they could safely extract the virus. Evgeny died of a heart attack ten minutes into his interrogration and took the formula for the antidote to his grave. In 48 hours the antidote will destroy the virus. Fury's intel tells him that shes being kept in a missile silo south of the Laptev. The Generals don't want Barbarossa getting into anyone's hands so they hired Fury. Frank says that the rumor is Russians are the US's friends. Fury says there's friends and there's friends and that the old games never change. Frank will be accompanied by Captain Martin Vanheim of Delta Force, who Frank takes an immediate disliking to. Five miles over Siberia a commercial flight from Anchorage to Moscow makes a small detour. Frank and Vanheim jump from the cargo hold. They fall thirty thousand feet in under two minutes, too fast to be picked up on radar. They land in the Byrrang Mountains seven hundred miles inside the Arctic Circle, near a village named Suhdek, which is the only town near the nuclear silo. Ten miles north of Suhdek is the pickup point. A submarine will be there to get them. Either they're there or they aren't. Back at the base Fury is getting an earful from a General for telling Frank about Barbarossa. It's the most dangerous biological weapon in history and it's supposed to be kept under wraps. Fury says Castle had a right to know what he was getting. He also says he's aware of the significance of the virus and he is only helping them get it because the US having it is slightly less horrifying than the Russians having it. The Generals are offended that Fury would suggest they would actually use it, but he just asks them to reassure him by referring to Galina is a "six year old girl" rather than a "sample." When Fury leaves the room the Generals fume over how much they hate him. One of them offers reassurance: Fury told Castle everything he knows but they didn't tell Fury everything about the mission and he doesn't know about Rawlins. He says that Fury's real problem is that he doesn't know his place. In Suhdek Frank and Vanheim stash their gear and head to the bar. They don't have to wait long before they see two men from the base. Frank decides the best way to take them is to start a bar fight. He tells Vanheim to focus on getting the two out the back. Frank splashes his beer in someone's face and smashes his mug over their head. A brawl breaks out and Frank starts smashing fools. A very large Russian man throws Frank down on the bar and prepares to destroy him but Frank incapacitates him by smashing his throat with a bottle of vodka. Outside Frank and Vanheim execute the soldiers and steal their uniforms, ID and car keys and stash the bodies in a snow drift. They have enough of a head start to be underground by the time people notice the disturbance. They get waved by at the first perimeter gate and Vanheim can't believe it but Frank tells him it's Russia, not the U.S.S.R. At the second gate they ambush the guards and infiltrate the base. In an airport Rawlins sees his terrorist group off on their flight with a sarcastic "allah akbar." He walks into a bathroom and comes up in a suit and tie. As he boards a flight to New York he looks back at the terrorist's plane taking off and tells them to give Moscow his regards. Observations: While all three arcs so far have featured very good opening issues, there has consistently been a faltering with the second issue. That is not the case here. Ennis builds on the momentum set by the first issue, interweaving forward movement with exposition. While I summarized the issue in chronological order the story alternates between the H.A.L.O. jump over Siberia and the conference with Nick Fury. It works flawlessly and adds to the "80s action movie" feel of the story. Somewhat buried in the mix is an interesting facet of Frank's morality. He assaults an innocent person, beats up a room full of innocent people and murders several guards who are just doing their duty. These are things The Punisher would never do. For a while I was confused and it seemed like a very large lapse on Ennis' part. But then I realized it wasn't, because in this story Frank isn't the Punisher. He's a mercenary hired by the US Military. The rules he follows as the Punisher, self-imposed rules set under his own authority, aren't the same rules he follows as a soldier, which are imposed by a higher authority. He still has his lines in the sand (which is part of the reason Fury hired him) but when making the leap from vigilante to mercenary the guards ceased to be "Guys doing their jobs" and become "Enemy combatants." In fact in this issue it's made clear that he isn't wearing any form of his signature logo. No T-shirt, no badge, nothing. It's a small detail but it's interesting that Ennis has kept Frank from being a comic book hero who wears his costume into war. The Generals and their apparent plan to manufacture a terrorist attack on Moscow might be the most monstrous Marvel villains ever. Seeing Nick Fury continually throw crap in their faces makes up for it though. He doesn't care enough about his career to hold back his hatred of them, they stand for everything that he isn't. Braithwaite keeps the quality going. Now I'm noticing little personal touches in his interpretation of Frank. He's got a scar on his lip and across his nose (indicating a healed break). While details like this might be present with other artists, they're usually rendered as part of the inconsistent mass of wrinkles and creases that cross Frank's 55-year old face. The Siberian