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 #397: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER 221

Sorry about my absence everyone but I've been very occupied with personal things that I couldn't update the blog or the reviews.

Still got to catch up with the reviews of Punisher #222 and Platoon #5 and #6.

After Frank got outnumbered by the rogue ex-SHIELD agents they did a good amount of damage to the armor and Frank drop into the sea. 

This story told us how he gets back into the "game" with the armor ready to continue the mission.

Matthew Rosenberg doesn't waste time in telling us a good Punisher story with a great pace even when it slows down a bit he recovers the pace in a few panels. It's amazing on how he can deliver such a great Punisher comic without a dull moment.

Matthew's Punisher punishes. Even without the armor. For those who want to see Frank Castle as he is, Matt's didn't forget those fans too. In this issue, he goes around mostly without the armor punishing bad people to get what he wants. 

This arc is getting good and good for those who were skeptic about how good this could be seeing Frank in a foreign country to take down some guy who hurt Nick Fury feelings, well... it is fun. It is fun seeing Frank destroying dozens of military troops who work for Petrov's, smashing vehicles and getting rid of Petrov organization. He could've done it without the War Machine suit, sure... but it would've been tougher and require a lot of prep work. Now, Frank doesn't need to take cover because of bullets. He flies straightforward to the targets with no hesitations.

Guiu Vilanova is doing a great work with the collaboration with Lee Loughridge on the colors. These two set a great theme for this comic book. Sometimes too dark but nothing that could harm the art overall.

The action is very dynamic and very well made. It's bloody when it needs to be and this creative team makes it flawlessly. 

I'm still not a fan of the Punisher being similar to his Netflix counterpart (Jon Bernthal). I still prefer a generic face than a character in the comic that looks like an actor. The cover artist Clayton Crain used to give us high-quality artwork and he delivers it. Great colors, great art, and great dynamic.

Overall Rate: 8.5 / 10 

review by Ivo Santos

PC POST #390: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #219

Matthew Rosenberg continues to impress with this solid story he pulls zero punches when it comes to make the Punisher a bad ass character. Guiu Villanova art keeps improving a lot showing us a more polished War Machine armor on this second issue.

Frank Castle arrived in Chernaya saved an old man named Vakha from being killed by the troops of Petrov's. 

Vakha was a great supporting character, a bit cliché though, but it was great seeing these veterans interacting with each other. For moments I imagined Frank Castle decades before he finishes his "war" (like something like that was possible). But don't know why Vakha reminds me of Frank.

The action of this story was great, most of the action of this comics was the Punisher defending the land of old Vakha from the incursion of Petrov's troops, the funny thing is that Frank doesn't control 100% the armor and he's still learning and improving how to dominate it after a few mistakes especially when Frank is fighting a tank.

A curious fact is the A.I of the armor it's programmed for the previous user and not for Frank it clearly needs some reprogramming for Frank's by the modus operandi. It's hilarious the rant between Frank and the A.I.

The art of Guiu's is getting polished by the issue. The designed of the armor is much better when we compare with the last issue. His drawings are very dynamic and the action scenes very well made. I liked how Guiu focused in what matters while drawing the action scenes, you don't get distracted by the background. Great work Guiu!

About the colors, I'm not a big fan of Loughridge's tone he set for this issue, I didn't like this "brownish" color all over the issue.

The scenario when everything happens had something to do with it but this is the only thing I didn't like so far.

Can't wait to read today's issue THE PUNISHER #220, don't forget to seize your comic book stores!

OVERALL RATE: 8.5 / 10

Review by Ivo Santos

PC POST #387: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #218

The first issue of these new Punisher series branded by Legacy was released yesterday. And it was a really good issue, a well-built story by Matthew Rosenberg and a solid art by Guiu Vilanova.

After years of reboots over the years, Marvel decided to renumber all the titles and tie-in with the original titles through the years and here is Punisher #218. 

Matthew Rosenberg planned a well-structured storytelling in this first issue. 

Cover by Clayton Crain

Rosenberg introduced Frank's modus operandi ( the way he works) in the first pages of this comic when we see Frank intercepting some weapons dealers. The character was smart and tactically brilliant on the battlefield in the way he dealt with many guards. Knowing the territory and using the elements in his favor. It was very unbalanced, he was too good for those goons. Not even when they thought they were safe, he already planned the way he would kill them.

There is no inner speech on this issue, but honestly, it wasn't needed. With the art of Guiu's and the way Rosenberg tells his story, you figure it out how things will happen.

For weeks we know that Nick Fury Jr. would be involved in this story. I was a bit uneasy thinking that Fury would control/ manipulate Frank but he wasn't controlled. Rosenberg was pretty convincing in finding a way to make Frank help Fury Jr. in this quest and it worked.

The best part is when Frank is going to get the War Machine armor, with great action in stealth mode with a "no killing" rule. You will know why.

Guiu Vilanova did an amazing job in the artwork of this series and it was a good complement to Rosenberg's storytelling. This creative team seems to be very well aligned with the path they will go with this run.

The splash scenes were really impressing and how Guiu's imprinted a good dynamic in every action scene.

Another thing to add is the resemblance this Frank Castle has with Jon Bernthal. I know that Marvel tends to make his character to look like their cinematic counterparts but to me, it's no big deal. 

The coloring from Lee Loughridge was overall good, but there were some panels that the colors seemed a bit dark or didn't have enough light.

A shout out for Clayton's Crain cover which was beautifully made and of course Tim Bradstreet lenticular cover.

