PC POST #320: -REVIEW- Civil War II: Kingpin #3

I have been waiting for weeks for this issue to come out, so far, the only thing interesting from Civil War II, as been the tie-ins.

Kingpin vs the Punisher. These two got such rich history in the past and i was very excited to see how this will going to be executed.

(W) Matthew Rosenberg / (A) Ricardo L. Ortiz & Hayden Sherman/
(C) Mat Lopes/ (Cover) Aaron Kuder & Frank Martin

I have been following this tie in of Kingpin and it's been really entertaining so far. Now to issue #3.

Kingpin is trying to establish his "business" in New York and he is looking for his contact "Janus", probably the only guy in the world that can set up a crime and escape from Ulysses radar of "predictive justice".

Matthew Rosenberg built a very entertaining story around Fisk. The way he introduces the Punisher inside Fisk's circle was smart and i would not have dreamed about until Frank starts shooting.

The fight and dialog among these characters is good. Specially the fight.

Rosenberg respected both characters without falling into the trap of excel Fisk over Frank because he is in his own book.
Fisk is physically superior to Frank, this is fact but Frank is a walking armory, he uses everything to put down Fisk.

The mine in Frank's chest was over the top, but it was somewhat spectacular, it's the second time we saw this in the Punisher history. First time was in Thunderbolts.

Last panels of this fight is really engaging and it was very satisfying. There was no winners or losers, but this, was the result i was expecting.

The art of Ricardo Ortiz and Hayden Sherman, was ok, nothing too fancy to me but it was pretty decent. The action was good, In one panel or two Fisk got some red eyes but it was on purpose and sometimes it look somewhat cartoonish.

Mat Lopes did a good job with the coloring and definitely helped a lot the artwork of this book. Good choice of the colors and very balanced. It was eye catchy.

Aaron Kuder just nailed the cover, artistically very well executed. That shadow below Frank's eyes remembers me Mike Zeck artwork when he draws the Punisher. Frank Martin gave extra quality to this cover and did not fail to impress. He keeps the great quality as we saw in the Punisher run.

Conclusion: It was a really good issue, specially for the Punisher appearance. Great fight and respectable writing from Matthew Rosenberg. The art could be better but it was decent in the right moments. It's very recommendable for every Punisher fan. Even if you do not follow this run, just buy this single issue.

The cover is one of the best i have seen this year. Aaron just nailed it.

OVERALL RATE; 8 / 10 

Ivo Santos | @ivomgs

  

PC POST #319: -FIRST LOOK- PUNISHER ANNUAL #1

After 25 years of waiting, the creator of the Punisher is back to write this annual to be released in October 26th. 

Last time he wrote a Punisher comic, was in the one shot called "Bloodlines".

In this annual we are going to see Frank hunting down a killer in Halloween... Looks fun to me!

THE PUNISHER ANNUAL #1

GERRY CONWAY (W) • FELIX RUIZ (A)

COVER BY RAHZZAH

OUR TREAT: FRANK’S UP TO HIS OLD TRICKS!

• There are ghouls everywhere on Halloween night, but real monsters don’t wear costumes!

• The Punisher is searching for a killer, but he’s also being watched…

• Let’s hope Frank’s quarry doesn’t put costumed civvies in the line of fire!

40 PGS./Parental Advisory …$4.99

Cover by Lim

Cover by Olivetti

Ivo Santos | @ivomgs

PC POST #318: The Punisher animated statue (Skottie Young art)

Lately we have been invaded by Punisher collectibles like i have not seen before! Now we have a new statue from Gentle Giant.

Everybody knows that Frank Castle is the most violent and dangerous anti-heroes from Marvel Universe, But this version is the cutest, there is no doubt in that.
This Punisher statue stands two double (and respectable) revolvers, an awesome trench coat, an utility belt that could make Batman miss the good old days and an expression that "he's better off alone."

The Animated Punisher Statue was digitally sculpted, and then 3D printed on state of the art 3D Systems printers. The high-resolution prints were then used in the creation of prototypes needed to produce this animated collectible. Each animated statue is hand-cast, hand-painted, and hand-numbered with a limited edition certificate of authenticity.

This statue is already available for pre order and it will be available at Q2 2017 and it stands for 4.5 inches tall and it will cost $64.99.

Check out the full gallery:

For comic book readers and specially the Punisher fans, have already seen some variants by Skottie Young. He likes to make cute characters and the Punisher is no exception.

Can not wait to see this little guy out and i will have one for me that's for sure.


Ivo Santos | @ivomgs

PC POST #317: The Punisher Art Scale 1/10 Marvel Series 3

Iron Studios is a brazilian company that released official images of the Punisher art scale 1/10 Marvel series 3 from the collection of Marvel Comics.

- Limited edition

- Made in Polystone

- Hand painted

- Includes two handguns and an exclusive rifle for the Concept Store

- Includes base display

Product dimensions: 21cm height

Package dimensions: 237mm (H) x 190mm (L) x 93mm (D)

UPC: 0742832353489

MSRP: R$ 359,90

Release schedule: Feb 2017

Yesterday i have been talking to Iron Studios, asking if they will going to released it in United States, but sadly they don't have license to do it. Only for Europe and in Brazil for the moment.

Ivo Santos | @ivomgs

PC POST #316: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #5 (2016)

Finally issue #5 was released. It took awhile but the wait was well worth it. Behold, to the best Punisher issue from  Becky Cloonan and Steve Dillon's run!

(W) Becky Cloonan / (A) Steve Dillon / (Cover) Declan Shalvey & Jordie Bellaire / (C) Frank Martin

It's been awhile since i had so much fun with a Punisher comic, Becky Cloonan and Dillon provided me non-stop action with the over the top violence to satisfy my inner fanboy waiting for a issue like this.

The odds are against Frank. Frank continues to track down the remnants of the Condor who is producing the EMC. He ends in an asylum with Ortiz who wants to find his partner that was captured by Face and the cherry on top is that this asylum is full of over powered crazies drugged by the EMC.

Becky Cloonan did once again an amazing job. She is a writer who doesn't complicate things, the Punisher is not a character to be complicated. 

I really like how Frank and Ortiz team up, she puts aside her feelings towards the Punisher and focused in his own mission, rescue agent Henderson.

The Punisher is not much of a talker and honestly he doesn't need, he is a man of actions, not words. 

Cloonan's achieve one thing amazing. When i did miss Punisher's inner dialog in the first issues, currently, i was entertained enough not even to remember it or miss it. 

People compare much of her run to Ennis or Aaron, i think in some elements are similar but she is leaving her own mark in the character, the most straight forward action-wise story i have ever seen.

Dillon continues to improve too and this time the requirements were higher regarding passed issues due to the action itself. We can see amazing panels beautifully executed. Dillon is perfect when he executes violent scenes, he can do it perfectly and gory. For moments i thought i was reading a Punisher MAX instead of story from the current Marvel Universe.

Frank Martin did a great job too for the coloring of this issue and once again he keep the high standards with a great balance of colors and during the splash scenes he adds a very vivid colors.

Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire created a good cover. Graphically perfect. It's not accurate of what happens in the comic but it's still great. I really like this partnership.

Conclusion: It's been awhile since i had so much fun reading a Punisher comic. Thanks to this great creative team that is working perfectly.

Can not wait to see more developments about the relation with Olaf and Frank ( next issue!) and obviously more about Frank/Ortiz. Ortiz is mentally broke after some events of this comic. Let's wait and see the aftermath of it.

It's been a blast and i highly recommend for every Punisher fan.

Overall rate: 8.5 out of 10  

Ivo Santos | @ivomgs