landscapes look very forboding and isolated, creating a real tension as Frank and Vanheim drive through the night. And Trevino wisely reserves warm colors for the inside of the bar, making it an oasis of comfort in the landscape of desaturated cool tones that make up the rest of the book's aesthetic. Not quite an A but very much a high B. Frank's injury count: Gained this issue: - Smashed through a bar, delivering blunt force trauma Past issues: - Seven gunshot wounds across his body (Born #4) - Seven stun rounds to the body, hand and face (The Punisher #2) - A bullet fired at point blank range grazing his forehead (The Punisher #5) - Right arm grazed by a shotgun (The Punisher #5) - Hit in the chest and possibly other parts of his body by a shotgun through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Fell through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Shot in a left rib by a shotgun at point blank range. (The Punisher #6) - Lung grabbed and squeezed through the wound in his side. (The Punisher #6) - Punched in the face. (The Punisher #6) - Slashed on the right forearm, right thigh and left side of the head (The Punisher #6) - Right hand stabbed by shard of glass (The Punisher #6) - Stabbed in the back at least once (The Punisher #6) - Caught in an explosion resulting in a nosebleed and bleeding from the ears. (The Punisher #7) - Upper left arm impaled by shard of glass. (The Punisher #7) - Grenade shrapnel to the right arm (The Punisher #12) - Probable concussion (from grenade) (The Punisher #12) |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2014 14:13:45 GMT -5
Enjoying these, thanks for flying the Punisher flag  |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Dec 25, 2014 9:14:30 GMT -5
Had to take a hiatus, work was killing me. But it's Christmas and I needed some cheering up so back into the fray I go. The Punisher #15 (February 2005)  "Mother Russia, Part 3" Pencils by Dougie Braithwaite Inks by Bill Reinhold Colors by Raul Trevino Summary: In the bunker a doctor is administering tests on Galina. People are screaming in the hallway and the doctor goes to investigate. She's gunned down and Frank Castle stands in the doorway. "Don't be afraid." Back in the states the Generals are keeping an eye on the situation. They're satisfied with Castle's efficiency and check up on Rawlin's operation. Gulf South Fight Two-Niner will reach Russian airspace in an hour. Frank questions Galina. She can't understand why everyone is mean to her. He feels awkward, he hasn't talked to a child since he was reassuring his daughter while pushing her guts back inside her. Frank tells her that if anyone is ever mean to her again he will be very, very mean to them. He tells her to close her eyes and takes her out into the hallway. He and Vanheim killed the entire staff and have a 42 minute window of escape before the next check-in. Their elevator opens to the hanger. There are two soldiers by a tank. Vanheim panicks and opens fire. As they retreat back down into the bunker Frank admonishes him for being clumsy. The two soldiers were just drinking coffee, they wouldn't have noticed them and now they're trapped. Outside Sudhek Colonel Semyon Lugansky and Major Yeremin are awaiting a man from Moscow. He is a very large, bald man (not unlike the Kingpin) and Semyon is immediately dismissive. Yeremin warns him not to mouth off: This is General Nikolai Alexandrovich Zahkarov, the Man of Stone. He is famous for his brutal acts in Kabul in the 1980s. He has brought with him The Monogolian, a feared associate. Zahkarov asks about the helicopter the Russians shot down (the one that was to extract Galina and her father from Russia). He suspects the Americans to be behind it, which Semyon thinks is ridiculous. They report that a bar fight was started by two strangers and that two of the soldiers have gone missing. At that moment they get word that there is gunfire at the silo. In the silo things are dire. They're boxed in and have no escape route. Frank heads up to buy some time, stopping off at the armory first. He unloads on the soldiers and blows the entire squad away. In the city Zhakarov has called in witnesses to the fight. He is interested to hear that the strangers were not Arabs but were white men... In a hotel room, Nick Fury wakes up from a bed of hookers to a frantic phonecall from the Generals. He tells them to calm down and go to DEFCON 4 if it will make them feel better. He sips his drink and chuckles "Hhh, Castle." Observations: Ennis weaves in two new wrinkles: A Cold War General, whose outlook may be biased by the past (but so far his suspicions are 100% accurate) and Frank being forced to deal with a child, when the death of his own children is what pushed him into becoming what he is. There is great potential for both of these things. Ennis takes a shot at the modern military by having Vanheim completely screw up the mission early on. While before he was simply naive now he is outright incompetent at doing anything but kill things. He doesn't have the cool head that someone with Castle's experience has. Rawlins' side of the operation comes into focus a little more: The Generals have engineered a plane hijacking by terrorists and they are aiming it at Moscow. Very sick stuff. Good middle chapter that moves a few pieces and gets a few more on the board. B |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2014 12:12:13 GMT -5
I have always been into the traditional superheroes, but have always wanted to give the Punisher MAX series a read.