Verdict: I was impressed with the quality and well-structured story, I have hope that this can be a success story for years to come if it handles it in the right way. The secret to it it's not to put Frank in some sort of "chains" and let him be what he is. For the amazing work and the amount of respect Rosenberg has for the character, I know he will do him justice. 

I really don't like to give high scores in the first issue, but this leaves me no chances of doing it.

Overall Rate: 9 out of 10

Review by Ivo Santos ( FB / Twitter )

PC POST #370: Marvel's Punisher Legacy will start with a wrong renumbering?

It's been weeks since I'm thinking in renumbering myself the Punisher comics that will make Marvel start their Punisher Legacy with issue #218.

I always thought it was a bit low according to the runs the character had. After some thought, I think I did finally figure it out.

This is not the official renumbering!

If this renumbering is right, it's unbelievable how they ignored Punisher War Journal (1988) #01-#80, Punisher War Zone (1992) #01-#41 and the Punisher Marvel Knights by Ennis  Vol. 4 (#01-#12) and Vol. 5 (#01-#37) these are books set in the main Marvel Universe! It should count too. It's more 170 issues to add those "unofficial" #217 which equals 387 issues.

It's a mess if you ask me. But someone will say " Those are the main books of the Punisher set in the Marvel Universe", yeah, sure. The Punisher Marvel Knights were the main book of the character since the year 2000 to 2003 until they start publishing Punisher MAX and the Punisher integrated the Marvel Knights (Team) comic book which both doesn't count.

Maybe it's because it's branded by "Marvel Knights" they don't consider a "main run". I understand they don't consider limited series or runs out of continuity like MAX but clearly this count is a mess. Being this renumbering true or false, the Punisher clearly has more than #217 issues.

Until the release of the official renumbering by Marvel, I really doubt this count will fall too much from their count.
If they want to renumber it and start all over, they have to do it right. Maybe it's because of business and they think you can find the TPB's and hardcovers more easily than older runs? 

Personally, i don't know. But I would like to hear about why they excluded some runs and others don't.

posted by Ivo Santos ( FB/Twitter)

PC POST #369: The Punisher #218: Creative Team Revealed and Why is it good!

Finally, it was revealed the creative team of the next Punisher run branded by Marvel's Legacy. On the writing, it will be Matthew Rosenberg and at the pencils will be Guiu Vilanova.

THE PUNISHER #218
MATTHEW ROSENBERG (W) • GUIU VILANOVA (A)
Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
FRANK CASTLE: WAR MACHINE  Part 1
For years, Frank Castle has been fighting a one-man war against criminals who endanger the innocent, but when a certain one-eyed operative offers him the tools to take his fight global…how could he say no? Find out how Frank found his way into the WAR MACHINE Armor!

Looks like Frank will deal with the "one-eyed" (Nick Fury) operative to do some sort of wet work. Cleaning up the streets from bad people. Who will lead Nick Fury to gear up Frank with the War Machine armor. It looks like we will have some sort of partnership like we have seen in Ultimates storyline by Millar when Fury Jr. recruited Frank Castle to the team he was creating.

I don't know the work of Guiu Vilanova but a quick research on Google will get us amazed by the detail he gives to his own artwork. With this, i can't wait to see the artwork of this book!

Matthew Rosenberg, a man who knows Marvel Universe so well with enough proof of solid writing like Secret Warriors, Rocket Raccoon, Edge of Venomverse and Kingpin.
With this sort of experience he might give us a really great experience while reading his new Punisher run.
What really caught my attention to his work was in Civil War II tie-in Kingpin #3 when he wrote one of the best standalone Punisher issues.
He put the Punisher against the Kingpin with a massive and violent fight that honored both characters.

You might want to check it out this issue!

Matthew Rosenberg has a huge potential as a writer and with his knowledge about Marvel's criminal underworld he might put Frank Castle and his War Machine armor in good use.
On the other hand, he must make Frank Castle effective in his fight with this kind of gear and not a puppet in the hands of Nick Fury.

Can't wait for the beginning of this series in November!

Check out the full interview in Newsarama!

Ivo Santos [FB/Twitter]

PC POST #356: It's official! The Punisher will use the War Machine armor!

The upcoming "Legacy" brand of Marvel will make some changes to a few Marvel characters and guess what, Frank Castle aka the Punisher will be one of them.

Last week Marvel teased us with a fantastic cover by Tim Bradstreet when we see War Machine wearing the Punisher skull in his chest, it wasn't difficult to guess that this guy should be Frank Castle and not the original War Machine, James Rhodes.

When i thought this could be some sort of tribute to Iron Man #282, today, Marvel leaked on the web the list of the upcoming books under the Legacy brand that will start in September and there is the name on the list: The Punisher #218, Frank Castle: War Machine.

All the Punisher ongoing runs were renumbered and Marvel will do what they did in the past. At least it will make us feel that this is part of the continuity from the old runs.

Cover by Tim Bradstreet

Personally i'm excited for this new change, even if it's just for a few issues or just an ongoing. On the other hand this can be a two sided blade for the writer of picks up this book.

This will be part of the main Marvel Universe, the Punisher will have a "boost" in terms of firepower, the writer has to respect and be faithful to what the character represents, Frank Castle has to damage or at least shake the Marvel Universe with this new "power". Maybe i'm asking too much and deep down i don't believe he is going to kill a main villain but i don't see any other alternative.

If this was going to be in an alternative universe it should be an easy task, being the main Marvel Universe i have no doubt that this will be one of the most difficult tasks a writer had to do with the character. Being faithful and know how to manage the character with this new power.

 Posted by Ivo Santos (@ivomgs)