The last time we checked in on “The Trial Of The Punisher”, we saw that Marc Guggeheim and Leinil Yu created a strong opening to a Punisher story unlike any other. Here, despite only Guggenheim returning for the second issue, is the conclusion to the miniseries. Does it stick the landing? Well, let’s find out.
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Illustrated by Mico Suayan
• The PUNISHER faces justice for his crimes!
• Prosecution witness: MATT MURDOCK
• Why did the Punisher murder a district attorney?
In the first issue of “The Trial Of The Punisher”, Marc Guggenheim put Frank Castle in the last place you’d expect him to be: a courtroom. After killing an assisstant District Attorney, Castle turned himself into the police in order to secure himself a trial for his crimes. He even brought the body along as evidence. How courteous. To explain why Castle set all this in motion would be to spoil the crux of this issue, so all I’ll say is that there is definitely a point to this series and this series brings all to a close nicely. Now, one of the things that stood out about the first issue was Guggenheim’s knowledge of the American criminal justice system thanks to his experience being a lawyer and that is definitely still at play here.
The second issue of the series picks up almost exactly where the first left off with the trial of Frank Castle picking up steam. Guggenheim uses this to explore the point of the trial, examining just how sane a guy who calls himself the Punisher really is, to great effect through the use of witnesses. He also uses this to sow the seeds of the issue’s conclusion which thankfully gives this series more of a point. Although it does create quite the gap between issues in that the first now serves primarily as an extended introduction of the events of this issue. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just leaves this issue feeling a great deal more story-heavy than the previous. This makes the fact that the conclusion of the issue, and the series, wraps up extremely quickly. The conclusion isn’t anti-climactic, but it does rush through the last six pages almost as if the comic itself had only just realised how little space it had left. Guggenheim’s writing is strong throughout, but the stretch of this story from a one-shot to a two-issue mini during production is very noticeable in how it has been paced an structured.
Thankfully, Guggenheim makes up for that fact by giving Castle a lot more to do in this issue. In the previous issue, we saw the events of the story happen around Frank who, in retrospect, kind of just sat there. Here, not only does Frank get to kick ass in the conclusion, but we see more action-packed flashbacks thanks to the use of witness testimonies. It’s a nice touch over the first issue as, going into a Punisher story, it’s kind of nice to see him actually act like the Punisher and shows that Guggenheim would be more than comfortable handling the character full time.
Guggenheim is joined here not by Leinil Yu, as the cover suggests, but by Mico Suayan on art. This is another noticeable effect of expanding the series and doesn’t help the flow between issues, but Suayan’s raw talent more than makes up for it. Suayan continues the overtly noir sensibilities that Leinil Yu showcased in the first issue to make the transition feel as smooth as possible. And, for the most part, it really does. Despite my complaint about needing to switch artists, switching from Yu to Suayan is simply sublime. This is also helped by Sunny Gho remaining as the colourist who drapes the art in dark, noir atmosphere. Suayan also draws one of the best Punisher vs. Daredevil fight scenes ever committed to comics which makes this comic worth reading on it’s own. However, if there is one problem with Suayan’s art, it’s that his Frank Castle is clearly modelled on Jon Hamm. This isn’t a tirade against the use of photo-reference, it’s just noticeable enough to break the immersion of the atmosphere the Suayan’s art and Guggenheim’s writing creates.
Overall, this is as strong a conclusion as this series could get. The seams are clearly showing from where this story was expanded from one to two issues, leaving some parts feeling rushed and muddied, but it still holds up. Guggenheim’s writing is a clear fit for the Punisher and while placing him in a courtroom doesn’t feel quite as monumental as you think it would, it did lead to some original moments in the storytelling. This is helped by Mico Suayan who ably succeeds Leinil Yu in creating such an atmosphere to the book that even simple courtroom dialogue scenes are engaging. It’s not perfect by any means, but the world isn’t better off without it either.
Final Verdict: 7.2 – If you’re a fan of the Punisher, pick this up. If not, give it a browse and see for yourself.