|
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Dec 27, 2014 1:17:27 GMT -5
The Punisher #16 (March 2005)  "Mother Russia, Part 4" Pencils by Dougie Braithwaite Inks by Bill Reinhold Colors by Raul Trevino Summary: The Russian soldiers are starting to come down the elevator. Castle has rigged the shaft with explosives, which holds them off, but time is running around. Vanheim is searching for an escape route but can't find one. He suggests the two of them play possum and get carted out with the rest of the dead but the presence of Galina makes that impossible. Zhakarov is interviewing a soldier who survived Castle's initial attack. He is not surprised to hear the terrorist is a white man. Semyon continues to protest the American theory but Zhakarov cuts him off: The terrorists are white. They maintain radio silence. They make no demands. al-Qaeda would have detonated the warheads by now. The terrorists want to live. This makes the situation more dangerous. Americans are the most dangerous enemies Russia has ever faced. Their only imperfection is the inability to hide their perfection. Semyon accuses him of missing the Cold War, Zhakarov says he misses shooting people for insubordination. He sends the Mongolian to go into the bunker with the next wave. Aboad an airliner Rawlins' terrorist cell goes into action. They murder a stewardess and the pilots and take control of the plane. Castle stands at the bottom of the shaft as another wave of men comes down. He shoots them as they come and goes back to the control room. One of the corpses is wearing a large backpack and the Mongolian peeks out of it. The Generals have summoned Nick Fury. They are screaming about the international incident Castle has started. Fury tells them to shut up and act their rank. He explains that if Castle WILL get the job done and if he doesn't it won't matter, theres nothing that will pin him or Vanheim to the US. They'll just be two mercs trying to steal the virus for profit. He leaves, telling them that the next time they call him it had better be important. While Castle dispatches another wave the Mongolian sneaks out of the backpack and heads to the control room. He easily beats Vanheim and Galina calls for Castle. In the Generals' control room they're watching as their hijacked airliner heads to Moscow. The terrorists broadcast their message in the name of Allah, perfectly rehearsed. The communications officer tells the Generals that the Russians have given the order to fire on the plane. In the bunker Frank sees Galina held hostage by the Mongolian. Frank moves in and gets the total crap knocked out of him. Zhakarov checks the time. It's been 17 minutes since the Mongolian went in. The Americans are dead, send in the troops. He happily muses that the Cold War is finally turning hot. Observations: The Generals' sick plan comes to fruition. Seeing the hijacking of the plane was pretty brutal and must have hit especially hard a mere three and a half years after 9/11. The fact that this was an American-engineered scheme makes it even worse. The Generals are real bad and give me the feeling that Ennis doesn't think too highly of the military's upper brass. Aside from that not much happens. Frank keeps killing people, Zhakarov keeps giving Semyon verbal asskickings, Vanheim continues to be useless, Nick Fury emasculates the Generals, etc. The cliffhanger ending cements this as a solid middle chapter. Solid but nothing more. C+ Gained this issue: - Right eye socket broken - Head repeatedly smashed with an AK47. Past issues: - Seven gunshot wounds across his body (Born #4) - Seven stun rounds to the body, hand and face (The Punisher #2) - A bullet fired at point blank range grazing his forehead (The Punisher #5) - Right arm grazed by a shotgun (The Punisher #5) - Hit in the chest and possibly other parts of his body by a shotgun through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Fell through the roof of a warehouse (The Punisher #6) - Shot in a left rib by a shotgun at point blank range. (The Punisher #6) - Lung grabbed and squeezed through the wound in his side. (The Punisher #6) - Punched in the face. (The Punisher #6) - Slashed on the right forearm, right thigh and left side of the head (The Punisher #6) - Right hand stabbed by shard of glass (The Punisher #6) - Stabbed in the back at least once (The Punisher #6) - Caught in an explosion resulting in a nosebleed and bleeding from the ears. (The Punisher #7) - Upper left arm impaled by shard of glass. (The Punisher #7) - Grenade shrapnel to the right arm (The Punisher #12) - Probable concussion (from grenade) (The Punisher #12) - Smashed through a bar, delivering blunt force trauma (The Punisher #14) |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Dec 27, 2014 1:59:50 GMT -5
