Some of you already know that i have a facebook page named Punisher HQ , when i post news, artwork, fan stuff and everything that is Punisher related.
But i wanted to do something more... I wanted a place where the Punisher fans can interact with each other, creating posts and discuss a lot about the character, Punisher HQ on facebook wasn't the best place for it and i created Punisher HQ Forum! There is a good forum that was alive and kicking for years named GPA ( Global Punisher Army), but unfortunately it is going to close and this gave me a huge boost to start creating a small community.
I know that social media like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc, are the easiest way to get content and you can do everything that you do in a forum without using any effort, but even with these odds i'm doing it either way. I'm a bit old school and i still believe in forums as the best place to discuss. The interface on smartphone it's really intuitive and it's not like seeing a normal web page that you have to do "zoom in" to look better.
I have one year to test if this really works, so if you want a specific place to talk with Punisher fans you might want to try this out.
Today i will present you a new kind of post... I will review a fanfic written by Black Stone. This man have written a few fanfics featuring the Punisher and other characters. He's one of the most enthusiast fans of the Punisher i know. You can found him and the most hardcore fans in GPA ( Global Punisher Army). Link.
Slade Wilson, Deathstroke The Terminator is hunting down The Punisher. There will be blood. And bullets. And death.
-REVIEW-
This is a short story with more or less 5500 words, anyone can read it in a few minutes, you won't waste time.
This is not the typical Deathstroke vs Punisher story, Blackstone write this story in a very smart way. Besides this story being a fanfic you could believe this could happen in some sort of crossover between the "Big Two".
One thing that was impressive is that when i was reading it, in my head, was like reading a comic book i have imagine all the battles, movements of the characters thanks to all details Blackstone give us in this story. His know how of weaponry is really good too.
By the title you will think that it will be only Punisher and Deathstroke story, you're wrong, this will feat various characters from the two companies (DC & MARVEL). Seat back you will be surprised!
The dialogues are good and the synergy between the characters are great, everyone is in character in this story, don't expect any overate stuff.
The Punisher that is portrayed in this story is the character i love, he is a man with few words but effective as his bullets and this Frank rememeber me the Punisher from the early 90's ( my favorite) not too social but not a robot or a senseless cold killing machine.
This was a great surprise to me and to Frank! ( you will see in this story) Blackstone nail it in every way!
I will dedicate this post for most Punisher fans that want to stay up-to-date about his favorite character. In the next lines i will post sites when you can talk with the community and gets TONS of information, videos, comics and fan stuff.
Sites:
GPA (Global Punisher Army) - It's the best forum out there where you can talk about all things Punisher, there is a fine people out there. We will meet you there!
Punisher Body Count - This is the best punisher podcast on the internet, there is two great guys Jake and Dane that will talk about all things Punisher, recently they are releasing two episodes for month and they are streaming the show live!
Great news guys it seems that the Punisher will have a new animated movie after Rise of Technovore!!
In an interview posted by Word Balloon podcast, Jeph Loeb said that the Punisher and Black Widow will team up after the upcoming Iron Man: Rise of Technovore. We will be in "state" of alert about further developments for this movie.
Thunderbolts NOW!
By Tim Stevens
Sometimes disparate groups of people can come together and surprise
you with their camaraderie and teamwork as they overcome the odds and
seize the day.
Other times you end up like the cast of THUNDERBOLTS,
who find themselves under siege from outside forces and dissension in
the ranks starting with issue #7 out in March thanks to the creative
team of writer Daniel Way and artist Phil Noto.
“Going into the second arc, the Thunderbolts
are on the brink of self-annihilation, a development that would make a
large percentage of the Marvel Universe very, very happy,” Way reveals.
“You saw the cover for #7, right? That’s about the only working
relationship within the team going into the second arc, and even that
one isn’t free of mortal danger.”
However, just because the team does not work well together does not
mean they do not “work” well with their writer, who has been pleasantly
startled at how quickly the characters have felt comfortable to him.
“Once you start writing these characters, they just…materialize,
fully formed,” he enthuses. “That’s amazing, and it’s a credit to their
various creators. I’m a bit surprised at how, by their very design,
these characters still retain their ‘lone wolf’ personas, even while
operating as part of a group.
“And one other thing: I never would’ve guessed that Deadpool would become the ‘heart’ of the group.”
For Noto, the team has been a delight to draw although perhaps more of a challenge to fully realize.
“I've drawn Deadpool quite a bit, but I've always been a big fan of the Punisher and Venom, so that's a thrill,” he shares. “Red Hulk is great because of his size and contrast to the other characters. And I've always dreamed of drawing Elektra in a real comic book so I'm in heaven!
“Frank Castle's been the trickiest for me to draw. I
don't want to just ape another artist's Punisher, so I've tried to
create my original version of him. Usually a specific actor will come to
mind and that gives me a good foundation but I couldn't cast Frank in
my head. I ended up with some original head sketches though that are
working well.”
