Written by Rick Remender
Penciled by Roland BoschiBetrayal! In the Punisher’s absence, the Jigsaw Brothers have carved out a respectable niche in New York’s criminal underground. But Frank Castle is back, and he’s killing their men — a lot of ‘em. Good thing for them, the Jigsaw Brothers know Frank well, and they have a contingency plan, one that’s been in place, gestating, for a long time. Frank has forgiven the fact his cyber sensei, Henry, is the son of Billy Russo, Jigsaw I. What will his trust cost him? The Punisher will soon discover in the Russo family, blood runs thick.
Rick Remender is back with more Punisher-y goodness. The first issue was quite the start to the mini, but let’s see what else Remender has in store for us, yes? Find out my thoughts after the cut.
Lately I find myself a rather huge fan of Rick Remender. Between Uncanny X-Force and the recently announced Venom title, I have found myself eagerly going back on my anti-Frankencastle stance and looking at what I missed. Through back issue hunts I’ve caught up on a Punisher story that is rather truly unique, and I find myself regretting my avoidance a tad.
In catching up though, I find myself rather disappointed with the second issue of In The Blood. I thought the first issue was a great jumping on point, especially as someone who avoided Frankencastle, and that sort of accessibility speaks volumes about the shape of the story. While obviously there rare things that have carried over from the earlier issues of the Punisher relaunch (once Dark Reign started), the pages at the beginning of the issue more than help readers get acclimated with the plot. However, what I found rather odd is that while the previous issue saw the return of Remender’s wildly out of control (and morbidly hilarious) Punisher on a rampage, this issue slows things down a lot. It was actually a little surprising to see the issue paced as it was given the high-octane ride Remender has putting the character on through his run on the book, and the majority of the issue relied solely on exposition. That’s not entirely uncommon for a Punisher book, but the change was rather noticable.
Furthermore, Remender attempts a new tone and writing style with this issue that is most noticeable in the opening Jigsaw sequence. As Jigsaw Sr. has a chat with his son about their relationship with “Franky”, Remender uses rapid-fire back and forth dialogue in the same way that Bendis is known for (especially in the most recent issue of New Avengers, #7). What works for Bendis doesn’t neccesarily work for Remender though, as the “realistic” dialogue here just plays out rather under pitch and tone for the average of the title, and further exposition sequences, such as the reveal of where MicroChip is, continue the awkward play-by-play dialogue. Remender definitely has a tone that is quite frequently apparent in his books like Fear Agent or even recently in Uncanny X-Force, and I don’t feel like the change here works too well. The book works best when it’s an insane dark-humor thrill ride – the talky issue, while it’s intent is apparent with the given reveals and twists by the end of the issue – adds a few uneven bumps along the road.
The final element of the book is what really throws me off in my enjoyment for this title, and that’s the art. The last time I reviewed this title, I noted that we had been notably spoiled with the talents of Tony Moore and Jerome Opena, but as both are tied up in other projects it’s understandable why we can’t have them. However, Boschi’s style is just so jagged and at times borderline minimalist that it takes away from the title, and I would go so far as to say that this issue actually looks worse than the previous issue did, which is an oddity. Boschi doesn’t fill the pages like Opena and Moore do, nor does he have as a great take on body structure and facial features. It’s arguably the element of the book that solely detracts from the enjoyment factor the most, and it does so in a rather notable way.
To cut a long story short, Punisher: In The Blood is the final part of Remender’s Punisher story, and in many ways I really want to cheer it on. I want to like the title more than I do, and I have faith in Remender’s ability at storytelling to provide a satisfying pay-off by the end. Remender is notable for the way he often treats the characters he’s riding with a “no-holds barred” attitude, and that’s always a huge plus in my book with a writer. However, with this issue slowly the pace down tremendously as well as art that isn’t very easy on the eyes (especially from a huge company like Marvel, who you’d assume would have Remender partner up with talent like Opena or Moore again), I’m just crossing my fingers that the next issue is better than this given the last page twist.
Final Verdict: 7.3 – Buy
