Punisher

Punisher 1-7, 13-27

What a mixed bag of quality in these two trades (which I got cheap at a used bookstore!).  Best to go through them arc by arc.  In all cases (but one), 

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

1-5: The Russian returns.  His severed head from the previous arc has been attached to the body of a massive female.  Riiight.  The high rating is mostly for the LOL “team-up” with Spider-Man in issue 2.

The repetition and the sound effects crack me up.

Rating: Good

6: Frank mercy kills a former squad mate who’s gone on a murder spree.

13-14: Frank rescues a mobster being held hostage in South America.

15: Frank takes a blackmailing investigative reporter on a ride along.  Things end predictably poorly for the reporter.  

23: Something involving a giant squid.  

27: Elektra messes around with Frank because she’s bored.  He asks her out on a date, which is pretty hilarious.

Rating: Nice

7: A silent issue.  Meh.

Rating: Fine

16-17: Punisher “teams up” with Wolverine.  Ennis basically writes Logan like the Marvel version of his Lobo, an over-the-top, hyper-aggressive testosterone machine who’s the butt of all the jokes.  

Logan : Snikt :: Lobo : Frag

You don't want to know what I thought when I saw this.

Heh.

Rating: Nice

18: Another Garth Ennis take on the mess in Ireland.  I get why he keeps returning to this topic, but I rarely find it to be an interesting read.

Rating: Didn’t suck

19: Frank unexpectedly crosses path with Joan from volume 5.  This is an excellent issue that had me smiling for many reasons.  Frank and Joan have an unlikely rapport that I absolutely love.  Joan is an unlikely source of strength, and her growth as a character comes to a satisfying climax here.  

Heh.

Love the mutual respect.

Don't fuck with Frankie.

Rating: Pure joy

20-22: Frank comes across two cops with issues.  A nice little story with some clever twists before a rote ending.

Rating: Pretty good

24-26: One of the worst things I’ve ever read.  Dead homeless people in a mass grave in the tunnels underneath the city with a guy voluntarily buried underneath it…it’s so, so, so, bad.  It doesn’t read like anything Ennis would write.  Tom Mandrake’s grotesque art contributes to the ugliness.  

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Hated

Punisher, New comics

New comics!

Catwoman: Lonely City 4

Back after a 6-month hiatus, the final issue of this up-until-now excellent series is a bit of a letdown.  Everything devolves into a big fight scene, not really what I was looking for out of this amazing work from Cliff Chiang.  Maybe it’ll be better on the reread.  I hope that it is.

Marvel Knights: Double Shot 1

I never remember the second story in this anthology (it’s something to do with Kingpin’s laundry and underwear.  Seriously.).  It’s the first one that’s unforgettable, a mobster’s dentist appointment with the Punisher.  It’s inspired, wince-inducing work by Garth Ennis and Joe Quesada.

So gross.  So well done.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Marvel Mangaverse: Punisher

Yeah, I don’t know why I got this.  This Punisher, as reimagined by Peter David…tickles and spanks for justice (actual quote from the issue).  This could actually be hilarious, but not even David (usually one of the funniest writers out there) can make this work.  

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Stupid (Cutting)

Punisher v5 1-12

I divide Garth Ennis’ time on Punisher between his “serious” run (volume 7) and his “silly” run (everything before that, starting with these issues).  By silly, I mean that everything is way over the top - The violence, the personalities, the humor.  It may not be quite as good as the serious stuff, but it’s still damn entertaining.  I mean, Spacker Dave!  Polar bears!  The Russian!

If you can't tell, I love Spacker Dave.

Bear punch!

Quick aside, that reminds me of this Magic card...

...which has an alternate timeline version...

...and a REALLY alternate timeline version...

...culminating in this epic suplex.

Back to the main story.

A callback, of course, to this scene...

A question that applies to many situations.

The Vigilante Squad is pretty much a waste of time, but not offensively so.  Soap is hit or miss, but he’s ultimately a net positive, I think.

But through thick and thin, I had fun the whole time, and couldn’t stop until I finished the whole arc.  I honestly don’t remember much about the rest of the silly run, just that it isn’t as good.  I haven’t reread it that many times, if at all.  Still looking forward to it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Punisher, Snake Eyes, Fury

GI Joe: Snake Eyes, Agent of Cobra 1-5

As far as I can tell, this is how Mike Costa ended his GI Joe run: Snake Eyes a triple agent working for Tomax, Destro, and the decimated GI Joe; Chameleon and Billy (son of Cobra Commander) on the run and doing whatever they can to affect some good; Ronin dead at the hand of Storm Shadow.  It’s a sad ending for a once proud team, especially when Costa’s done such a fine job of making me care for these people.  (Especially Chameleon, the double agent who somehow manages to stay sane in a life that’s been nothing but hell for her.)

Great covers by Paolo Villanelli.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Fury: Peacemaker 1-6

One of Garth Ennis’ classic “shoehorn the title character into a comic that can just as easily be one of his War Stories” arcs.  There’s absolutely no need for Nick Fury to be in this comic, but as long as Marvel lets him, why not?