While Noto managed to find an approach to Frank that works, the
Thunderbolts will struggle in the book’s second arc. Vulnerable from
their internal squabbling, they quickly find themselves beset by an
enemy who represents a particularly painful threat to at least one
member of the team.
“It’s an established character, though one that hasn’t been seen in a
few years,” Way teases. “As far as how this character is related to the
Thunderbolts? To one of them, the answer is: ‘by blood.’”
Unfortunately, the external threats to the squad do not stop there.
“The level of blowback leveled at the Thunderbolts will soon match
the level of blowback occurring within the Thunderbolts,” Way divulges.
“After the events of issue #7 the CIA, in particular, will be more than
concerned with their actions.
Way and Noto promise fans the book will ratchet up the intensity to be more than equal to the strife the team now must face.
“I'm trying to add a bit more realism to this book in terms of the
‘world’ they inhabit,” Noto explains. “I feel the tone of the story is a
cool action/military adventure that just happens to have some super
hero characters in it. There's definitely a globe-hopping Indiana Jones/
Bond vibe to the variety of the locations.”
“Physically [this storyline takes the team] from one end of the Asian
continent to the other as well as a few quick jaunts into Eastern
Europe and North Africa,” Way notes.
“Emotionally, [they go] to the bleeding edge.”
It seems 2013 it will be a good year besides the canceled ongoing written by Rucka, but we will have two movies with the appearence of the Punisher maybe we got more news in the upcoming months, stay tuned!
This time i will change the order of my review it seemed to me more correct to began with story, writing, art and entertaining value.
Punisher: Nightmare #2 Review
Writer: Scott M. Gimple
Art: Mark Texeira
Colorist: Frank D'Armata
STORY(MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS): This issue began with Jake thinking about his past some sargeat screaming at him, a doctor with a vaccine, him "burying" Johnny Nightmare in the war and remembering the shooting that killed is family. He and Frank were in the street on mission and then we see in the next page Jake bleeding in the floor. Then we see Frank asking him how can he healed in twelve hours from third degree burns and gunshot wounds. One interesting detail is that he wear the shirt with the skull at his wrong side, like oposing the Punisher. In the next pages we know that Jake was part of some program of the army that's why we see a doctor gave him a shot, then we got more panels of his past and Jake talking to Frank asking how did he manage to deal with the death of his family. In some panels we see that Jake quit the army.Then see Frank arming up Jake and then go tracking the killers of Jake's family, they were ambushed in a medical facility get rid of them and we see them in the streets and Jake getting shot in the back of the head. In the final page we see him arise like Johnny Nightmare.
RATING: 4/5
WRITING: The writing seems very solid once again but this time most of this comic is all about Jake Niman/Johnny Nightmare, we got some talking with Frank and Jake but mostly we are revisiting Jake's past as a special soldier in Afghanistan. Gimple is teasing us with some background information of Jake and i got the feeling that he is "playing" him like an opera with some crescendo in it always growing until it reaches his peak. This time we got some inner monologues but only for Jake/Johnny and his split persona issue. More and more we got the feeling that this guy's mind is pretty damaged and he will going to cause problem for Frank.
RATING:3/5
ART: The art is again at the same level as the last issue. All the action is well made, beutifully colors done by Frank D'Armata he is giving life to this comic and with this boost, Texeira's graphics are really glowing through all of this comic. Texeira is giving emotion to this characters and we almost see them in the graphics and we almost don't need to read to understand them, just look at them. Texeira and D'Armata are really hitting the right spot.
RATING: 4/5
ENTERTAINING VALUE: This was a crazy issue, seeing Jake/Johnny with his inner monologues back to the past and go to the present and repeated panels almost 3/4 times if not more than this, was kind of a let down for me.
We got a little of Frank just direct talking and no "inside thinking" since this issue was almost about Jake/Johnny split persona craziness. This was somewhat a continued "set-up thing" from issue #1, as a Punisher fan i want action we got a glimpse of it when Frank and Jake are ambushed in the medical facility and some explosions back into Jake's past. The graphics of Texeira's plus D'Armata colors in this comic we need to see some action in the next issues, and i'm hoping to see that in the #3rd issue. I believe this book covers all or most of Jake's past.
Here are some hints gave by Daniel Way exclusively to CBR about the Punisher role in the Thunderbolts... Some of us are still cautious about the presence of Frank in this team but Way's tried to clear some stuff to all Punisher fans and for all characters included in this team... I will post some statements of what i think is important for all of us.
