Comics on the Bubble: Cage (2002) #1-5

I haven’t read this series since it originally came out. As I was sorting through my bins, I noticed the artist. I don’t think I appreciated Richard Corben enough in 2002. I wanted to see if I enjoyed the series more with that affection for Corben’s work.

It turns out; yes, Corben’s work is great. He’s got a fun twist on Luke Cage, Hammerhead, and Tombstone. They are all transformed from Marvel heroes into “realistic” characters that could appear on a cable crime show. The design is good, the dialogue is fine, but in the end, I just prefer the “normal” versions of these characters.

Brian Azzarello is hit-or-miss with me. I was actually very into the developing mystery at the opening of this series, but by the end, I felt like the story fizzled out. The master plan of the antagonists is remarkably simple and not really worth the effort spent puzzling it out. And the lack of a clear ending makes this read like an unfinished chapter rather than a complete mini-series. This book just ENDS.

Cage #1-5: SELL

Punisher MAX: Frank TPB

It’s going to be tough for other trades to measure up; I’ve been reading some great stuff recently. Jason Aaron keeps the ball rolling with the next chapter of Punisher MAX. I think it is fairly safe to say this is a continuation of Garth Ennis’ magnificent run with the character. The problem is, I don’t see a way for this to end well for Frank. We knew the Punisher lost his happy ending a long time ago, but things are particularly bleak in this collection.


After his climactic battle with Bullseye, the Punisher is broken. He’s been arrested and is now in jail recovering from his wounds. But the inmates want their piece, and it doesn’t take long for them to start making a move on ol’ Frank Castle.

But of course, that’s the easy part. Aaron has a much more challenging narrative in the comparison of Frank’s new prison life and his return from Viet Nam. Both worlds are prisons, of course, one is just a bit more literal. The moments are captured perfectly. If Hollywood wants to try another Punisher movie, I recommend this story right here.

I believe Aaron is adding to the Punisher mythos with these details about Frank’s failed attempt to re-integrate after the war. Its painful watching Castle as a dead man trying to connect with his wife and children. The only emotion he’s got is anger when he finally gets to kill some people. The Punisher is a great revenge fantasy, but Aaron shows how deep the character can be.

Steve Dillon outdoes himself with the time-jumping contrast between the eras of Frank Castle’s life. It’s heavy-handed, but totally effective to see old Frank put in solitary while young Frank walks into his perfect suburban home. Gah, does it make me a sucker that a scene like that just breaks me up.

So sad. Frank never had a chance.

Excellent

Destroyer TPB

Hmm. I recently read The Marvels Project, and I was really interested in the Destroyer, a super-soldier created in a concentration camp during WWII. I picked up Robert Kirkman's recent Destroyer MAX series hoping to learn more about the character. It's weird. Other than the name and costume, I'd say this trade had nothing to do with the Marvel U character. I realize MAX books can often take place in questionable continuity, but this is in its own world.

Kirkman's Destroyer is an old man trying to kill all of his greatest foes before he dies of a heart attack. Kirkman rolls out a bunch of amusing archetypes and sidekicks, but this all feels pretty generic. I can't imagine this was too much of a stretch, these characters all feel like they would fit right in (maybe better) in Invincible or Wolf-Man. The Destroyer has a tender relationship with his wife, child, and son-in-law, and that does make him a bit more interesting, but overall, this is mighty generic.

Are there any good Marvel U Destroyer stories out there?

Cory Walker's art is fun and bloody. He certainly does his best work when he's drawing giant monsters or weird villains. His normal people look a little puffy, but anyone in spandex and all the creatures look great. Jason Pearson's covers are mighty impressive throughout.

Average

Punisher: Tiny Ugly World #1

David Lapham is a sick man, but he gets the Punisher. This is a great little one-shot in the vein of Garth Ennis' classic work with the character. The Punisher works best as a force of nature eliminating sick criminals. Lapham creates a stunner in this one. The lead is a total psycho, so far gone both physically and mentally that I don't want to spoil it.

This is one of those comics that is SO crazy and gross that I actually worry the writer might be crazy. I mean, it is entertaining as hell, but it actually scares me that someone thought of this stuff!

The Punisher comes in just when he needs to, and the story wraps up like the good Ennis yarns did back in the day.

This might be the right format for me and the Punisher these days, let demented, creative writers have a shot at creating the weirdest villains they can think of, then have the Punisher kill them. I know it makes me happy!

Dalibor Talajic is new to me, but his work is gritty and realistic while still being cartoony enough to keep me from getting sick at all the twisted stuff in this book. I'll keep an eye out for more of his work.

Good

Punisher MAX: Happy Endings #1

I rarely pick up Punisher comics in anything but trade these days, but since I don't buy the collections of one-shots, I grabbed this one since Peter Milligan worked on it. It's got some neat ideas sprinkled through, but it didn't blow my mind.

The issue follows the path of an unhappily married accountant as he get wrapped up into the Punisher's dangerous world. After befriending (sort of) a femme fatale masseuse, he ends up taking to the world of gunplay and death better than he expected. The Punisher exists in this comic only as a force of nature to occasionally point different pieces of the story to different locations. The Punisher isn't the star here, he's just an executioner brought in to punch people's tickets. I liked how Milligan wrapped up the story, because it is the opposite of how most of these stories go. I suppose it is realistic, but I don't think we'll see a spin-off for Gun-Fighting Accountant any time soon.