As Ennis war stories go, this is as middle of the road forgettable as it gets.  Still, I don’t regret picking this up for 10 bucks.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Marvel Universe vs Punisher 1-4

Starting my box of Punisher comics!  This one’s got the great Gorlan Parlov on art, but Jonathan Maberry’s on writing duties, not Ennis.  I assume I picked it up because it was half price, because this story about Frank Castle versus zombified versions of the Marvel Universe is serviceable at best.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe

Ennis writes this one, but it may as well have been Maberry.  It’s actually worse than the previous title, as it’s completely ridiculous (Frank blows up the X-Men with a nuclear bomb.  Really.) and Doug Braithwaite’s art is no fun to look at.  Ennis takes the instigating premise here (Marvel superheroes kill/injure civilians with little more than a shrug by way of apology) and expands on it far more extensively later on with The Boys.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck

Punisher War Journal 6

I have this because Jim Lee did the art.  I’d almost forgotten he did a run on this title early on in his career.  You can definitely tell he’s still learning the craft; his characters are stiff and their proportions are slightly off here and there.  But the talent and potential is unmistakable.

The story by Carl Potts is meh.  Very wordy.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Punisher vs Bullseye 1-5

Daniel Way and Steve Dillon team up for this one.  (As with Parlov earlier, it’s weird for me to see these artists drawing Punisher titles without Ennis writing them.  They all have such classic runs with him, doing these miniseries feel like they’re cheating on him.)  

Way definitely channels the Ennis/Dillon run here, with crossdressing mobsters and a gleeful Bullseye wreaking havoc on both Frank and Mafia.  I still don’t get why he doesn’t kill Punisher at the end of the story.  Makes no sense.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

I'm watching this as I write.  I love Rebecca Ferguson in this movie.  This shot is iconic.

GI Joe, New comics

New comics!
Batman: Beyond the White Knight 6

This series has lost all of its luster at this point.  The story is pretty much a slog at this point, and the lovely Sean Murphy art is the only thing keeping it around for me.

Human Target 8

Rocket Red’s the focus of this issue.  Not one of the stronger ones in this series, but certainly readable.

Iron Cat 5

This series, like White Knight, may have hit diminishing returns.  But it looks like the next Black Cat title by Jed MacKay is going to be Mary Jane and Black Cat.  Their previous team-up was excellent, so maybe that’s the kick this title needs to get back on track.

Variants 4

Jessica Jones finally goes back to the X-Men for help against the Purple Man, and it turns out it’s all in her head.  On the one hand I’m glad it’s not actually more Purple Man shenanigans.  On the other, I’m tired of the fact that this one thing is still defining so much of her personality.

With that now out of the way, the series will wrap up next month with the real villain, the Jewel variant.  Eh.  Maybe this will be better on the reread.

Cobra 17-21

GI Joe: Cobra Files 1-4

Aside from a Snake Eyes miniseries that’s in the mail as I write this, I believe these are the last issues of the superb Michael Costa run.  Given the piecemeal nature with which I filled in the gaps in my collection, I’d love to read this again from beginning to end.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Barry Ween

Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius 1-3

Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius 2.0 1-3

Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius: Monkey Tales 1-6

Unlike most of the funny comics in my collection (The Tick, Bully Pulpit, My Monkey's Name is Jennifer, Street Angel, Magic Pickle, Rex Mantooth), Barry Ween is still as hilarious to me today as it was when I first read it over twenty years ago.  But even more effective are the moments of somber reflection and genuine emotion that punctuate the constant stream of laugh out loud moments.  

Nice to see the parents getting some.  (Or a lot, as the case may be.)

X-Ray specs are by definition cool wherever you want to use them.

"Shut the fuck up, Ray-Ray" makes me LOL every time.  It's the name, I think.

Impeccable comedic timing.

I love Roxy.  I get Tatiana Maslany vibes from her.

LOVE this drawing of Sara.

The perfect cover.  Perfect.

All of a sudden it's not so fun anymore.

SO heartbreaking.  Technically, there's was no cost, but in reality...

This remains one of my favorite comics ever.  No matter what Judd Winick produces for the rest of his career, I will always want him to do more Barry Ween. 

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pure joy

Fine Print, Pedro and Me, Road Trip

Fine Print 1

My Stjepan Sejic reviews are all starting to sound the same.  Reading it the second time around, Fine Print is definitely not as good as Sunstone; There are a few too many supporting characters, and they’re mostly cupids and succubi engaging in machinations that I don’t find that interesting.  

Then there’s the main character, Lauren.  An ugly duckling who became a supermodel who made one fateful bad decision that led to her currently crushed spirit, her behavior, while understandable, is not conducive towards making her a sympathetic character.  Which isn’t always a deal breaker in a top notch story, but Sejic doesn’t quite get there in making her someone whose success I’m invested in.  I’m not even dying to know what happens next, which would be a deal breaker if Sejic wasn’t an artist of the highest caliber.  At this point, I’ll pretty much buy anything that he draws and writes.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Pedro and Me

I think this is what put Judd Winick on the map for me.  I was living in Asia when his season of Real World came out, so I was only vaguely familiar with Pedro’s story when I read this for the first time.  It’s such a personal work, and so well done that it’s impossible to give it anything but my highest rating.  Winick has, of course, gone on to do even better things, but nothing will ever be as heartfelt.

That face cracks me up every time.

Don't know why this amuses me so much.

So.  Sweet.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pure joy

Road Trip

As Winick explains in the afterword, this is a reprint of his first published comic work.  The craft is rough around the edges, but it’s got the heart, sense of humor, and strong writing that will go on to mark all of his future work.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good