The Punisher Vol. 1: Welcome Back,
Frank by Steve Dillon
The Best Punisher Comic Out There--Heck, The Best Comic Out There
A white skull on a field of black. In the Marvel Universe, no symbol
inspires fear in the hearts of criminals like the stark calling card of the
Punisher. His wife and children killed in a mob shootout, former
serviceman Frank Castle wages a one-man war on crime, and he wont
stop until hes won no matter how many bullets it takes. Originally a
character who rose to popularity in the law and order Reagan 1980s, The
Punisher has made a spectacular and astonishing return to the top of the
comic book charts. Reinterpreted through the eyes of visionary creators
Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon the masterminds behind DCs Preacher this
ultra violent urban vigilante is taken over the top in stylish, Tarantino-esque
fashion. This time around, the mountains of ammunition are heavily
sprinkled with black humor and stinging social commentary that Ennis and
Dillon have become famous for. The story is pure mythic archetype, with
a several post-modern twists. After a long absence, the Punisher has
returned to the streets of Manhattan, and a criminal elite that has grown
over that time is set on guard. In particular, Ma Gnucchi and her crime

family have been targeted by Castle. Can one man take down an entire
criminal organization with heavy armament alone?
Personal Review: The Punisher Vol. 1: Welcome Back, Frank by
Steve Dillon
The team of mad genious writer, Garth Ennis(Preacher Hellblazer), and
Ennis's partner in crime, artist Steve Dillon(Preacher) have created yet
another masterpeice. What a great way to bring the Punisher title back to
the top! This hardcover graphic novel collects the Marvel Knights 12-issue
Maxi series and the out of print Punisher kills the Marvel Universe, also by
Garth Ennis.
First of all, let's talk about the story, Frank Castle aka the Punisher have
been gone awhile and the criminal scum needs a wake-up call, and here it
comes. Frank's first target is the mob boss Ma Gnucci. But to get to her,
the Punisher needs to thin out her army of thugs first. As Frank slices
through the Gnucci family like a knife through butter, Ma Gnucci starts to
panic and even got the NYPD to help her bring down the Punisher. So who
gets the impossible job of bringing the Punisher down? Detective Martin
Soap, the unluckiest cop in the department. Soap teams up with another
loser cop who have been given the job of bringing down Ma Gnucci and
they hope to hit two birds with one stone. Also, three copy-cat vigilates,
apparently following in the Punisher's footsteps gets onto Franks hitlist, as
he will deal with them at the end of the book. As more and more of her
soldiers get murdered by the Punisher, Ma Gnucci sends the only man
who can take on the Punisher, the goofy yet deadly, the Russian. The fight
scene between the Punisher and the Russian is one of the best fights
scenes ever, and definitely the funniest. A trademark of Garth Ennis is a
funny and sometimes bizzare(especially on Preacher)plot and interesting
characters, and he doesn't dissappoint me here. The supporting cast
includes Frank's neighbors, Mr. Bumpo, Spacker Dave, and Joan. Mr.
Bumpo likes to eat, but he's not too fat, well he's... oh I dunno.....600
pounds?! And Spacker Dave is a teenage fratboy type character with an
assortment of various peircings on his face and seems to spend all of his
time on the front porch of the apartment building. Joan is a shy, lonely girl
who seems like she might kinda have a crush on ol' Frankie, she's pretty
but not too showy, her hair is a little above her shoulders, and she doesn't
where any make-up. And the three copy-cat vigilantes I talked about
earlier, one is a Catholic priest who calls hilself the Holy, and when people
came to cofess about their sins like killing and dealing drugs, he was
enraged and started killin them with an axe. The second one is called Mr.
Payback, a man with an arsenal of guns targeting the rich bissiness
leaders to payback for their corporate crimes. And the last one calls
himself Elite, he kills the drug dealers, and killers, and even some guy
sellin hotdogs, as long as they were doing it in his neighborhood, he kills
them. The usual violence, blood, and humor from Ennis, a great read.

Now let's not forget the superb artwork by artist Steve Dillon, Ennis's
partner from Preacher(also a great comic book, much more violent and
bizzare than this though). I'd like to point out Dillon's amazing ability to
draw detailed faces and depict facial expression. He does a great job here
also in depicting the graphic violence. Dillon draws the best Punisher in my
opinion.
"Punisher kills the Marvel Universe" is a what-if story written by Garth
Ennis, this story does not happen in the Marvel Universe. What if it wasn't
mobsters that killed Frank's family, what if it was superhumans like the X-
men or Avengers? Well Garth Ennis answers that in this what-if story, as
Frank takes on the entire Marvel Universe, all mutants, whether villian or
hero. It's a good story, but a short one and is not penciled by Steve Dillon.
The art by the artist who pencilled "PKMU" was so-so, but I'd rather Steve
Dillon pencil it. "Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe" is only collected in the
hardcover version of this book, not in the paperback version, the
paperback only has the 12-issue Maxi series, "Welcome Back, Frank",
which to me is enough, but "PKMU" is a nice bonus.
This is a great read, violent, bloody, funny, and a great supporting cast,
what more can a reader ask for? Whether you're an Ennis fan, Dillon fan,
Punisher fan, or just a reader looking for a great comic to read, this is the
book you want, I enjoyed it alot, and I'm sure you will too. And, I'd like to
thank Ennis and Dillon for bringing back the Punisher, and I'd also like to
say, welcome back Frank.
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