"The Punisher is the one guy on the team with no
super human or super natural abilities, but if you look at the cover to
the first issue there's some changes to his uniform. There's a reason
for that and it addresses the fact that he's going to be going toe to
toe with some really heavy hitters," Way explained. "He's much like Ross
except at a certain point in their careers Frank turned one way and
Ross turned the other. Yet Frank remains human and Ross is no longer
human. So there are other tactical reasons why the Punisher is there,
but the core reason why Ross reaches out to Frank and why the Punisher
plays a big role in the first issue is really because of that. He's got a
lot more in common with Frank than any of the other people on the team."
It seems to me that Frank will have a big role in this team
"When Frank has something to say about what
they're doing Ross really listens," Way continued. "Another thing is
Frank has absolutely no fear of the Red Hulk. I'm not saying the other
characters are afraid of him, but sometimes that apprehension comes out
in aggression. Frank doesn't get mad at you. He'll shoot you dead, but
he rarely gets pissed off. When he clocks in and goes to work it's just
business."
"Every member of the team has a sworn mission.
They will be working in tandem to accomplish these things. The Punisher
wants to destroy organized crime, and Elektra has had a twin agenda
emerge through her continuity. For one she's very anti-terrorist.
There's also the Hand, which are also terrorists in the Patriot Act
era," Way said. "Plus, look at things from the Punisher's point of view.
What is the Hand if not a mob in ninja masks? They're running all the
same rackets and they use all the same tactics. Look at it from Venom's
point of view. The Mob and the Hand both have enemy soldiers. When he
signed on to become Venom his mission became taking guys like this off
the board."
For what i think about this interview is that the characters will stay "rooted" to their personal objectives which is a good thing, besides the differences they have from each other, being in a team will not serve as an excuse for them to forget their objectives. I think it's good for the comic to treat every character with proper respect.
Hello guys i'm here to present you one good tribute to our favorite character. It will have some epic battles through the Punisher history. This is the first episode..
I hope you enjoy the video and leave some feedback. Thanks cat7975 keep up the good work.
Hello guys once again i'm here to present you some previews of the next month of The Punisher. This time i decide to make a new format of the previews.
In one post i will present you all of the issues that the Punisher will be in.
It's tomorrow the next release of the Punisher #14 and unfortunatly we got only two issues to reach the end plus War-Zone arc.
This time Marvel didn't tell us the plot but some of us can guess what will happen between Frank and Cole.
Only the cover is shown by Marvel and the other picture i take it from Stephen Wacker on twitter thanks for sharing that.
Uncanny X-Force #29
recently i discover The Punisher in some cover of Uncanny X-Force, this issue will be launch next month ( August ).
• It’s all built to this: “Final Execution” enters its last act!
• The new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants makes their move!
• Fantomex’s deceptions come back to haunt the team! Marvel
Is Marvel preparing to integrate the Punisher in the X-Force? When War-Zone is finished?
Space: Punisher #02
One more adventure in space with The Punisher, let's see if he can handle this version of Hulk...
Besides this cover Marvel didn't put anymore information or pictures about this issue. We only know that will be release next month ( August ) and the writter is Megan Abbot, anymore information this post will be updated.
Our Punisher partners over at the Punisher Body Count Podcast have released an all-new episode. Be sure to check it out by clicking on the following URL.
This is what they had to say about their latest entry in the popular Punisher podcast!
"We actually made it to Episode 25! This episode we discuss "Dirty Laundry, Space Punisher #1, Giant-Size Spider-Man #4, Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights, Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises. Enjoy!"
Plenty of content to keep you Punisher fans busy right? :)
Hey Punisher Central Fans! Check out Punisher Body Count's latest podcast featuring Thomas Jane. He comes in and talks to the guys about the Punisher franchise and how his fan film he both produced and starred in came about. You can access the latest podcast by clicking on the link below....
This awesome art is of the Punisher Skull! This piece was put together by Punisher Central follower Allen Henderson. It is Ink on Paper and hand colored on the computer. To find out more about Allen and his work visit his website HERE.
Really this issue is about one major event in comic book history...the first appearance of Frank Castle (aka. The Punisher)!
This issue of the Amazing Spider-Man written by Gerry Conway back in February of 1974 is now a classic. The issue debuted to characters, The Jackal and Punisher. Most people however, have completely forgotten that the Jackal was a part of the story as well as the role he played in introducing the Marvel U. to Frank Castle.
Jackal obviously has a mission...to kill Spider-Man. He finds the perfect man for the job, a man who feels that Spider-Man is a killer and should be punished for the recent death of Norman Osborne. Jackal exploits the Punisher's motives and sets up a series of events, or cons, to convince Punisher that Spider-Man is a villain.
During the two main confrontations between Spidey and Punisher it is obvious that Punisher is no match for the abilities of Spider-Man. It is interesting how Frank has evolved over time to be extremely tactical, especially when he has had to deal with super-heroes the likes of Spider-Man, Daredevil and others. Punisher learns the hard way but eventually learns the truth that the Jackal is truly the villain that he should be after.
