PC POST #309: -REVIEW- Civil War II: Choosing Sides - The Punisher

 

(W) Chuck Brown / (A) Chris Visions / (C) Declan Shalvey

Finally we have a tie-in in this Civil War II with the Punisher in it.

The original Civil War event, got a significant appearance of the Punisher. He saved Spider-Man's life and helped Captain America in some missions.

This time i don't think Frank will choose a side or even have a relevant appearance but it's good seeing the character deep within Marvel Universe.

Civil War II: Choosing Sides have only a short story with the Punisher, Frank shared this book with Power Pack and Nick Fury.

The Punisher story isn't nothing fancy, it's a typical Punisher story. And it's really entertaining! I miss back in the day these standalone stories. It reminds me of "Tingling" story written by Greg Rucka when the Punisher stopped some bank robbers during Spider-Island event.

The story basically shows a bunch of robbers who are trying to steal a lethal virus. 

Chuck Brown wrote this story in a very smart way. He chose to use the Punisher as boogeyman, like many writers choose to do it nowadays. He gave enough spotlight for the robbers and presented the Punisher in the right way to counter them.

Bloody and lethal. Two perfect words to describe how the Punisher fights criminality and this is what we are going see in this tenth page story.

The art of Chris Visions felt suitable for this story. It's not shinny but it's sketchy and colorful. It's clearly not for everyone taste.

One thing i liked was the resemblance of the Punisher with Jon Bernthal's. He might not look exactly like him but i think it's somewhat close to the portrayal of Frank Castle on Netflix.

We got enough space for a Easter Egg too... Check in the top of this list...

One Batch, Two Batch. Penny and Dime.

Declan Shalvey deserves a shout out too, with the magnificent cover he did for this issue. Still impressed every time i see a cover or something done by him

Yes, straight up from the Netflix series! As mostly of you know, One Batch, Two Batch story was used by Frank Castle during the series of Daredevil season 2.

It was the favorite story of his daughter and some sort of "mantra" to give him more focus.

Final Words: It was a enjoyable short story, Chuck Brown respected the character and did the best for him. The
The artwork could be slightly better but i get used to it.

Let's hope this can be added to the Punisher TPB to be released with the first arc of the Punisher ongoing of Becky Cloonan's and Steve Dillon.

OVERALL RATE: 7.5/ 10

Ivo Santos | @ivomgs

PC POST #308: -REVIEW- PUNISHER #4

(W) Becky Cloonan / (A) Steve Dillon / (CA) Declan Shalvey / (C) Frank Martin

Finally our monthly Punisher "fix" is back at a high speed!

Straight out of Mad Max!

Yes, speed is the main constant in this issue. Most of the action with the Punisher and his little passenger Juniper is in the van. Great chase scenes that looked like it was taken from the Mad Max with a truck following Castle's van, fully decorated with spikes and a bunch of crazies in it led by Face.

Juniper turns out to be a great help to Frank at some point during the chase that practically ended it.

DEA is more active in this issue. Agent Ortiz and Henderson are getting closer to Frank and things get crazy in the last pages of this comic book.

Olaf appears in this issue and he seems to have a second agenda more important than just the EMC drugs.

Becky Cloonan once again keep high standards for this issue. There isn't too much plot development but it was solid action. 

We got a few more words changed with Frank and Juniper and Becky explored in the right way the few glimpses of humanity that Frank have left.

Liked how things went crazy for the DEA agents a plus for entertainment and another one to see that things are getting personal.

Steve Dillon was amazing. The chase scenes, the action, the kills and a bit of humor to the mix and we got an explosion of entertainment.

Dillon continues to show us a good artwork with the help of Frank Martin who emphasize his great colors into Dillon's artwork, Frank Martin turned the explosions into epic levels. Really good work of these two in this book.

Declan Shalvey continues to show his great artwork in the cover of this book. It describes perfectly how this book was and ended. Declan was in perfectly sync with Dillon and Cloonan.

Jake G Thomas (editor) really joined an amazing creative team for this book, let's hope it continues forever. It's been great ride and so much fun that i haven't felt in a Punisher comic for some time now.

OVERALL RATE: 8 OUT OF 10

Ivo Santos | @ivomgs