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 #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 #391: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #220

Another great issue of this Punisher series delivered almost flawlessly by Matthew Rosenberg with an engaging story and top-notch action. Guiu's art is polished and fit perfectly into this story.

This issue starts almost like the last one with Frank saving an innocent man from Petrov's troops and while doing that acquiring intel about his whereabouts and waging war to the headquarters of Petrov's but he got the attention of someone with special gear.

Matthew Rosenberg doesn't stop impressing me with his good writing in every issue that it's released. The bar is already high and Rosenberg doesn't seem that is writing is running out of steam.

For every reader, this issue gives us TONS of action with Frank obliterating Petrov's troops and obviously a gorgeous artwork by Vilanova.

The story is compelling and simple. So far, there are no major twists and easy to follow up.

Rosenberg knows how to entertain and this issue gives us that. Entertainment.

The big premise of this arc so far, was seeing Frank against those rogue ex-agents of SHIELD. Energy blasts, flying maneuvers and even simple methods Frank used to try to take down those highly trained rogue agents.

Frank can easily use the suit to obliterate common troops, send vehicles through the air to stop tanks, etc... but when he faces some guys highly trained in their SHIELD armors things change a little bit.

What I'm liking so far is that Frank doesn't control the War Machine armor just yet. He didn't have the time to master it, he's in process of learning how to use it in the proper way.

This "weakness" is what I like about stories of the Punisher, the ability he has to overcome those weaknesses. This process of evolution is what I expect from this run. I have no doubt this process of learning how to master the War Machine armor will lead to something epic.

The art of Vilanova is astonishing. Vilanova is getting used to drawing the War Machine armor, and it's getting better in every issue that it's released. The armor is very well designed and detailed and especially the skull. The skull painted in the armor has a very aggressive look.
The action panels were amazing and dynamic artwork among panels.

Lee Loughridge did a better job on coloring this issue in my humble opinion. Despite some "brownish"colors in some panels overall he did a good job on coloring most of it. During the night scene Loughridge colors just shined.

OVERALL RATE: 9 / 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 #384: -PREVIEW- PUNISHER #218 and tons of Variant Covers!

In the last days it was released a few pages of the artwork and bits of the story of this new Punisher run by Matthew Rosenberg and on pencils Guiu Villanova that it will begin on 15th of November, two days before Marvel's the Punisher.

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! PLUS: Includes 3 bonus MARVEL PRIMER PAGES!

Variant Covers!

TV Variant

Tim Bradstreet

Greg Smallwood

Mike McKone

Leinil Yu

So far, the art of Guiu made me want that I could see a bit more of the Punisher without the War Machine armor. These preview splash pages are very well developed and it's pure straight up 90's action. Not to mention how the Punisher looks exactly like Jon Bernthal!

Can't wait for November, it will be a great month for us, Punisher fans!

Tomorrow don't forget to pick up Punisher #17 and Punisher: Platoon #2!

Posted by Ivo Santos 

PC POST #383: PUNISHER Solicitations for January 2018

Finally, it was revealed the solicitations of the next Punisher issues in January of 2018...

Punisher: The Platoon #5 ( out of 6)

Garth Ennis ( W ) & Goran Parlov (A & CA)
 

"The Platoon goes on a devastating mission that goes bad to worse. Viet Cong soldier Li Quang has been after Frank and his men for months. Her chance to get them has arrived."

The Punisher #220

(W) Matthew Rosenberg / (A) Guiu Villanova / (CA) Clayton Cray

"Frank’s torn through General Petrov’s soldiers and tanks, but an even deadlier force has Frank in their sights. A trap is set, with innocent lives on the line. Can Frank save the endangered civilians? Can he even save himself?"

I really can't wait for these issues to come out in January. About the Punisher with the War Machine suit, it looks he's going to travel around the globe and clearly be more hero-ish than the past run.
Since the Punisher (2014) that the Punisher has been a little tweaked in his own mindset and sometimes, I get the feeling he's been a little "tone down" regarding, for example, the Marvel Knights Punisher by Ennis set in the Marvel Universe.
But I'm really curious to see how Matthew Rosenberg will make this book and how he will develop the character.

PC POST #376: [SPOILERS] Secret Empire Omega #1 shows The Punisher path of redemption.

Watch out!! SPOILERS below!

Secret Empire is over. Thankfully. It did more damage than good to many characters like Captain America and the Punisher.