The book closes with Punisher and Spider-Man together realizing that they have been set up and something must be done about it.
One of the things that I do really love about this story is that it feels true to the Punisher that we have all become to know and love. Sure he is getting his feet wet and nobody knows him much at this point in time but his core as a character and his belief systems are in place from the beginning. It is fantastic to see that those things have not changed after so many years.
Punisher feels that his gifting of "killing" is only to be applied towards those who deserve it; to kill people who have degraded society by their actions. Jackal plays Frank to this extent and that is what sets up the confrontations between Frank and Spider-Man.
There are also many supporting characters that make an appearance in this issue. The likes of Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson and Harry Osborne. You can begin to see the conflict arising between Peter Parker and his best friend during this issue. It is amazing just how much happens in this single issue. Comics today often feel like they are over before they have even begun but as I was re-reading this issue it stretched on and on. I really liked that.
For those of you who haven't read Amazing Spider-Man #129...you need to right away. There are basically three main ways you can do so. You can either drop some major cash on a near mint version on Ebay/Amazon to get the original single issue, which may be in a special collectors case, or you can pick up Punisher Essential or Spider-Man Essential.
If you are not familiar with Punisher Essential or Spider-Man Essential basically they are thick volumes of essential comics that Marvel has put out for readers to become familiar with older stories. This is great for readers that cannot drop loads of cash but the downside is that these books are not in color, they are entirely in black and white. If you can get past that issue then they are a steal.
Overall I feel that this introduction to Punisher was rich in character establishment and the set up for many future interactions that Frank Castle would have with Spider-Man.
As most Punisher fans were probably well aware, back in October, ABC and Fox were all set to bring Frank Castle to the small screen. However, it now appears that those plans have been shelved. There doesn't appear to be any reason given for this, but The Punisher has now joined AKA JessicaJones (based on Brian Michael Bendis' Alias) as a Marvel adaptation that fans won't see on the small screen.
Personally, I'm not that disappointed as the writers vision of Frank Castle appears to be entirely different to the Frank Castle that the fans know and love from the comics, but it would have been nice to see everyones favourite vigilante grace our television screens, after all; who doesn't love a little bit of punishment?
IGN Comics: I have to say, this issue is a prime example of what's really intrigued me about your Punisher run so far, doing so much with very little. Spidey and Daredevildefinitely take up most of the screen time, yet the most poignant for me comes when Frank gives Rachel the Punisher-branded vest. It feels like a really complicated moment, for both characters. I'm curious if you think that Frank starting to enjoy having a partner?
Greg Rucka: I don't think Frank can let himself enjoy anything. That's the danger of having Cole around is that anybody that enters the bubble potentially runs the risk of compromising Frank's focus and his mission. That's a lot of what's coming next. They don't like each other, but they're both part of the same fight. I think, honestly, does Frank like Spider-Man? Eh. I think Frank respects Spider-Man a great deal; I think there is a piece of Frank that looks at Spider-Man and thinks it would be great to be that naive and altruistic and move through the world and maintain that philosophy. I don't think he actively dislikes Spider-Man; I don't think he dislikes Matt Murdock. I think he thinks Matt Murdock is wrong [laughs], but not an enemy. He has tremendous respect for them.
It's not so much that Cole has anything to prove at this point, other than that she can stay on mission. So I guess what you're seeing in that moment is him acknowledging "we are fighting the same battle together. Our agendas are the same. Our agenda is not Spider-Man's agenda and not Daredevil's agenda." I don't think it's condescending, but I do think he looks at it as a completely different battle. "It's all well and good to leave these people alive, but you and I both acknowledge that there are people who are going to have to die for what they have done." So in that, he gives her the flag to fly, for lack of a better phrase.
In the same way that if you are going out as a unit, you want to be able to recognize other members of your unit. Not only because you want to know who you should be shooting and who you shouldn't, but also to let your opponent know: if you see that skull coming at you, you know how bad things are liable to get. In that sense, I think it is a big evolution in their relationship.
IGN: Was finding the balance between telling the Omega Effect story while keeping the regular ongoing threads alive challenging at all?
Rucka: Yeah, it's always a challenge when you introduce, for lack of a better phrase, exterior variables into the story that you've been crafting. That said, this wasn't a surprise. Mark and I knew as of last summer that we would be doing something. Some of the initial conversations that I had… well, I was still talking with [Steve] Wacker about what we were going to do with the Punisher run when he and Mark and I had dinner in San Diego. As Mark was talking about what he was doing and where he was going, I started telling him what I was planning, and we immediately saw where we were going to dovetail.
