PC POST #404: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #224

The Punisher is back in the United States and he's hunting down the criminal empire but there are a few surprises coming his way.

Another fantastic issue where Rosenberg explores who would be a target when Frank arrived in the US. It's a tough job when you think that you can't make the Punisher kill the entire criminal empire of the Marvel Universe but Rosenberg did a great job not ignoring this fact but make it what was right.

Cover by Clayton Crain

A few villains were down during the attack and a few references were done. It was a good touch seeing again "The Bar with No Name" ( Punisher War Journal Vol.2  #4) and the Scourge, a villain that was used as a disguise by Frank to infiltrate into the Kingpin inner circle in Civil War II: Kingpin #3 this last story by Matthew Rosenberg.

Aside from this, we get great action and some fierce dialogue and fight between Captain Marvel and the Punisher who didn't like to see Frank using the War Machine armor for his personal mission. The dialogue between these two is as fierce as the attacks they launch to each other. In this issue and because we know other characters perspectives we get the feeling that the villain is the Punisher. There are a few cameos in this comic book with characters like Daredevil and Hawkeye.

The artwork of Stefano Landini was great, fantastic panels, especially in the fight between Castle and Danvers. Stefano's artwork, seemed a bit more ruthless in terms of violence if we compare to Guiu Vilanova artwork. His artwork shine in every panel with great dynamic and of course, Lee Loughridge's colors helped a lot as always.

I'm really liking what Rosenberg is doing with the character so far, in this current arc "War Criminal", the Punisher seemed a bit more villain when we compare to the last arc "War Machine" which is easily explained why we get a lot more the views of Marvel heroes than Frank Castle.

Overall rate: 8 / 10

Don't forget that in two weeks there will be out The Punisher #225!

review by Ivo Santos (@ivomgs)

PC POST #403: [SPOILERS PUNISHER SEASON 2]On SET VIDEO reveals a returning character...

Yesterday was a great day for leaked Punisher shots on set. A fan on Instagram shared a video when we see an "action scene" and a big character revealed.

First of all, let's share some Punisher on-set photos.

Let's go to the video, watch it! This is a HUGE SPOILER, so if you want to stay in the dark, don't watch the upcoming video shared on Twitter by @PunisherHQ. 

SPOILERS!!!!

This one is huge and a big SPOILER! You've been warned! The Punisher vs Billy Russo / Jigsaw #punisher #thepunisher #marvel #netflix pic.twitter.com/J4dW3ZeU5P

— The Punisher HQ (@PunisherHQ) 16 de maio de 2018

If you watched the video you already know who is the guy with the mask. It's Billy Russo!

For the shot, it doesn't show any signs of his injured face but this is only the pre-production. We don't know so far if his scars will be in cgi or the shot isn't clear to notice them.

For the theatrical way Billy took off his mask and show himself to Frank, it looks like it's the first time they encountered since last season, my guess is that this episode will be during mid-season of season 2.

Let's wait and see for further developments in the upcoming weeks. The Punisher season 2 doesn't have an official date but my guess is for the second quarter of 2019.

By Ivo Santos

PC POST #402: -REVIEWS- THE PUNISHER #222 & #223

Here are the last reviews of The Punisher #222 & #223 that needed to be reviewed.

REVIEW: THE PUNISHER #222

Matthew Rosenberg has built an amazing story arc with Frank wearing the War Machine armor to wage his war and achieve new lengths. Issue #222 is a good example of that, we see Frank Castle in the armor is literally mowing down dozens of men who were commanded by general Petrov. 

Matthew Rosenberg knows how to handle the Punisher. In this issue, there is almost no development in the plot, just pure fun, and entertaining mayhem. Rosenberg makes the Punisher in the armor almost like an invincible force of nature, there are no missiles, tanks or blasts of energy who could deal with Frank and his most rudimentary ways. Yes, even with the armor he can make the dirtiest tricks to put the enemy down. There are no rules to make the enemy down, as long as they are down. This is the Punisher and Matt knows how to handle it.

One note that needs to be said is that the A.I. is becoming one of the best sidekicks that Frank had since Henry Russo. The dialogues between Frank and the A.I. are hilarious. It's fantastic. 

Guiu Vilanova and Lee Loughridge are part of the success of this issue. Great dynamic panels, great action scenes almost in a cinematic way. The tone set by the art team is great and in the first issues I had some problems with the art of Guiu, especially in the design of the armor, but not anymore. Guiu is becoming a favorite.

Overall Rate: 8.5 / 10 

REVIEW: THE PUNISHER #223

Finally the last issue of this current arc and by far the best issue of this series. Matthew Rosenberg pushed Frank Castle to the limit, he tries to stop a nuclear missile, he fought against ex-rogue SHIELD agents with armors closely like War Machine, Frank finally used his martial art skills and fights Petrov's armored suit with his ka-bar... and guts!

Rosenberg presented us with a thrilling ride where Frank is put to the test and his ability to control the War Machine armor. And more important we get to see Frank going "old school" fighting his way to survive against high tech threats.

It's been "ages" since I saw the Punisher using his martial art skills very well drawn into multiple panels and Guiu nailed it. 

