Product Description: In the first story "In the Beginning," Frank Castle's old associate Microchip is back, and he's after the Punisher. But first, he's got an offer for Frank that he'd better not refuse. Get ready for blazing bullets, bloodbaths, and bold beginnings! In "Kitchen Irish," Frank embarks on a deadly mission that pits him against two rival gangs when a bomb explodes in a Hell's Kitchen pub. One thing is certain: The Punisher won't be pulling his punches! Collect Punisher (2004) #1-12 and Punisher: The End.
Ennis will surely influence me... Let me just start this by saying that this is the one time that I've loved something so much that I actually didn't care that people thought that I was my mother when I wrote a review. I'm 17 and waiting until next year to get my own Amazon Account.
Well, growing up,I was always looking up to my older brothers. They are 11 and 13 years older than me. My older brother highly influenced my taste in music and video games. My oldest brother highly influenced my taste in books and movies.
I remember that my oldest brother always liked reading. He would take maybe ten books into the bathroom and not come out until he was finished reading them all. Well, besides reading Stephen King novels, he also read a lot of comic books (not so much anymore).
I also remember trying to develop my own taste in comics (because I know how annoying it is to have someone constantly copying you). So one summer I bought a Punisher comic. it was 48 pages. It was good, but not what I expected. It was about the Punisher hunting down a villain who was into the snuff movie business. (A snuff film is a movie where a person or persons actually die on-screen.)
The Punisher was in his street clothes and that was cool. Then at night, he put on these tacky black tights, with skin tight white boots, and a matching top. Then I thought, 'I don't care who you are, if you go around New York City fighting crime in tights, you're going to get killed by gangsters who will call you choice words. No vigilante in their right mind, let alone a person with military training, would run around fighting crime in spandex (Batman is exempt from this rule)... Not that Frank Castle is sane. Ever since then, I didn't care for the Punisher, or any other comics for that matter. I felt they were made for little seven-year old kids. Then I found out about Watchmen, and I started getting into graphic novels, which were more adult-oriented, I felt.
When I found out about Marvel's MAX series and that it was adult oriented, I got excited. This was actually my third graphic novel. I was looking for a character to call my own favorite superhero, my brother's is Batman, and my father's is Thor. When I saw the cover of 'Punisher MAX, Vol. 1,' and saw that The Punisher wasn't wearing some flamboyant spandex outfit, I had to check it out. I read all the great reviews, and decided to buy it. (Honestly, the whole 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' theory is rubbish. If you weren't meant to judge a book by it's cover, it wouldn't have a cover, it would be a solid color with the title on it. These companies would spend money on producing book jackets if it didn't make a difference in sales.)
Waiting for it to come in the mail, I was very impatient as well. I spent the whole week looking up sneak peeks to the series, and pictures of The Punisher in his glory. I got it, read the first part, 'In the Beginning' and thought, 'This is cool.' Then I read the second part, 'Kitchen Irish' and thought, 'This is the greatest thing I've ever read.' The first part really seems more informative than anything. There's an epic battle at the end, which was very good.
But 'Kitchen Irish' is the really the best part, Ennis does a wonderful job developing many other characters, as well as The Punisher. No more tacky spandex, no more symbols instead of curses, no more censorship, just pure, realistic story. 'In the Beginning' is essential to the story of The Punisher, and I highly recommend reading it. Ennis has a knack for twists, and his Punisher series is full of them. If you're looking for something really good to read, get this. Now. I actually just finished the book today, and I'm gonna order the next two volumes this week.
Ennis will surely influence me as a filmmaker, which is the career I'm currently pursuing.
Buy It, Now! Garth Ennis's work with the Punisher easily merits comparison with Frank Miller's "Sin City" series. It's bloody, remorseless noir fiction at its finest, and moreso than Miller, Ennis manages to work in a bit of levity here and there to make the mayhem that much easier to stomach. The stories aren't just about the Punisher, which is part of what makes them so appealing. Ennis fills his dark world with fascinating, often bizarre characters, and the Punisher in a way serves as both a narrator and a malicious force of nature driving these irredeemable souls to their inevitable, blood-drenched doom. If you're an Ennis fan, a Punisher fan, or even a Frank Miller fan, then I'd highly recommend this series for you, and this first volume especially.
Watch yer step, might slip on the blood! All I have to say is WOW!!! I hated The Punisher movie staring Tom Jane. It was a typical Hollywood POS! It almost killed my hopes of a good Punisher character/story. But this book is everything I had hoped for. For years I never got to see one of my favorite Marvel Charaters as he is supposed to be shown. Blood and guts yes but there is also a awesome story to match the beauty that is illustrated in The Punisher Vol 1. Readers will be treated to early battles and wont have to wait too long for Castle to do what he does best. I waited a while to make sure that this is what I wanted and I a so upset with myself that I waited to get this!! I will start collecting the other Vol VERY soon and I will watch for more from this series! If you are a square then you wont like this book but if you think outside the box and love to have a story toss you around and spit you back out then this is it! All you need is right here! BLOOD, GUNS, THE MOB, CASTLE! If you were thinkning about purchasing this book then stop thinkning and buy it already, you WILL NOT be dissapointed! LOOK FOR PUNISHER: WAR ZONE coming to theaters SOON!!!
Old Skool Punisher Max reads a lot like the movie that came out at the time - straight up, violent, and pretty much like any gangster flick you can think of with a lot more violence and gore (read: splattered brains and body parts). If you're looking for extreme violence, splat 'em up kind of panels - Punisher Max does a good job and the Extreme tag on this book lives up to its label.
But oddly, there's nothing new here. The Punisher is a straight yet complex character - where Garth Ennis's bloke approach fails is in the empathy section. The beauty of the Punisher is how a marginalised man has become a vigilante that we may not admire, but we do empathize with. Frank Castle feels untamed (as he should) but perhaps almost too straightforward. Violence does the talking, as it should, but this didn't grab me. When violence undermines the characters - and the Punisher's code is compromised or unclear - the result is moral ambiguity but a less compelling Punisher. His twisted code and brand of justice is what keeps him compelling and there are some interesting characters in this one (who don't make it to the end unfortunately - I would've kept reading this series if they had).
I'd just come off reading Punisher: War Journal (Civil War) and Matt Fraction / Ariel Olivetti's rounded and slightly humorous approach to Frank Castle work a lot better for me. Lots more irony and comic book moments in that one. Mr Punisher is a lone ranger that needs a supporting cast. Making him too trigger happy and we forget he's supposed to be part of an interesting storyline, not just a force of nature.
The best series on the punisher!! The Punisher Max series written by Garth Ennis(Preacher) is the best run on the character. I recommend any of these collected volumes to anyone and especially those who were disappointed in the movie because the movie is G-rated compared to this.
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