So honestly, the biggest challenge for me is making sure I represent the characters I am not as familiar with properly. The benefit is that I have a great editors in Steve Wacker and Ellie Pyle, and I've got Mark Waid, who when I write the script, I send to him and he's going to line correct and offer notes to anything that he feels Matt wouldn't do or wouldn't say. And it works the exact same way in Daredevil #11 except the opposite; I'm reading his script. It's weird for me to see this issue say, "written by Greg Rucka" and then "special thanks to Mark Waid," because I don't like the implication that his input was less, somehow. That's an unfair judgment. If Punisher #10 works, it works as much because of what I did as what Mark Waid did.
IGN: That kind of leads to my next question, which is about another great moment in this issue that comes from Daredevil, who seems to have some degree of guilt for his failure to turn Frank Castle away from killing. Is this a moment that stemmed from your own take on the character or something that you and Mark had discussed?
Rucka: That was something that Mark brought to me. One of the wonderful things that he's doing in the Daredevil run is that Matt is not ignoring the incredible run of tragedy that he's had in his life, but he has decided for the time being that, "I'm not looking at that. That's not there." Of course, Mark is too good a writer to let that drop. You know that the day is going to come where Daredevil is going to have to pay the piper on that. I think there's a hint of that when Matt looks at Frank and he sees a failure. It's a guy he couldn't turn away. And it's true, [Frank] is never going to change. He's never going to wake up one day and be like, "Well, I've killed enough people! It's time to open a grocery store!" [laughs]
IGN: [laughs]
Rucka: He's not going to do that! Ever! His last breath will be expelled killing somebody who he feels has to die for the crimes they've committed. So when Matt couldn't lead Frank, he sort of turns to Rachel and goes, "Here's a chance. Maybe I can reachher." It creates an interesting triangulation because you have, on one hand, Frank saying, "Here are the colors; here's the flag. You may wear it. We're in this together. I want to help you achieve your ends. I know what you want because it is what I want." And on the other side, you have Daredevil going, "There is another way. Please come the other way." That is the character engine of Omega Effect, these two guys and how they are trying to deal with this woman's presence and what's going to happen to her next.
IGN: Mark actually mentioned that last week when we talked to him about Avenging #6. He mentioned that Daredevil is "a sucker for a capable woman" and that Rachel fits that bill perfectly, but as we see in this issue, she's not really receptive to what Matt's offering. Do you think she's using this situation to her advantage?
Rucka: Have you read #10? Then you know the answer to that! [laughs] She's smart enough to know. I do think that if we're going to give Matt an obvious weakness, it's that he's a sucker for a pretty face. He always has been. That's not out of character for him. But I'm not sure that is any more acute than the fact that he is, despite everything, an optimist. Despite everything he presents, Frank is, maybe not a pessimist, but he would call himself a realist. But Daredevil, he's wearing a costume. I think that tells Cole everything she needs to know. There is a certain contempt for people in costumes, based not solely on the "Where were you when I needed you?" thing but also, "It's great that you guys do what you do, but there's a whole lot of stuff that isn't getting done while you do it."
IGN: That's a really interesting approach. And speaking of people in costumes, I really enjoyed the scenes between Frank and Spidey. As you mentioned before, the two really couldn't be more different, but their chemistry is unique, I think. Can you speak at all to what makes their dichotomy interesting?
Rucka: Absolutely, yeah. The immediate given that we have for being relatively silent for the first ten issues of the run is that kind of behavior is just going to drive Peter nuts! [laughs] He just wants him to say something, anything! And it's not the best joke in the world, but I love it when he says, "I'm glad we had this little chat, Frank." [laughs] One of the things that I get when I write the two of them side by side is that it will never matter how old Spider-Man is, or what he accomplishes, or how many lives, worlds, or universes he may save, every time he's next to Frank, Frank is going to make him feel like he's sixteen. He's going to make him feel like he's some snot nosed kid. Frank doesn't have to say anything; it's just the look. So there's that.
Honestly, one of the great things you get with Spider-Man – and I've had great difficulty wrapping my head around the character for years and it really wasn't until working on this and working with Mark and Steve that I really think I started to get Spider-Man. I mean, I always understood the character and the mission. But that level of humor that Spider-Man can bring to anything as a defense mechanism or coping mechanism, in this issue in particular, is a much needed dose of levity. Frank's world is not a world where people are making pratfalls or cracking wise. Frank's never going to be the Roger Moore Bond, "Have a nice trip!" He's never going to do that. But Spider-Man demands the humor and as a result, Frank can bide his time. And like everything else, the one thing he says is like the one bullet spent. It's the right bullet at the right time for the right target. From a writing point of view, that's more fun than you can imagine.
IGN: Awesome. That's all I had for you in regard to this issue, but is there anything you wanted to add?
