CREDIT: Marvel Comics
Rating: 4.5/5 – A Good Balance of Superhero and Realistic Violence.
by ComicSpectrum reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
Punisher number six concludes the opening storyline to this All-New Marvel Now Punisher series. Overall, this series has been a blast from the opening issue, and in this concluding chapter it goes out with a bang. Writer Nathan Edmonson and artist Mitch Gerads have really made this book unique from other Punisher series in the past, while maintaining and staying true to who Frank Castle is.
This issue opens up with a line from the Punisher as he says, “this is a world of super heroes and super villains…sometimes I’m not sure I’m cut out for it”. It’s a great line that really defines this series and this issue as Frank not only tries to deal with the Los Angeles gang Dos Soles, but Electro as well. Going up against Electro in this opening arc hasn’t been easy, but Edmonson writes the story in a way that makes you feel as though the Punisher would be able to take a villain like him on. Not only that, but Frank also has to deal with a group of elite soldiers calling themselves the Howling Commandos which is a nice tie to Marvel’s old military team. As the Punisher feels the stress, you as the reader do as well as everything seems to be closing in on him.
In terms of the art, Mitch Gerads does a fantastic job of balancing the realistic and fantastic. He’s able to draw an action scene between the Punisher and Electro, and in the next, he’s able to draw the military and technical aspects of the Howling Commandos. Add to that the heavy blue palette that Gerads not only has used on the first six covers, but has used heavily on the interiors as well. The colors really sets the book apart and adds to the mood and tone.
The Punisher has had some high quality series in the past five to ten years and this one is no exception. It’s great to see the balance that this creative team has struck by placing the Punisher between superheroes and the everyday, and the last page of this issue is absolutely bringing me back for more.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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