PC POST #381: LOOK who's already seen Marvel's the Punisher!

A few weeks ago I received a tip in Punisher HQ from a fan who informed me that Howard Stern mentioned on his own show that he was seeing Marvel's the Punisher.

 So I looked into his shows from September and found out what he said about the show recorded at 18th September.

Howard Stern revealed that he got an advanced copy from Ted Sarandos ( Chief Content Officer for Netflix) from Marvel's the Punisher.

"I'm watching Punisher and I'm like... You know... This is the greatest #$?!ing thing. America has perfected entertainment!"

Later on the show, Stern finishes his opinion about the Punisher series:

"... I told you that I watched multiple episodes of the Punisher and it's pretty good. I like that guy... Who plays the Punisher... from the Walking Dead.. He's pretty good. The only critique I have is that it should even have more people getting killed. That's not enough death. But it's good..."

I know that Howard Stern is a comic book fan. This doesn't reveal much but at least we got a bit of spoiler-free review of what to expect.


Posted by Ivo Santos

PC POST #380: -REVIEW- PUNISHER: THE PLATOON #1

After four years on hold, this project came to life. Welcome to the Platoon! The first tour of Frank Castle that excelled the expectations.

Before starting this review I want to share how I miss Garth Ennis writing. Over the years we have been presented with some mediocre writers that don't get the character at all. 

But Ennis was born for the Punisher and despite one or two mistakes he did for the character ( in my opinion), he is by far the best Punisher writer of this new century.

Here is a good issue that reminds us that before all the retcon Marvel did in 2012 to the war origins of Frank Castle, he was a Vietnam veteran. This story guide us to his first tour when he has zero combat experience.

I was expecting to see a rookie Frank Castle but Ennis avoided that kind of cliché. Frank Castle has indeed zero experience but he's a genius in the battlefield being two or three steps forward from the rest of the Platoon.

If you liked "Valley Forge, Valley Forge", this book is for you. Ennis did show us some POV views about Frank and sent us directly to the past. We basically travel through time from present to the past. Frank's story is being told by someone who knows him well.

The success of this first issue had the hands of Goran Parlov and Jordie Bellaire. I would even risk saying that this is his best work in a Punisher book.

Great visuals, not too fancy but great. He has the ability to makes the readers focus on what matters. I really liked how he portrayed Frank Castle. Frank has a huge built and his body stands out the rest of the Platoon.

His expression was well caught. Despite the apparent lack of experience, his eyes reveal a huge self-confidence and an unbreakable will. 

This issue is a set up for all the upcoming issues, don't expect action in it but the storytelling did all the work that I didn't feel the need for action and expect some comeback characters from Punisher MAX and Fury Max!

Overall Rate: 8.5 / 10

Posted by Ivo Santos 

PC POST #379: -REVIEW- THE PUNISHER #16

Penultimate issue is out and puts together old foes. The Punisher and Face... With many updates to his own skillset!

Sadly Becky Cloonan's Punisher run is coming to an end. One more issue to go right when she found the perfect formula for her to portray the character. But she will not tap out until she wrapped up an old settle between Frank and Face. 

This issue is fast paced and the Punisher was conveniently placed in the right spot of the action meaning in the hospital that Face was recovering.

Most of this issue is about the Punisher vs Face and what an upgrade Face had. His face is now shaped like a skull and his body assimilated the overdose of EMC that will make him stronger and faster by default.

These two had a great fight in several pages being Face physically superior but Frank tactically smart to overcome that lack of strength.

The dialogue was good and the bit of humor was on point, without turning this issue into a comedy. I have to give credit to Cloonan for making Face a more interesting character than it was for 12 issues and my only regret is that she could make all these changes way back and make the first two arcs way more interesting than it was in the first place.

On the other hand, I'm glad she could catch up with good quality issues and now we will wrap up this story with a bang, next issue.

Matt Horak's art was really good. Since the last issue, the artwork seems to improved a lot. The battle between Frank and Face was graphically on top with great colors and especially the fight that occurred in the flames.

Now, I will give credits to Horak to make Face one of the most creepy Punisher villains I've ever seen. He remembered me a lot of another Punisher villain called Deke Wainscroft back into the graphic novel P.O.V.