This book was a good reading. Without a doubt the best of the series. Especially for the great discussion between the real Steve Rogers and his alternate self "Hydra" Rogers.

Now let's talk about what is important... The Punisher. 

The Punisher got a few pages in this book when we see him hunting down Hydra operatives on a way of redemption himself. 

Frank is tracking down all the cells and operations of Hydra and put them down. Something that from my point of view he should've done since the beginning of this event.

Frank says that "This might be the worst of them.." he was talking about his mistakes in his life and siding with Hydra the worst of them all. 

He also adds: "I was tricked... Manipulated by one man I thought I could trust". 

While he's destroying Hydra operations he's been tracking down by Nick Fury Jr. 

Fury also says that "He's ready". I don't have doubts that this will serve as a bridge to Punisher #218 that will start in November with Frank using the War Machine suit.

The Punisher will be one of the few characters that will not have a one-shot before this new series, maybe because of his own current run that it's still ongoing until one month before the release of the Punisher #218.

I'm glad this event is over. Worst than sided with a "good" mafia family, being transformed into an angel or be a Frankenstein rip-off, was betraying what he believed since his very own foundations. 

He sided with a terrorist organization. Because he blindly followed a false messiah with broken promises to get his family back. If there is a writer who believes that Frank wants his family back, well... he should quit his job due to his own lack of knowledge about the character.
Frank wouldn't want his family back and let them see what he has become. Because of them and his addiction to destroying crime.

Now let's enjoy the upcoming issues 16 and 17 from Becky Cloonan's run.

Issue #16 (September)

Issue #17 (October)

And welcoming this new Punisher run with Matthew Rosenberg and Guiu Vilanova.

The Punisher #218: Frank Castle - War Machine (November)

posted 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)

PC POST #137: Iron Man: Rise of Technovore (Review)

posted by @Ivo

Hello everyone, i will divide this review in two parts. I will begin to review the movie itself on the first part and second i will talk about Frank's appearence.

 

Iron Man: Rise of Technovore review

First of all by the trailers i've seen, i really got thrilled by the coming of this animation but it was kind of a let down and i will explain why.

Tony Stark is launching a new satellite named Howard. The objective of this satellite is to watch the entire planet and look for suspected criminal behavior for the appropriate can prevent crimes. But this launch is interrupted by a super villain and like Tony this guy got a suit too, his suit is made of some sort of biomechanical in nature. This biomechanical suit (named Technovore) bests Iron Man and War Machine in battle and all the fuss this battle created caughts the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D want to know more about this Technovore guy and detain  Tony because is kind of obssessed with him and want to revenge is friend War Machine ( When they fought Technovore, Tony thought that War Machine were dead). They couldn't handle with Iron Man and they sent his best agents to handle him Hawkeye and Black Widow.

This guy Ezekiel Stane the "owner" of this Technovore suit is a superior kid with some bad philosophical nonsense which he talks about most of his screen time. He is son of a former villain of Iron Man, Obadiah Stane he is dead right know and when we take these conclusions at first we thought that Ezekiel may want to take revenge but no, he hated his father.

This movie itself was below average, bad dialogue and too much brightness. They could use a bit more of some capabilities of the Howard satellite but they didn't matter to use it.

The best part for me were the Punisher appearence it was the best eleven minutes of this animation. Frank helps Iron Man to get rid of Hawkeye and Black Widow the action weren't mind blowing but it was cool.

The voice acting of Frank ( Norman Reedus) was good and the character itself was well represented in this animation.

The Punisher and Iron Man encountered together because they were after some weapons dealers in the middle eastern and Iron Man was looking for some clues about Technovore. The Punisher helped Tony with some hints about Ezekiel.

Meanwhile the S.H.I.E.L.D. trace them and sent Hawkeye and Black Widow to capture them. Iron Man got hit by some arrows of Hawkeye's and get his suit jammed.While submitted by BW and Hawkeye, the Punisher helped him with a grenade and Iron Man fall in the roof of his car and they flee.

BW and H. chase them and make the Punisher's car foil. The Punisher tries to gain some time and throw them a flash grenade and try to submit them. (while Iron Man fully recharges his batteries because of the damage of the arrows of Hawkeye). He couldn't stand too much against them but it was enough for Iron Man recharged and flew away. In the next panel we see Frank in a motorcycle (the one that was used by BW and H. to pursue him) and getting away. ( don't understand why they let him go).

 Movie Avaliation: 2.5 out of 5