The Punisher
Written by Garth Ennis, penciled by Steve Dillon, inked by Jummy Palmiotti.

The Punisher is one of those Marvel titles you used to hear about all the time. Originally conceived as a foe for Daredevil back when it was written by the legendary Frank Miller, the character was portrayed as a psychotic villain who had taken the concepts of crime and punishment too far, and so it was that you often saw him preparing to execute jaywalkers, stop sign runners, smokers, and the like. The late eighties, however, saw the invasion of the "hero" in the comic world (thanks to Miller, primarily, whose Dark Knight Returns broke new, violent ground), and The Punisher was soon relegated to "tortured hero" status. His popularity increased with his body count, and it seemed for several years that no Marvel comic was complete without an appearance by him, Wolverine, or Ghost Rider -- all of whom fit the anti-hero mold nicely, in that characterization was dumped in favor of brain-numbing action. Thanks to marvel founder Stan Lee's deal with New Line Cinema, the character even got a full-on movie makeover.

But rising stars inimitably fall, and it wasn't long before The Punisher and its respective spin-offs were consigned to comic shop quarter bins right next to Ghost Rider and Darkhawk. A few years later, Marvel declared Chapter 11, and most seasoned fans knew why -- the company had banked on the interests of fickle fans, and when the next big thing came along, old standards like The Punisher were forgotten. At about this same time, a young Scottish writer named Garth Ennis was making a name for himself over at DC Comics on Hellblazer, a violent horror comic still going strong today. Ennis' knack for dialogue, intriguingly bloody situations, and his sardonic sense of humor earned a steady fan base, and he hit it big a short time later with Preacher, which stands alone as the best comic series of the nineties.

Lately, Marvel has been playing the "everything old is new again" game, and they've achieved success with hero revamps, notably a terrific Daredevil story arc penned by celebrity guest-writer Kevin Smith, who proved to be the only writer to have an innate understanding of the horned one since Frank Miller. It was only natural that The Punisher would rear his ugly head sooner or later, but the execs at Marvel have exercised some tremendous judgment and brought Garth Ennis onboard as the book's newest scribe. Ennis' take on the character is at alternate times humorous and horrific, as when a variety of lesser vigilantes pop up to emulate him, or when he feeds local crime boss "Ma" Gnucci to a pack of polar bears (she survives, sans limbs, and continues to command her minions). Indeed, many fans reading this latest incarnation of Marvel's famous avenger have been scratching their heads and wondering why something like this didn't happen sooner.

Ennis instills the book with a vibrant, funny storyline that finally fits the character. The dialogues between squabbling mob factions are a particular delight, as everyone attempts to track the shadow that is Frank Castle. Throw in a renegade priest that offs folks in the confessional, denizens of the undead underworld, and the fact that Castle is now referred to as Mr. Smith, and you have Marvel's quirkiest book in ages. And it's about time. Marvel has been floundering for over fifteen years due to poor business decisions designed to capitalize on "cool" characters who were never really cool at all. Money was spent, holographic covers were designed, artists and writers were royally screwed by big business types, and the numbers went steadily down. Perhaps sensing its own impending apocalypse, the company has been bringing in a slew of actual writers to combat the wreckage left from hacks like Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld. There's Smith on Daredevil, Ennis on The Punisher, Warren Ellis recently took over plotting duties on the satellite X-titles, and screenwriter Bob Gale did an Ant-Man storyline.

It's about time that damn company showed some sense.

Back to the book, the artwork by Steve Dillon is of his typical quality, which, while perfectly serviceable, is nothing terribly special. The accent here is on story, and the penciling fits the tale it has to tell. Still, some nice computer-aided colors might be a boon here, as it could really bring out the characters. The covers benefit from this tremendously, and a book of this quality deserves special treatment through and through.

The Punisher -- geez, who woulda guessed?

-- David Rosiak

The Punisher, published by Marvel Comics, is currently available through comic retailers and newsstands.

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