By: Garth Ennis Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 296 Publication Date: June 27, 2007
Product Description: This deluxe hardcover collects Punisher MAX Vol. 5: The Slavers and Punisher MAX Vol. 6: Barracuda, plus extras. In The Slavers, Frank Castle brutally dispatches a crew of Albanian thugs menacing a young woman on a pitch-black Brooklyn night, in a dead-end alley. Her name is Viorica, she's from Moldavia, and when she tells Frank her story, that's when the real killing starts! And in Barracuda, the Punisher meets his match! Jigsaw, Ma Gnucci, the Russian - Frank has faced some fearsome foes in his day, but none as stone-cold rotten to the bone as the Barracuda. He's big, he's mean, and the last thing on earth you want is to see him smile. Collects Punisher #25-36.
A Mixed Bag This was the first of the Punisher MAX volumes I picked up, and the one which got me hooked. My first imprssion: Wow, it's a big, attractive hardcover with amazing artwork throughout! And after you start immersing yourself in the almost 300 pages of story, you immediately begin to appreciate just how well written it is. Garth Ennis is a master at weaving gritty, believable tales that are shot through with dark humor, and the Punisher franchise was the perfect vehicle through which to display his talent. Thirty minutes into reading this, I had to put it down and order volumes 1 and 2. I've since ordered the fourth volume as well (be gettin' it any day now!).
What struck me most about the two stories presented in this volume is just how different they are from each other. The first story, about Frank taking on a white slavery ring, is the grimmest tale told so far in the three volumes I've read. The second, "Barracuda," is the most laugh-out-loud funny, over-the-top of the Punisher storylines. Both are well worth reading. I'd say, if you're not sure whether or not you wanna dive into the Punisher MAX universe, check out Volume One first. It's arguably the best of the first three in every regard. And if you've read the first two and are on the fence about picking this one up, then do so. It's well on par with everything I've seen from this series, and some of Garth Ennis's best work to date.
This series just gets better and better as I read! Ok I just got my book today and I am already done! I tried to leave some reading for another time but I cant help myself! This story is just so awesome! Like the other volumes before, I could not take my eyes away from this book for a second! The story is gripping and the Punisher is such a solid character! The artwork is just that, a masterpeice of bloody visuals and sickening scene that will leave you die hard Punisher fans on the edge of your seat begging for more bloodshed! I plan on sticking to this series for as long as it stays true and keeps delivering the goods.
None of the violence can be justified unless you have a gripping story to pull you along and this series has it!
The only thing this series leaves me wondering is why cant they make a PUNSHER movie that follows this series? Much more interesting in my opinion!
Invest in this series if you havent already!
best so far This is one of the best on going series out right now. From volume 1 i was hooked, but things just keep getting better and the barracuda storyline is the best yet from ennis. i read the entire preacher series when i was just shy of high school, and thought it was the best piece of literature ever created, and still admire it to this day. Ennis is probably the best adult comic book writers to ever exist, and he continues to astound in punisher max. i commend marvel for finally creating its own adult line, it took them awhile but this series is one to rival the other greats of dc's vertigo line, such as 100 bullets and aforementioned preacher. you must read this series, you will not be disappointed. I absolutely despise superheroe comics, but the punisher is the anti-superheroe,and i can't get enough.
third brutal hardcover collects slavers & barracuda, two stories with a big difference.Slavers was a story about human trafficing in the USA and was the hardest hitting of all punisher max stories.Barracuda was a more mindless fun and violence type of story, which i needed after the first half of this book.I can see why barracuda got his own little spin off because he was really a great addition to the punisher max line.All in all well balanced for fans of the max version of the punisher,cant wait to get the fourth hardcover.
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