The Punisher #17 (April 2005)  "Mother Russia, Part 5" Pencils by Dougie Braithwaite Inks by Bill Reinhold Colors by Raul Trevino Summary: Above Moscow a plane explodes. The news reaches Zakharov: A Saudi airliner was shot down. The last transmission read "Glory to our brothers who even now make war on America's allies. Before this day is out you will learn and learn again the price of friendship with our enemy." The officers present immediately draw the conclusion that the assault on the silo is a follow-up strike by al-Qeada. But Zakharov remains unconvinced. Semyon snaps. Theres no way Americans would go to the lengths they would have to go to pull this off. Zakharov tells him that for 70 years Russia tried to show the world that communism was its only chance, while America bombed countries flat and built McDonalds on top. America won. They cannot be underestimated. In the bunker Castle is in a daze. He can't move. He doesn't even know where he is. He sees the Mongolian slap Galina. Castle looks and sees his daughter laying in the grass, pleading him to help. He gets up. The Mongolian throws a kick. Castle grabs his foot and heaves him into the wall. He slams the Mongolian off the ceiling, walls and floor until his leg starts to come off and he realizes he's scaring Galina. She calls his name and hugs his leg. "Frank," not "Daddy." He remembers where he is. The Generals are celebrating their victory in Moscow. They hit it out of the park, went off without a hitch. Their celebration is interrupted by Nick "Party Pooper" Fury showing up and asking them what the hell they just did. He doesn't have to explain how he knows it was them, he just wants an explanation. One General tells him its none of his business. Fury threatens to blow his head off. Another speaks: After 9/11 they got the idea to raise and fund their own extreme Muslim group of terrorists, 100% deniable for situations like this. They felt that Castle was underperforming and they needed a way to deflect Moscow's attention. Fury asks which genius thought of this plan. Fury identifies him: A meek, balding little worm. He tries to explain the risk but it makes no difference: Fury takes off his belt and starts beating the man to a pulp. A general reaches for a phone. Fury tells him to stand still or he's next. Fury is horrified by the Generals' behaviour and what they've made him a part of. He knows that the Russians will see through this plan with ease. He tells them Castle is their own hope and leaves. Frank checks up on Vanheim. He's alive. More men are coming. Galina grabs a gun and offers to help. Frank tells her to put it down and never, ever play with guns. He hides her under a desk and covers her with bulletproof vests. Then he heads out to the corridor to meet the soldiers. As he massacres them one screams into the radio at Zakharov for misleading them. While Frank is dealing with the Russians Vanheim prepares a syringe. He holds Galina down and is about to inject her when Frank comes back. He asks what Vanheim is doing. Vanheim warns him to stay back or get his ass kicked. Frank kicks him in the mouth and turns him into a blubbering mess. Frank prepares to kill him but he says he's got orders. He explains that he was given two syringes. One is a stablizer that will stop the antidote from destroying the virus but will also kill her. The other syringe is to draw a blood sample. It's easier to take out one vial of blood than to smuggle out a six year old girl, which is why Vanheim suggested hiding amongst the dead. Vanheim says Fury isn't in on it and this is why the Generals insisted on his presence. Frank asks if he's willing to do anything to get the job done. He's got a plan. He tells Vanheim to target every major city in russia and prepare to launch the nukes. Zakharov is musing on American attitudes towards nuclear war. They are fine with nuclear confrontation when there is no chance of retaliation but they have no stomach for all-out nuclear war. This is why they will not launch the nukes and why the Russians have nothing to fear. Semyon is too exasperated to argue otherwise. A message comes up on their computer: "To the officer commanding the I.C.B.M. silo at Shudek: You will pull all your forces back beyond the base perimeter. You will guarantee our safe passage from the silo entrance to the Gory Byrrange mountains. No attempt is to be made to follow us. No surveillance of any kind will be permitted. There will be no further communication from this source. No ngeotiations will be entered into. If you do not immediately and unconditionally agree to these terms I will burn Russia and its people from off the face of the Earth." Observations: Climax. The hijacking plot comes to a close: It was a convincing plot but it has failed to fool Zakharov and Fury. The Mongolian, who last issue was able to decimate Frank Castle, made the grave error of harming a child while Frank was delirious enough to believe it was his own daughter and was dispatched in the most hilarious comic book kill outside of Sin City. Nick Fury goes above and beyond merely yelling at the Generals and unloads on one Grandpa style. Fury and Zakharov are being set up as foils to each other. Both are old school Cold Warriors who have to deal with the incompetence of the people around them. Colonel Fury has to deal with wormy, politically minded Generals and General Zakharov has to deal with an insubordinate and obtuse Colonel. If they weren't on opposite sides they'd probably work well together. Frank's feelings towards Galina are starting to come through. He still has a strong paternal instinct, a little wedge of humanity that he hasn't managed to kill. Vanheim proves to be a real piece of work. He was given one job to do and still failed. But now Frank is giving him a chance to prove that he's really got what it takes to get the job done through some sort of mad scene of nuclear hijacking. One thing that sticks out in this issue is the nature of the stablizer. It would kill Galina but why couldn't Vanheim draw a blood sample first and use the stabilizer on that? It would have been a little more discreet and probably wouldn't have gotten him murdered by Frank like killing Galina would have. Aside from the minor plot point this is a very good issue. B+ |