Rosenberg is pulling zero punches regarding writing Frank Castle. He knows the very essence of the character and despite that he is using the WM armor, he keeps being himself. I don't like to make comparisons which writer is the best, but I can say that Rosenberg writes the Frank Castle I want.

Guiu Vilanova did once again a brilliant job. His art is very consistent and it's very well drawn, he makes the action flow through panels. He might not be fancy like some other artists but he is paving his way into success in every issue.
Lee Loughridge is part of this great artist team. His work with the colors makes Guiu's art a real treat to the reader's eyes.

There are great things to come in Punisher #224, Frank is back home with the War Machine suit and he's hunting some baddies! Review coming soon!

Overall Rate: 9.5 / 10

By Ivo Santos (@ivomgs) 

PC POST #401: -REVIEWS- THE PUNISHER: PLATOON #5 & #6

It's been awhile since I've reviewed a Punisher book but here I am to wrap up this fantastic 6 part story featuring Frank Castle in his first tour.

REVIEW: THE PUNISHER PLATOON #5

The premise of this issue is how Frank Castle's platoon handled the biggest ambush they ever faced in the series and how Ly took his personal vendetta to a new lenghts and at a highly cost to take out the platoon.

Garth Ennis is a fantastic war storyteller. This isn't Punisher MAX: Born, it's deeper than that. It's the very root of Frank Castle, first war experiences. 

Ly sees a chance to kill Frank's platoon and decides to attack them when they were in disadvantage in terrain and manpower.
Frank leads his platoon with a high performance, he makes them give their best for themselves and for the platoon.

Garth Ennis is pulling zero punches while writing this story, don't expect to see Frank Castle dealing with tons of vietcongs. It's more than that, it's the story of the man told by the last surviving members of his platoon.

Goran Parlov gave such a great dynamic in every panel, especially during the ambush. The expressions being terror, fury or surprised are very well portrayed in every panel. The action scenes are over the top and Jordie Bellaire gave her contribute to make it even better with a great coloring during the splash scenes. Fantastic creative team that was put together during this miniseries.

OVERALL RATE: 8 / 10 

REVIEW: THE PUNISHER PLATOON #6

 

Platoon #6 wraps up this fantastic series very well delivered by Ennis, Parlov and Bellaire. On the other side this is the most emotional issue of the series. A good thing to see is all the remaining survivors of the platoon praised Frank Castle action as their lieutenant. They praised the man. At the end of this issue and we see that at the end of the day he was just an exceptional "guy" who saved their lives.

By far the best issue of this series in my opinion. Where Garth Ennis explores Frank Castle's before he turned into the Punisher. This matter is even discussed by his former platoon.
The Platoon miniseries was never about death and killing. It was about the people who were there fighting side by side with Frank. Of course there are fighting and some deaths but that wasn't the premise of this series.

Garth Ennis was made for Frank Castle and vice-versa. There's no argue in this matter.

The success of this series couldn't be without the artwork of Parlov and with the colors of Jordie Bellaire. There isn't much things to be said in here. If Ennis was made for Frank Castle, Parlov art was made for the Frank too.

OVERALL RATE: 9 / 10

by Ivo Santos (@ivomgs)

PC POST #400: Marvel's the Punisher adds two more characters to the cast!

Another two characters were added to Marvel's the Punisher cast. This time the hints are strong enough to make believe that the "Slavers" storyline might be a huge possibility, despite these characters have different names than the original characters who were in the comics.

Corbin Bernsen (“American Gods,” “Psych”) will play the role of Anderson Schultz, an extremely wealthy man who’s grown accustomed to getting his way. His power and legacy are of prime importance, and he’ll implement less-than legal means to further those ends.

Annette O’Toole (“Cat People,” “Smallville”) has been cast as Eliza Schultz, a conniving, wealthy woman, cut from the same manipulative cloth as her husband, Anderson.

Corbin Bernsten and Annette O'Toole joins the cast of Marvel's the Punisher season 2 when other actors were previously announced a few months back like Josh Stewart (“John Pilgrim”), Floriana Lima (“Krista Dumont”) and Giorgia Whigham (“Amy Bendix”).

It's curious to see in the Marvel article when they mentioned returning characters there is word about Ebon Moss-Bachrach ( "Micro"). It's not sure if he will come back for the second season, since his mission was over in season 1 and he lives happily with his family.




Article by Ivo Santos (@ivomgs)

PC POST #399: New images on set of the Punisher season 2!

New images on set have surfaced when it shows Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) and Amy Bendix (Giorgia Wigham) together.

There is no news about what it will be the plot of the upcoming season of Marvel's the Punisher what we know so far is what it comes from the source material and Amy Bendix is established character from the early Punisher: War-Zone #34.

Amy Bendix took care of Frank Castle during "Suicide Run" saga, when Frank was hurt. During that saga, some criminals got to know Frank's whereabouts and decided to strike back and kidnapping the poor girl. Frank hunt those guys down and saved the kid.

The fans of the Punisher are shouting out for the "Slavers" saga. A Punisher MAX story when the Punisher puts down a sex slave ring. Amy Bendix is still seen as a someone who could replace Viorica in that arc.
Viorica was a sex slave who escaped from the organization and got lucky to cross path with the Punisher.

Article by Ivo Santos