Rucka: I'm just going to sound like a blind cheerleader because I'm going to say, this is the middle chapter and Daredevil #11 is a fantastic issue and I think Marco has done an outstanding job on all three of these. I love the art. One of the delights in this is that it justifies taking Frank into a different world than I've had him moving in in the previous nine issues. The superpowers/super villain contingent, he stays away from that, and with good reason. This allowed quite easily for him to move into that world, both by necessity and by the fact that he's working with people who can deal with it in a more experienced manner. That has ramifications. The Omega Effect radiates out into the rest of the Punisher run.
Sorry that this is a little late but hey, late is better than never right? Did you have a Punisher kind of Easter? Let us know if you did anything that involved the Punisher this Easter in the comments below.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many would you say a logo is worth? Taking into account a logo is often times a familiar emblem that immediately sends mental images to the mind at the speed of thought, I'd assume it's worth a great deal. There's a reason corporations and companies put a lot of thought into their logos, and it's clearly understandable why. A logo will stay with you. It can be used to strike any range of emotion, from humor, to happiness, to caution, or to even fear. Looking further into the comic book spectrum, practically every single character or team has a logo, and the Punisher is absolutely no exception. Actually, his logo might be one of the most easily recognizable in the entire comic universe.
What follows is just a quick look at the history of the Punisher's skull logo, and how something so simple can be so synonymous with vengeance and comeuppance.
Jerry Conway, writer of the original Amazing Spider-Man series, was the first to conceive of the Punisher's look and costume, originally brainstorming and sketching a death's head skull on only one breast of the character's chest. It took his legendary teammate, John Romita Sr., to take the skull, blow it up to cover the entire torso, and add teeth that would form the bandolier. How stellar is it, that one of the comic Gods deserves the praise for the final imagining of what would come to be one of the most used logos in comic history? Glorious. A look back at this logo and you'll see Romita drew the skull with more of a ghoulish, detailed resemblance, as seen here in the landmark issue:
It wouldn't be long before the character was given birth to popularity and a vast array of artists would take the logo and put their little spin on the character, by adjusting, sometimes ever-so-slightly, the infamous white skull beacon.
A name familiar to any Punisher fan is Mike Zeck. Zeck tended to almost always use a more rounded skull, with eye-holes shaped like ovals. His art was fascinating, and as more artists used different skulls emblazoning the character, you almost got the feeling different artists were defining their stamp, so you'd know upon first viewing who exactly drew it, without having to look for a name. Here's an example of Zeck's take:
Now, I clearly don't intend to cover every artist that's ever drawn Punisher, but am just giving you a tiny example of the library of versions. John Romita Jr. took his father's idea and ran with it, guns blazing, so to speak, by creating a more rectangle-like, jack-o-lantern style. I had the pleasure of meeting JR jr at a comic book singing and got numerous Punisher issues signed. If I remember correctly, I even had him sketch a real quick picture on the cover of one issue. He was an awesome guy, and every time I see his name I know quality will ensue. His version of Frank Castle will definitely always sit somewhere on the list of my all time favorites. Here's a look:
Skipping along and mentioning a few more, you have the fantastic Steve Dillon who utilized a more triangle-eyed, and sharper skull. There's something about Dillon's work that draws you in so quickly. Maybe it's just because it's so easy on the eyes, his work quickly becomes welcoming and enjoyable.
Along with Mr.Dillon, it was almost commonplace to see covers on his projects completed by the mesmerizing Tim Bradstreet. For a while they were almost hand in hand. There honestly might not be an artist who better catches the humanity and realism in comics with their work, more than this incredible artist. You have to stand back in awe at what Bradstreet does, and his process for creation. He makes the characters come alive! You actually feel they exist, just down the road from you, lurking and waiting.
I promise you if you explore his archive, you'll instantly become a fan. He's almost too good. His skull style was almost always the most basic, however. It's almost as if he was saying, other artists have to create crazy skulls, I don't need that, because I'm drawing the real Frank Castle, and he just put this shirt on, there's your skull. But it worked so well.
Anyways, which artist does your favorite version of the skull? And more importantly, why do you think they started this phenomenon in the first place, exactly? I, for one, am just glad to have a love for a character that is so welcomed and accepted to artistic creativity in the Marvel universe, even be it in the slightest detail.
Well, carrying on, I hope this was entertaining, and as always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the opportunity! Until next time, Punisher Brotherhood!
Greetings again. This was an idea I've wanted to tackle for far too long, and as of just recently figured out exactly how to put it into words and make it work. I'll be shooting in the dark so to speak, but I've already become somewhat adept at that, so I appreciate your bearing with me.
As a huge Punisher fan and after reading so much of his stories, you get to favor certain aspects, and certain things become familiar and you enjoy them even more so. To be more precise, when Punisher goes against an opponent, you know it's going to get bloody. That's just how he handles things, and who would have it any different? In particular, some of his best battles and fights and have been against the same adversaries. Certain paths tend to get crossed repeatedly, and before you know it you'll see the appearance of a certain foe, and automatically get excited and expect a great fight. The following is a slightly detailed look at my personal five favorite enemy fights that the Punisher almost regularly undergoes.
