I have a lot of love for the Punisher. When I was a kid, comics were for kids, and that was that. So when you reached an age where you weren't so much of a kid any more, you stopped reading comics. And I was getting to that age when I happened across the Punisher in my local newagent. The cover featured a hand holding a .50 cal bullet, and the title "What's the last thing to go through a criminal's mind?" That made me laugh more than it really should, considering my age at the time. Luckily for me, the guy behind the counter thought that all comics were for kids too, and I bought a copy. And now, thanks to Frank Castle, I'm still here reading comics as a grown man. Thank you Frank.
This latest issue is written as a jumping-on point for anyone not following Punisher's one-man mission to end organised crime by the most straightforward means necessary. For those of you who haven't read The Punisher before, you might hear people say he has no superpowers, but I have always argued this isn't true. His superpower is a complete lack of sympathy for criminals. He doesn't throw them in jail, he doesn't give them second chances, he doesn't find them jobs where they can put their talents to more honest use. He kills them, in industrial quantities.
He has recently been on some international adventures, which have been good reading for fans, but a litte drawn-out at times for less committed readers. So in issue 13 we see him return to New York to get back to his day job supporting the coffin industry.
The thing with Frank Castle is that he's been 'back' several times already. It's a hallmark of what makes his character so unique in the Marvel universe; his motivation and method is so simple and straightforward that there have been several attempts to make him more 'interesting' (don't get me started on FrankenCastle) that eventually turn off fans and create a need to take him back to basics. Speaking of which, if you haven't already, you NEED to read Welcome Back Frank, by Garth Ennis, it's some of the best Punisher material available. But I digress.
Becky Cloonan's writing is on-point for a Punisher book, giving you exactly what you expect for a story featuring our man Frank. The one thing that I can't decide if I like or not is that it shows us a more emotional Frank Castle than I'm used to seeing. I have always seen him as a broken man, who takes no joy in what he does but can't imagine doing anything else. Here we see him getting angry, and even smiling when he knows a criminal is about to die. But I'm a purist, and there is more than enough in this book for me to enjoy that it doesn't take away from it being a good read. Kris Anka's art is good and gives decent dynamism to the action scenes, and the muted colouring fits the nature of the book very well, after all a brightly-coloured Punisher comic would just be weird.
All in, if you are new to the character it's worth reading, if you are a Punisher afficionado you'll enjoy it but you won't miss much if you don't pick it up.
3.5 out of 5
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