The last time Nathan Edmondson wrote a #2 for a All New Marvel NOW! series, it was a complete improvement on a proof-of-concept #1. Can he pull the same trick twice?
Written by Nathan Edmondson
Illustrated by Mitch Gerads
For years, The Punisher has waged a war on crime in New York City with an array of very large guns, but a lead on a major source of drugs, weapons, and more has set his many sights due west. NOW! Frank Castle’s in the City of Angels, looking to give the devil his due. Things aren’t all they appear, though, with a highly trained military hit squad hot on Frank’s tail. Caught between a posse of Punisher predators and targets of his own one-man-war, Frank’s manifest destiny may be a shallow grave!
The answer to that question, by the way, is apparently yes. It seems like Nathan Edmondson is making a habit of having a first issue that hits the mark, but is let down by its nature of being a first issue and then following it up with a haymaker of a second issue. The first issue of Edmondson and Mitch Gerads’ new take on “The Punisher” established the new status quo of Frank Castle’s new life in L.A. while also establishing those he is hunting and the ones who are hunting him. It was a solid first issue that really seemed focused on the shift in tone from Punisher books of the past and catching everyone up on the new status quo. Here, we get to see a little bit more of Frank’s new life as well as a hint that it might not be Frank who is hunting the cartel, but the cartel who is hunting him.
The thing that sets this book apart the most from Punisher books in the past is the change in tone. With Frank’s move to L.A., his life has become a lot bright. Literally. Even from the first page showing Frank raiding a Mexican village in the middle of the day it’s clear that this isn’t the grimy and gritty, dipped in fog and rain Punisher of New York. And a lot of that is down to Mitch Gerads who does bring a lot of grit by way the of his harsh inks, but creates a whole new kind of tone with colour. The pink-washed, sun-beat opening and the earthy tones throughout create a very different kind of Punisher book than you might be used to, but teaming that with Edmondson’s spot-on writing makes it feel just familiar enough to feel right. While Edmondson’s Frank may have a friendlier demeanour than usual, it’s in the narration that he gets it spot on.
“Too dangerous for the cops. Not big enough for the superheroes. But a proper fight for me.” That’s the kind of narration that shows that Edmondson get Frank, but it could also serve as a tagline for the book as a whole in the way that ‘No capes. No masks. No mercy.’ did for Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Marvel Knights run. It condenses who Edmondson and Gerads are portraying the Punisher to be: not someone who hates superheroes and cops, but someone who can do what they can’t. That’s what drives the book, a sense that the Punisher is the only one who could really take out crime like the cartel. It’s perhaps a nobler, more human look at the character than we’ve seen recently, but it works. From the little nods like Frank’s penchant for superhero-referencing attire to adopting a wild animal to keeping a small connection to the police and armed forces through his network of people, it’s different but ultimately familiar. While the move to L.A. may have been a definitely departure in terms of visual tone for the book, Edmondson and Gerads have gone out of their way to make sure this still feels like a Punisher book.
The other thing that Edmondson and particularly Gerads do well here is their use of action in the issue. The way they fuse both the realistic military approach to Frank’s tactics (something everyone was expecting thanks to “The Activity”) and more conventional ‘action movie’ style scenes really liven up the book. This isn’t just one-note scenes of the Punisher walking into a room with a high-powered rifle and riddling anyone he sees full of lead. This is Gerads switching from the Punisher tactically infiltrating a warehouse and taking out the entire room to the Punisher on the back of a motorbike versus a pick-up without missing a beat. The book seems determined to keep throwing new situations at Frank to see how he reacts and thanks to Gerads art, it really keeps the reader on their toes. You never know just what’s going to happen next or what Frank is going to go up against next and that’s actually exciting. This isn’t your daddy’s “I’m the Punisher and I’m going to be sad about it” comic. This is Edmondson and Gerads having a hell of a lot of fun just throwing shit at Frank to see how he gets out of it.
Continued belowUltimately, this is another example of Nathan Edmondson using the second issue of a series to take what worked in the first issue and improving on the rest. With the help of Mitch Gerads’ art, they have created a very different kind of Punisher book than we’re used to, but it works because of how familiar it is at the same time. It’s action-packed and bright and vibrant and just a lot of fun and it’s exactly what the book needed to be to step out of the long shadow of the Punisher runs that came before it. This issue will hopefully put to rest any comparisons to Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto’s time on the book as it’s clear they are very different animals.
Though, I still want to know what happened to Rachel Alves.
Final Verdict 8.5 – Unless you’re somehow against having fun, this is a series you should consider buying.
