New Site. New Mission.

TL;DR version:

Punisher Central has a new site: https://punishercentral.home.blog/. No more articles will be posted on this blogspot, but it will remain for archival purposes.

Long version:

Hello fellow Punisher Central readers!

Thank you for all your years of support and readership on the Punisher Central blogspot.

My name is Eric Nguyen and I'm the latest addition to the Punisher Central team.

As a former reader, Punisher Central has definitely served as THE most informative and reliable source for me for years...so much that I was finally driven to join up with the always reliable solo-operator Ivo Santos to see what we could do together.

My first act as a Punisher Central team member was setting up a new, organized site for Punisher Central, (CHECK IT OUT HERE! https://punishercentral.home.blog/) one where news, updates and features could be found through easy navigation. This will serve as the NEW site for Punisher Central news, articles and updates and old reliable here will be put into retirement.

Along with the new site is a new mission for Punisher Central to be THE preeminent Punisher source. We want to be the first in breaking new stories, to be clear and entertaining in our reviews and hype building as well as a welcome home and educational source for grizzled Frank veterans and newcomers alike. With our hard work and the readership that will follow (thank you!), we hope to attract the attention of those directly involved with the creation of the stories and visuals of The Punisher and create exclusive features for you all. Read up on the mission statement here: https://punishercentral.home.blog/2018/08/09/the-war-goes-on-2/

Again, thank you for the years of readership and hope to see you on the new site. Comment on articles and let us know what you think!

- Eric

PC POST #408: -NEWS- A Possible NEW Villain Might be Revealed!

It's been a while since we had some bit of news regarding Marvel's the Punisher season 2. Last time we knew something regarding the series was a few weeks ago that they were filming in Albany, NY.

Five days ago Robbie DeRaffele posted the upcoming image on Instagram where he is with Jon Bernthal.

@jonnybernthal aka #ThePunisher and i... @robbie.deraffele season 2- 2019? #actor #tv #back #instagood #happy #fun #instamood #bestoftheday #netflix #movies #film #camera #cinema #fact #didyouknow #moviefacts #cinematography #screenplay #director #actress #act #acting #movienight #hollywood #netflix #caps

Uma publicação partilhada por Robbie DeRaffele (@robbie.deraffele) a 27 de Jul, 2018 às 5:32 PDT

After a careful look on IMDB, Robbie DeRafelle was cast as "Vor" in Marvel's the Punisher season 2. And for the look of his build ( 6'7", 225lbs) he might play the role of a big Punisher villain. Some rumors even say that he can be an adaptation to the Russian.
So far, there wasn't any announcement from Marvel regarding the cast of  DeRafelle's or what will be his role in the upcoming season but with everything we are seeing, it would be a waste if they didn't use him as a villain.

There is no eta for the release of the Punisher season 2, but I believe we will have it streaming on Netflix during the first semester of 2019.

@jonnybernthal @netflix “There's a stillness, as though the air itself is afraid to move. I do some of my best work in that silence.” #repost #thepunisher #netflix #movies #badass #dontmess #revengeful

Uma publicação partilhada por Robbie DeRaffele (@robbie.deraffele) a 1 de Ago, 2018 às 7:47 PDT

Article by Ivo Santos (@ivomgs)

PC POST #407: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER 227

Last issue, the Punisher set his sights in Baron Zemo headquarters, but Zemo was waiting for him. There were Crossbones, Ghost and Taskmaster ready to take on the Punisher. On the verge of losing his life, he was saved in the last minute by Winter Soldier and Black Widow. But they had plans for Frank...

Rosenberg played out very well in this issue. He brought back Widow's and Bucky cameos to the Punisher comic and it really worked. It's great to see the relationship between Bucky and Frank and these boys cannot stand each other, with Bucky always hitting on Frank and him answering with some snarky humour. It just worked very well! But this isn't just only jokes. Rosenberg did nail these characters and he develops a good chemistry between them even without their divergences.

This issue is fantastic, great action, tons of body count with Widow and Bucky adapting themselves to Frank's killing methods, which is good. It's good for once that "heroes" don't whine about Frank killing bad guys, especially Bucky and Natasha. Now... Imagine these characters in a super-powered prison designed for villains... yes, that's what we have in here.

Stefano Landini did a good job once again, I really like his artwork. Looks like he changed Frank's design once again, he now looks a bit bulkier than before. So far, with the change of artists the characters design changed a few times and it would be good if we could get the same design or approximately.

Either way, I really like his art. Lee Loughridge is very consistent in the tone of this comic, he helped Landini's artwork shine with his bright and realistic colours. 

