There are a lot of comics out there, but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. This week we are considering the divisive new “Punisher” series!
Who’s this by?
The latest run of “Punisher” is written by Jason Aaron, with art by Jesus Saiz and Paul Azaceta. The great Dave Stewart is on colors, and lettering is by VC’s Cory Petit. You probably know Jason Aaron; he’s a prolific Marvel writer at this point. He started out at Marvel writing gritty lone warrior characters like Ghost Rider and Wolverine before landing on “Thor.” The Aaron “Thor” run is almost universally lauded, and is doubtlessly his magnum opus. Aaron has actually written “Punisher” before, though not a mainline 616 comic. He was the author on the second volume of “Punisher MAX,” which is at least as demented as you’d probably assume. Aaron is currently the writer on “Avengers,” a book that a lot of people are much cooler on, though it has it’s fun moments.
Jesus Saiz is an artist who immediately leaves an impression. After establishing himself on books like “Swamp Thing” he came over to Marvel to do a “Ka-Zar” book and a “Star Wars.” The flashbacks in “Punisher” are drawn by Paul Azaceta, who has “BPRD” credits to his name, so he’s great at shadowy noire and bold, blocky characters. Both artists have their moments, but Azaceta’s style fits much better with the story. As talented as Dave Stewart is (we at Multiversity love Dave Stewart) he’s the odd fit for this team. Stewarts colors are mismatched with Azaceta’s digital linework. The colors are plenty attractive, but the textures, especially shadows on skin, look like an old Playstation game.
What’s it all about?
Frank Castle has long been a prolific murderer. Now he’s known as the King of Killers, the lord of ninja clan The Hand. The story mainly concerns Frank’s relationship with the high priestess of the Hand, who seems to think she can mold the Punisher into becoming her perfect murderer, one who shows proper respect to her god, The Beast. In order to manipulate him, The Hand has used their resurrection magic to vivify Frank’s dead wife, and to hold the promise of bringing his kids back over his head indefinitely
But Frank already had a patron god (probably without his knowledge or consent): Ares, Greek god of war. So while Frank has to match wits with the Hand on the homefront, he is tormented by Ares and his minions around the world.
So why should I read this?
Boy does the book feel ill-advised. Let us count the ways. Punisher is always going to be a challenging character. He celebrates a very feasible form of vigilante justice, armed with a zillion guns and his deep convictions. The problem is that real life has plenty of people with guns, but moral convictions are harder to come by. This is made even more difficult by the institution of American police, who not only are a group of prolific extra-judicial murderers, but many of whom have taken the iconography of the Punisher for themselves, as an un-ironic celebration of murder. I live around the corner from my small town’s Republican offices and they sell a plethora of unlicensed Punisher merch, like stickers where the skull logo has Donald Trump’s haircut. The Disney corporation has been litigious enough to demand a daycare be repainted and the grave of a literal deceased child to be changed, but their lawyers don’t seem to have a problem with this use of Punisher. It feels like a sick, tacit endorsement. This practice has been investigated. The corporate policy casts a new “Punisher” series in a bad (even worse!) light.
And is Jason Aaron really the guy who’s going to solve those problems? I think Aaron is crazy talented, but I wouldn’t call him the most sensitive of writers. Plus this very premise gives me pause. Maybe there’s a cool story to be told where Punisher reconciles his relationship with the police. This book instead makes him the monarch of an army of nameless Japanese people, appropriating their culture’s imagery. The odds are completely stacked against this book.
Continued belowBut strangely, it’s a great read? Aaron truly is such a talented writer, with great pacing and excellent prose, that this book can’t help but be a blast. While the book conspicuously shies away from interrogating its protagonist, it is so imaginative and thrilling that I can’t stop reading. Aaron has a weird talent for coming up with over the top weaponry and superpowers, and he’s really letting that part of himself loose in this series (there is a “gun that shoots cars!”). The image of Ares’ minions, who wear pressed suits with Spartan helmets, is excellent comic book iconography.
Even the pretty sexist idea of using Frank’s dead wife and kids as bargaining chips to serve his story is pretty compelling. Aaron is writing the definitive origin for Punisher. Flashbacks to Frank’s childhood, his army days, and even his time on a hockey team (really!) make for a brutal and gripping tale. And in the very least, Aaron understands how icky the whole dead-wife-zombie thing is, and that’s actually a major component of the story and its themes. He even makes all the stupid mythology with the Beast, one of the least interesting Marvel deities, pretty damn intriguing. He makes me want to read more stories exploring The Beast, and that’s more than any other Marvel writer has managed to do in the last ten years.
Does this “Punisher” fix any of the inherent problems with the character? No, it sidesteps them with a shrug. “Punisher” is most definitely not for everyone. It’s a comic about a bad, sad guy making bad, sad choices, and being miserable. But through sheer force of will and talent, this book is a pretty good story. I can’t emphasize enough how surprised I am at how much I look forward to new installments of this series.
How can I read this?
“Punisher” is currently coming out in issues, which you can purchase at your local comic book shop. The earlier issues in the series are just starting to make their way to Marvel Unlimited, and the first trade paperback will be collected in the next month. I encourage you to follow your morbid curiosity and give this book a glance!