Derrick Wainscroft

Face

The cover was once again superb with Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire delivering a creepy tooth of Face. With of course a skull in between the front teeth. It's curious, in every Punisher cover they draw always a skull. Sometimes it's not so visible but it's always there. Great touch by these two writers!

Overall Rate: 8.5 / 10

Review by Ivo Santos ( FB / Twitter )

PC POST #378: -OPINION- THE PUNISHER TRAILER + Details

It took me awhile to write this article but finally let's start to talk a bit in about the newest Punisher trailer who got us all pumped up!

Check it out below!

After seeing the trailer this is nothing like we have ever seen before. It's emotionally intense and with an amazing action that makes the viewers stuck to the screen. To add to this amazing equation Netflix decided to call upon nostalgia and give to the trailer soundtrack "One" by Metallica.

This trailer does give to every viewer the direction Netflix/Marvel wants for the character and they were pretty convincing, also gives us some sort of plot keys to what's going to happen, Frank Castle is being hunted by Homeland, FBI, etc..

There have been some myths that were built around this trailer and some controversy. Based in MY OPINION i will try to clear that out.

Maria Castle wasn't killed in the bedroom with Frank

Like it was mentioned in Daredevil season 2, Castle's family were killed in Central Park during a meet with three gangs, the Mexican Cartel, the Irish and Dogs of Hell. This meeting was set up by Blacksmith. But looks like it didn't end here, Blacksmith was just the guy who arranged the meeting. This particular image is a dream sequence that turns out to be a nightmare for Frank.

Who/What is Zubair?

"Zubair" seems to be a vital element for everything that went "wrong" with this covert operation that Frank Castle was part of.

So what is/who Zubair? Zubair is the guy who's being tortured in the video that Frank is watching.

We don't know yet who he is but a few days ago one of the official accounts from the Punisher series leaked this image.

Rawlins

Rawlins is a Punisher comic book character and was also a CIA operator. In this portrayal, he is more than just a single operator he is the man in charge of CIA.
We don't know yet what went wrong in that covert operation I mentioned above but Rawlins and Frank shared a past together back in the day.
In the first trailer was shown both characters fighting and we saw Rawlins with a serious injured in the eye.

Aside from being the head of CIA and want to take out Frank for something that happened in the past, I believe we will be seeing some sort of grudge about Frank that will make it personal for that injury.

Micro

Micro, another character that belongs to the Punisher comics, created by Mike Baron. This take seems to be a little different from the comics. From what I have seen in the trailer both characters have a common goal, getting rid of the guys who are after Frank and probably him too.

It's still a clue why he will be joining Frank, Micro doesn't seem to have a son but he has a wife, maybe something bad will happen to her...

FBI, Homeland & CIA

There's been a lot of people saying that the government is after Frank. Well, it's not the government. It's a guy who has a grudge against Frank who runs the CIA and he sees him as a loose end he should have died when his family was killed. 

FBI and Homeland Security because he's a fugitive. In case you forgot he escaped from prison in Daredevil season 2. He's a wanted man.

Not to mention those mercs from ANVIL, the military private corporation that is owned by Billy Russo that was probably contracted to get rid of Frank. 

So basically it's the Punisher vs the World.

There's still no official release date for this series but more and more I'm thinking that they will release all the episodes by surprise.

Posted by Ivo Santos ( FB / Twitter)

PC POST #377: New Marvel's the Punisher promo and some thoughts about the soldiers who are hunting down Frank.

Another promo is out and this one is bloody and violent. It's 30 seconds of pure mayhem when we see Frank in the hoods killing some soldiers one by one.

It was amazing how they developed these specific fighting scenes when we see Frank Castle pull off some amazing guerrilla warfare techniques to beat those soldiers to the ground permanently. While seeing Frank Castle in this specific situation it gave me some sort of nostalgia from the classic film "FIRST BLOOD" ( Rambo I).

Check out the teaser:

Here is the question who are these soldiers? Well, one thing is almost certain, these are not soldiers from the government. These soldiers are from some sort of private military company and they might belong to Anvil Corporation that was founded and headed by Billy Russo.

On the other side, these soldiers seem to have the same gear as we see Frank using in this picture.

"I'm coming for you." These are the words from Frank Castle in this short teaser but to who he is talking about? Rawlins or Russo? Or both?

Despite that, we don't have a release date. I guess we will find out to whom Frank was threatening somewhere in the upcoming months.

Ivo Santos [FB/Twitter]