Mobsters, terrorists, neo-Nazis, religious fanatics, armored killers, no one's too tough for the Punisher! Follow the trail of blood as Frank Castle's war on crime takes him across the country, south of the border, back to school and Down Under! Plus: The Man With Lots Of Guns vs. the Man Without Fear in a crossover with Daredevil! And who will live and die when the Punisher leads what might be the world's shortest-lived crime-fighting team against the Kingpin of Crime? With Typhoid Mary and a cameo by the X-Men! Collects Punisher #1-20, Annual #1 and Daredevil #257
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
The Punisher in His Prime:
The Punisher's earlier works, depicted in the first Essential volume, were all over the map in terms of the Punisher's portrayal. This volume depicts the character at his best, straddling the line betwixt the PG-rated version of the late 70s (when he was still using "mercy bullets") and the R-rated MAX version, (which often tries too hard to assure the audience that it's "grown up"). Here the action is fun and not just for shock value; and while the Punisher is an anti-hero, he retains a sense of decency... more info
Essential Punisher is Essential Reading:
Not a bad anthology of Punny comics from the late 80s. Artwork and stories have decent enough depth to them, as does the taut action. Not a perfect collection, and the Max comics out now are much better since they are more adult-oriented...but remember these are from the 80s. If you like Punisher and want to read some decent adventures of this iconoclastic Marvel hero, then check out this collection. I think you'll like it.
Unintentionally funny:
The Punisher managed to strike a chord with readers when Gerry Conway first introduced him way back when in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, which would eventually result in a smash hit mini-series from Steven Grant and the great Mike Zeck. His popularity would spawn his first ongoing series, which this second Essential Punisher TPB collects the first twenty issues of. However, the stories featured here don't really amount to a whole lot, and are the beginning of the overblow of overexposure the character... more info