#5 - Punisher Vs. Spider-Man.
I had to include this one first for obvious reasons. The Punisher came from Spider-Man, his first appearance was actually in Amazing Spider-Man #129. Although since then his appearance has changed somewhat, and his story and attitude has become more defined, the basics are still there. Peter Parker is a friendly neighborhood do-gooder, and Punisher borders between vigilante and villain. Their skirmishes are usually short, and quickly settled. It's either Spider-Man would rather have it settled without a fight, or Punisher honestly just kicks his ass quickly, and goes about his business. Only a few time have I read the spider getting the upperhand, and even in those instances, it's in a this-oughta-teach-you type fashion and not the most exciting. But because of the origin and the history, not to mention the few fights that have had me laughing because of Punisher basically treating Pete Parker like the kid he is, it would have been a crime not to include it on this list.
#4 - Punisher Vs. Bullseye.
I was going to make this a tie between Kingpin and Bullseye but after thinking about it it made more sense to me to include just Bullseye, because he's usually hired by Kingpin anyway, and their fights greatly outnumber Punisher and Kingpin's actual displays of fisticuffs. These are some of the most entertaining for me. I love when Bullseye is written well, and more than not, he is. He's practically a psycho and in admiration of Frank Castle, which makes their battles so bloody and top-notch. Bullseye is a hired assassin who almost never fails a contract hit, and more importantly, never misses. So with his determination to get under Punisher's skin, it just eventually ends up becoming a furious fight to the finish with both of them very well bloodied, but Punisher usually walks away having got the upper hand. Bullseye is also one of his most intelligent opponents, dispersing a vast array of mind games and treacherous traps for Frank, which makes for such entertaining readings.
#3 - Punisher Vs. Daredevil.
These two cross paths so often that there's even been action figure sets and statues in honor of their fights. While Daredevil is the man without fear, that doesn't stop Punisher from unloading a clip into him, or beating the snot out of him. However, these two usually are more even on the win scale, I'd imagine. I've seen an almost equal amount of Punisher defeating Daredevil as I have the opposite. They don't necessarily hate each other, they just are of two different opinions in how to conduct and carry out their own agendas. I do like Daredevil, but a lot of the time I don't favor how he's written and I tend to like his villains and stories more than I actually like him. Out of all the versus battles I've listed here, I'd feel very comfortable saying this match-up is the most hand-to-hand combat friendly. Even when they both start with weapons, before long their usually stripped of them and kicking, punching, choking out one another, or you name it. Seems they'll always have a history of getting at each other, and that's perfectly fine by me.
#2 - Punisher Vs. Wolverine.
This accompanying picture makes me laugh, even right now, haha. Wolverine really hasn't battled Punisher too too much or often, but when they have they've been so spectacular that there automatically instilled in my memory. They just straight go off on one another. It goes Logan will get the better of Frank, then the opposite, until before you know it it's just been a chess game of who can make the other hurt more. The writers absolutely love to deal with the fact that Wolverine can take almost any damage and still survive, so that allows Punisher a no-holds-barred, anything goes philosophy in terms of pain he inflicts. One of my absolute favorite Punisher moments in his entire history is in a particular issue I read where he gets so angry at Logan, trying to finish him, that he drives a damn cement roller over him, haha!! If you see these two together you know eventually you'll be laughing or just sheer amazed at the fury they unleash. Whether it's Logan slashing up Frank, or Frank putting a live grenade in Logan's mouth, there's ALMOST nothing better.
#1 - Punisher Vs. Deadpool.
Notice I said ALMOST nothing better. Well, this is what's better. Actually, it's best in my opinion. If you regularly read Punisher you might have expected this to be my number one. Who else could I legitimately choose for number one? These two have fought too much, all over, with the same result for each: incredibly fun and endlessly entertaining. You almost have to love Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, when he's joking around and wise cracking as he's getting at Frank Castle's throat. Take the regenerative ability of Wolverine and his fighting skills and add it to a mercenary with a mouth, and you give Pun almost more than he can handle. It's tremendous watching Punisher get so livid at Deadpool's jokes, and it forces him to keep his cool and handle himself correctly while battering Wade around. A majority of the time Deadpool will set up a trap or play possum and Frank will fall for it having to forfeit pain, but that only makes him angrier and angrier. Which is exactly what you don't want Punisher to get. You could fill so many books, heck, you could just have a series based on their fighting and it would be captivating, as is. If you've read any of these particular stories where these two have met, you already know what I'm saying. It's too fun.
Well anyways, that about sums it up. I hope it was as entertaining as it was to read, as it was for me to write it. Sure, there's a lot of characters I left out, Shotgun, Jigsaw, Elektra, etc; I just felt that these were the creme de la creme, so to speak. Thanks for reading and until next time everyone, take care, and be careful who you piss off!