Conclusion: I'm very excited for what's to come in the upcoming issue. It's the last one featuring Punisher in the War Machine suit. I'm really happy to have Rosenberg on board for the Punisher comic. He understands the character and more importantly, he knows where the character is going.

I want to tell people, Punisher fans and non-fans to read this Punisher: War Machine, it's solid, great writing, good art and very entertaining.

Overall Rate: 9 / 10

Coming up next week!

ARMOR WARS!

• It’s all come down to this. Frank’s used the War Machine armor to cross lines from which he can never come back.

• Some people have taken Frank’s actions personally. One of those people is Tony Stark.

• SUIT UP! It’s the fight you’ve been waiting to see!

Review by Ivo Santos

PC POST #406: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #226

The Punisher decided to attack HYDRA Nation head-on seeking for some sort of redemption due to the events of Secret Empire. But what lies ahead? What kind of threats did Zemo prepared for Frank? 

Matthew Rosenberg continues to treat the Punisher like a living mowing machine when it comes to dealing with crime. This issue is action packed and very entertaining. It's always good to see the Punisher destroying HYDRA goons and he does it with art.

Rosenberg wrote a fast-paced story, a thrilling ride that reaches his peak when Frank Castle meets Zemo, who is expecting him with a team of heavy hitters bad to the bone.

And at this moment, it's the only time I felt that was a bit of a "step back" when the Punisher with the armor just took the best out of a good amount of heroes in the last issue.

During the fight with these villains, I felt that he didn't enough to put them down, I don't mean to kill them (because they are BIG in the Marvel Universe) but at least to hurt them much and to instill fear into them. There is some unexpected appearance from some heroes who intervene directly from the fight, sadly it wasn't the way I wanted.

This isn't a major thing, it doesn't ruin the run or the character, it was just a slight let down who didn't satisfy my inner fanboy.

The cover artwork by Clayton Crain is self-explanatory, not always a cover is what is going to happen in the comic but this time it gives us some signs of the content. Great cover by Crain who didn't disappoint in his covers and he is getting better and better. 

The art of Stefano Landini was really good and remember me a lot in certain parts with the art of Laurence Campbell but with a bit more detail. I really like the dynamic he imprinted to this comic, the action scenes are very fluid and the colors Loughridge did set the tone right for this comic book.

I still think Matthew Rosenberg is doing a superb job handling the Punisher and his run. He's becoming my favorite Punisher writer of the past decade hands down. I'm excited to see what comes next and especially for the penultimate issue of this run!

OVERALL RATE: 7.5 / 10

Next month:

The Punisher #227
July, 11


Synopsis

ROAD TRIP TO HELL!

• The Punisher and Black Widow go off the grid on a secret mission of revenge!

• Frank and Natasha are now Most Wanted by heroes and villains alike!

• The War Machine armor is busted, and with the forces coming down on our heroes, they’re going to need every bit of firepower they can get.

review by: Ivo Santos

PC POST #405: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #225

For once we have the Punisher fighting against some of the toughest Marvel heroes and he isn't some sort of punching bag.

REVIEW

The great premise of this issue was the fight between the Punisher and Marvel heroes and it wasn't a disappointment! It was a great fight and one of the best I've seen. 

This battle between heroes and Frank covers at least half of this issue and no. It's not, Punisher kills Marvel Universe, for the contrary, what we see is the Punisher avoiding confrontation and using his strategic mind and every sort of tactic for not killing some of them. 

These heroes weren't even the "A-Team" of Avengers but it was clearly a "B-Team" and once again and due to a clear understanding of Frank's mindset it was proven that Frank with the proper equipment can fight against some of the heavy hitters of Marvel Universe.

After action-packed pages, Rosenberg slows it down a bit and let Fury and Frank interact with each other. The Punisher is dealing with how heroes see him after what happened in Secret Empire and Fury remembered him of that and in some way set him into a new mission. For heroes, the Punisher is a villain but at the end of the day he is looking for redemption, that's the set up for next issue.

Matthew Rosenberg is writing a great story. In my opinion the most consistent storyline since the days of Garth Ennis Marvel Knights brand. The story is very well constructed and it has an objective. Rosenberg knows his Frank Castle, and he executes him flawlessly. 

I'm not a fan of what Marvel did to the Punisher in Secret Empire, as a matter of fact, I consider it the worst thing they ever did to the character. Rosenberg got the difficult task to deal with it and he's doing it very well without being out of character.

Rosenberg to me is becoming a favorite already.

Guiu Vilanova and Lee Loughridge are part of the success of this comic/ run. Guiu's dynamic panels during the battle against heroes were really good. The way that Loughridge set the tone of this comic was superb.

Overall Rate: 8.5/10

I just can't wait for the next issue set to be released in less than two weeks (June 13th)

The Punisher #226

Review by Ivo Santos