Garth Ennis does all that he can to be the definitive voice for the Punisher, and he is reuniting with artist Goran Parlov to tell a lost story from Frank Castle’s history. “Punisher: The Platoon” will act as a prequel to Ennis’s earlier MAX comic “Born.” Both “Born” and the “The Platoon” flashback to Frank’s early days as a soldier in Vietnam.
Parlov has teamed up with Ennis before on “Punisher MAX” including the now famous “Barracuda” and “Valley Forge, Valley Forge” storylines. Both of those combined manic violence with a deep dive into the twisted psyche of the Punisher.
“”Born” was set during Frank’s third tour of duty in Vietnam,” Ennis said in an interview with Newsarama. ” In this one we’ll see how he manages to impress a number of, shall we say, talent-spotters – who are constantly keeping an eye on things from behind the scenes.”
Ennis promises that the story will get into the first time Frank took a human life, but says that the much more interesting angle for the story is seeing what Frank was like as a very young man. Parlov was similarly excited. “To me he is the same ole guy we know from the Punisher MAX books,” he said, “Only younger and in different environment. I am sure readers will recognize our Frank right away under that helmet.”
“Punisher: the Platoon” will be a six-issue miniseries. No release date has been announced yet.