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Dec 27, 2014 2:30:42 GMT -5
The Punisher #18 (May 2005)  "Mother Russia, Final Part" Pencils by Dougie Braithwaite Inks by Bill Reinhold Colors by Raul Trevino Summary: It's pandemonium in the Generals' communications room. Fury regains control: "All of you shut the **** up." Vanheim shoots the computer so no one can reprogram it. They've got 12 minutes to get out of there. Vanheim hopes Castle's plan will work. Castle thinks it will. He's the only one who isn't assuming the Russians are stupid. Moscow asks Zakharov for a status report. He tells them to stand by. The silo opens and a missile launches. Even Fury seems stunned by Castle's tenacity. Zakharov tells Moscow that they need take no action, the situation is under control. The Americans won't start a nuclear war (although he can't tell Moscow that it's Americans because the idiots will end the world). Semyon finally loses it and attempts to relieve Zakharov of his command. Zakharov shoots him in the face. The missile hits 8000 feet and deactivates. It's a harmless steel tube that will simply fall to the earth. One of the panels is kicked out. Frank, carrying Galina, and Vanheim leap from the missile. Zakharov tells his officer to organize a search of the area, although it's most likely useless. The officer tells him he was right about everything. In every detail but one, he says: That was no American. That was a Russian who was born there by mistake. On the ground there has been a complication. The slipstream tore Vanheim's pack off. Theres only one coat between the two of them. Castle holds two straws. If Vanheim draws the long one he takes the coat and the kid and gets out to the coast. He tells Vanheim that he will do whatever it takes to get the job done, and maybe now he understands what that means. Frank walks out into the mountains, Galina nestled safely in his coat. Behind them Vanheim watches them disappear into the snowstorm. Two days later Fury meets Castle at the base. The Generals are furious. Castl wouldn't let any of them draw Galina's blood, as he promised her nobody would hurt her, and now the virus is dead. Fury considers that fair and cheerfully chalks the mission up as a failure. The General orders a lieutenant to escort Fury off base, clap Frank in irons and take the kid to the sick bay. Castle says that won't work. Fury stands by his side, ready to engage the young soldiers. The soldiers can't muster up the balls to do it and the General storms away in frustration. Castle confesses to Fury that the Russians probably know he was an American. Fury doesn't care since they don't have proof. As for the Generals, Fury doesn't care that they're pissed at him since he's on scarier lists. Castle comments that Fury doesn't seem too displeased that the virus is destroyed, and he says that a suspicious man would say Fury sent him in just to rescue the girl. Fury says he understand how someone could think that, since he sent the one man who could do the job without killing a kid. He says that he would have gone in himself but he needed to keep an eye on the Generals. He also tells Castle that the passwords he gave him will be changed so nobody won anything. Frank tells Galina that she'll be going with Fury to find a new home. She cries and says she wants him to look after he but he says he can't look after anybody. He reminds her to never play with guns and tells her shes a good girl. In the end Frank notes that the Generals covered up the Barbarossa incident and wonders if they'll ever come after him. He also notes that the Russins covered up the silo incident but someone still managed to figure it out and they might come for him as well. Three days later he returns to the dirty bar. He found something in his coat, something he grabbed during the bar brawl in Sudhek. He gives Alexander Baranobich Formichenko a bottle of his favorite voda. Formichenko drinks happiy and says there might be hope for Russia yet. Observations: Alright, thrilling conclusion to an action-packed story. Frank's plan was over-the-top awesome and a brilliant bit of trickery that earned the Man of Stone's respect. It's nice to see that even the MAX version of Nick Fury still has a heart of gold. He essentially sent Frank Castle on a suicide mission that could have started World War III just to save a little girl, with the side-benefit of making sure the awful virus would never fall into anyone's hands. Frank and Galina's goodbye is touching. She had become very attached to him but as much as he liked her there is no way he could be a suitable guardian for a child and he knows it. Even without the enormous danger that surrounds him he's just not mentally fit for it. The story ends with a couple questions: Will the Generals come for him? With the Man of Stone come for him? It's pretty much a certainty that the Generals will, they truly hate him. But Zakharov seems to respect him enough to not bear him any ill will. Issue rating: A Arc rating: B+ Next: A mobster hits a nerve and pushes The Punisher to the brink of humanity. |
|
