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

PC POST #398: New Punisher run coming up with a "back to basics" premise!

Earlier today Marvel announced a new Punisher run coming up in August. 1st. The news couldn't be better. Matthew Rosenberg will be at helm of the book with a new artist Riccardo Burchielli (DMZ).

The solicits kind of spoiled what's going to happen in the last issue of Punisher: War Machine #228. But I won't spoil it for you.

In the interview to Marvel's page Matthew said a few good things about what's coming up with this new run.

Cover artist: Greg Smallwood

"We’re going to get back to Frank Castle with a handgun and a knife, stalking the streets of New York, and getting his hands dirty. But we’re also going to see a man who has changed from his time in the armor. He developed a taste for bigger game and larger targets, and he’s not going to give that up easily. So in a sense it’s back to basics — but on a bigger scale."

Back to basics Frank means we will have the Punisher with his usual arsenal to take out major threats in the Marvel Universe. From this interview we can expect some major appearances from the villainy world of Marvel Universe and seeing the Punisher tag along with them without killing them or getting killed will be a major challenge for Matthew Rosenberg.

"We’re going to have seen him travel overseas to overthrow a government and kill a world leader, and then come back home and go toe-to-toe with some of the most powerful people in the Marvel Universe."

I guess we have to wait for August, 1st and see what happens. But I think Matthew Rosenberg one of the best writers who picked up the character since Garth Ennis in Welcome Back, Frank. He deserves this recognition.

Article by Ivo Santos