Aren't movies grand? I mean, who doesn't enjoy a good film now and then? The cinematic silver screen affords us a gateway to escaping from our own realities where we can become immersed in an entertaining story. Some are better than others, and some are just down right laughably bad. Lately, there's been a surge in Hollywood for more and more movies based on comic books, and they're becoming increasingly successful and popular. It's almost getting to where the average Joe will think themselves an expert on Iron Man, just because they've seen the few films with Robert Downey Jr. Personally, I've never seen a Harry Potter film, but I wouldn't exactly consider myself knowledgeable in that realm if I was to see a few of them.
Skip ahead to the Punisher universe where to date there's been three motion pictures released about him. Such an entertaining entity with endless ways of telling his stories. What follows is just an overview of the good, the bad, and the ugly of Mr. Francis Castiglione, Frank Castle, in film.
Starting off what seems like centuries ago, in 1989 Artisan Entertainment released the first Punisher movie starring Dolph Lundgren. I've actually read on websites, and seen comments scattered about, claiming this was the best Punisher film, and that Dolph Lundgren was the best to portray the Punisher. It's statements like these that have me shaking my head.
Actually, I'd consider the opposite true. This is in my humble opinion, the worst of the series. The acting was real bad, like, terrible soap opera bad. The script wasn't really impressive by any standards, and the whole film lacked excitement. Also, all the guns fired had that 80's cap gun pop, and there were so many elements and important traits from the comic that they forgot, or just left out. He never even sports the classic white skull on his chest, how do you not do that? That's like Batman movie without him ever wearing his costume! I could go on and on about things I disliked about this film, and there's a reason why I watched this very little. Maybe I should focus on some of the good factors going for this one. There were some good scenes, and Dolph does have a fighting background and is big enough to pull off a muscular-like Punisher. One of the best scenes in the movie, I don't remember if it was deleted or not, showcases Punisher's knife which has the famous skull on it. Here's a quick clip of one of the better scenes, in an otherwise kind of boring portrayal:
It's worth owning, and I think the main thing is that people forget how the movie actually was, and remember it to be more impressive than it was. At least they made this film, because it laid the groundwork for the next ones. Having said that, let's move on to the next one in succession, which happens to be my favorite of the series.
The Punisher starring Thomas Jane was released in 2004, with intermediate success. This one is far and away my personal favorite because it's the only one to have scenes in the movie directly taken from a particular comic. Plus, there's so many impressive scenes. Whether it's the dramatic and captivating scene where his ENTIRE FAMILY is killed on the pier, or him fighting the Russian or battling a foe, there was too much I enjoyed here. Yeah, I know there were some glaring errors. I really wish they wouldn't have included John Travolta, as he was given too much screen time and emphasis, and I don't like how Punisher just finds the skull shirt in the water, but most of what else I could disapprove of is nitpicking. Thomas Jane is the best actor of all three to play the Punisher, and that's not really that arguable when you look at all his acclaim from his award nominations and the diversity of his roles. I don't, however, think he was the best Punisher, just the best Frank Castle, if that makes sense. My favorite scene in this movie is where he's on the ground about to be shot, and he fires the knife mechanism, stabbing his would-be assassin, Harry Heck, which is scene for scene from the Garth Ennis comic.
This was the short version, the longer one with the quick car chase wouldn't upload for some reason. Anyways, great film, and very little I didn't like. Even though I could of done without Rebecca Romijn's version of the character she played from the comic, and the final scene with a skull formed from cars on fire was a bit over the top, they were small stumbles in an enjoyable film.
Lastly, there was Punisher: War Zone, with Ray Stevenson in 2008. There was a lot of good, and some bad with this take, I felt. I'd like to give credit to the fact that they included Jigsaw, one of Punisher's antagonists, and the amount of actual bloodshed depicted in this film. Although the actor that played Jigsaw, Dominic West, was atrocious and I disliked him, it was still cool that his character was involved. While none of the three films have been gory enough for my expectations, this one was probably the bloodiest, which is a huge plus. I felt that Ray Stevenson had the most believable portrayal of the actual Punisher, but wasn't a good Frank Castle. My biggest gripe would also be that a majority of the film was just too cheesy. However, I loved that this was the first one to include one of Punisher's only friends, Micro. I feel maybe my expectations were just too high for so long hearing about this flick forthcoming, so I was a bit let down. Still, it's a great imagining, and has some very good redeeming qualities.
Looks like that about sums it up, I guess. Damn, now I want to watch them all back to back, realizing I've never done that. Epic fail for a huge Punisher fan. I mean, my rap moniker is CAStLE for crying out loud. Whoops! I thank you for reading this garble, as I love and immensely enjoy writing and putting it all together. Let me know of any disagreements you have, or errors I might have made. Until next time, peoples!