Avatar's Juan Jose Ryp brings his ultraviolence to Marvel, and it works fine for a MAX book. His violence, gore, and mayhem are almost on a level with Geoff Darrow. I don't care for his faces as much, but I can deal with it to get these complicated set pieces.

Overall, 4.99 is a bit much for a book like this...

Fair

Punisher: Welcome to the Bayou TPB

This is definitely my favorite of Victor Gischler's Marvel work. He's been bouncing around on Moon Knight and Punisher projects, but I think this is the best use of his skills. As I wrote when I read the first part of this story, the Punisher works best as a force of nature, I want to see him punish those that deserve it. There is PLENTY of that here.

The setup is like a teen slasher film as a group of college students are abducted by a huge family of inbred cannibals. Fortunately, the Punisher had an inkling something was wrong and he seeks out the unfortunate students. And of course, a lot of blood follows. There is gator wrestling, hot girls, gigantic mutants, and a pater familius worthy of any slasher movie. Gischler spices things up with a tag-along minor league criminal. I really liked seeing this poor guy swept along in the Punisher's wake.

Goran Parlov is one of my favorite Punisher artists. He can keep elements of the story totally straight while letting humor shine through where appropriate. He's perfect for this type of book.

Good

PunisherMAX #3

Geez, Dave Johnson really does the best covers in the business, doesn't he?

I love how much time Jason Aaron spends giving the bad guys a chance to shine. This book may be titled "The Punisher" but he's really sharing it with the Kingpin. This is a series about two driven, angry men and what they'll do to achieve their goals. Really, the two guys aren't that different. Violence solves everything. One shocking difference from the norm is that in this, the family man is the villain. And if I'm right about the odd cutaways to an Amish family, then we might be getting another Marvel villain who is a family man too. There are some great sequences in this, but the shootout at the old mafia widow's mansion takes the cake. There's nudity, shotguns, and lots of folks getting whacked. This is a tad lighter than Ennis' Punisher, but this is clearly a continuation to that series. There isn't a ton of forward plot movement here, but Aaron does such a great job populating the pages with a variety of scum that I don't mind at all.

Steve Dillon's art is perfect for this. He's able to balance gore with strong storytelling, this feels like a worthy heir to Preacher. The malevolence in the Kingpin's eyes is so creepy; I don't like looking at him. I hope I'm never involved in one of the Kingpin's good days.

Good

War is Hell: Flight of the Phantom Eagle TPB

I think Garth Ennis could do this in his sleep. This is another solid war story from a master of the form. This isn't the best he's done, but it is entertaining. The whole concept of Phantom Eagle as the "hero pilot" is kind of mocked and doesn't really come up. I have no problems with that though, since it is a pretty silly war-time concept. The characters become almost interchangeable at times, but readers can define folks well enough to get the required emotional punches. Surprisingly, most of the pages are spent on the ground. Multiple characters talk about how quickly combat happens in the dangerous skies, so it makes sense that those moments of terror are quick blips throughout this trade. I hate to say I wasn't as taken with this because I've seen it before, but in comparison to some of the absolutely perfect war stories Ennis has told, this doesn't rank among the best.

Howard Chaykin's art is dramatic, but I have a hard time figuring out who is who. Every character is in uniform and since they all have the same haircut, there aren't enough moustaches to go around helping me figure out who is who. I'm not sure this needed to be a MAX book; there are only a few scenes that utilized that ranking and I think they would have worked without the mature rating.

Average

Punisher MAX #1

Garth Ennis picks up right where he left off, with... wait a second. Jason Aaron picks up right where Garth Ennis left off, with the Punisher as a force of nature. Aaron successfully copies Ennis' formula; that is, the villains are the real story. We read the Punisher (especially the MAX version) for revenge-fulfillment, so populating the pages with evil scum is part of the job, and watching Frank destroy them is the fun part. Aaron starts down that path here, with a bunch of bosses creating a fictional "kingpin" of crime to distract Frank from their normal operations. The interesting part is that the whole kingpin idea came from a leg-breaker named Wilson Fisk. Now, we know that Fisk ends up as the Kingpin in the mainstream Marvel U, and I can't wait to see how he comes to power in this MAX universe. Aaron makes the interesting choice to give Fisk a wife and son, immediately humanizing him. It's going to be harder to totally hate the guy if he is really as kind to his loved ones as he seems to be.

Steve Dillon captures the mix of ultra-violence and humor that is essential for a successful Punisher comic. There's a scene with a mobster's eyeballs popping out that is just classic. Slapping the MAX label on this title makes everything fair game. I'd never want to see the normal Marvel U Punisher pouring salt on the wounds of his torture subjects, but the MAX Punisher? He's a force of nature, not a person.

Good

Terror Inc. MAX TPB

Huh. This actually didn't impress me too much. I've never been a big Terror fan, but I usually enjoy David Lapham's work. This mini was sort of average though. Terror has the ability to rip off dead body parts and replace decaying parts of his body. This series reveals that his innate goodness is the result of his having used the arm of his beloved for hundreds of years. Her goodness overpowers the nastiness of the usual scum that Terror harvests for parts. Things get complicated when his former flame rises from the dead totally crazy and evil. Naturally, this sets off a vicious battle for control of the arm.

There are some neat ideas in here, but the story is shoehorned into a greater plot about Homeland Security, terrorists, and other unnecessary trappings that never really feel like they are part of the same plot. It seemed that those elements were present just to ramp up the tempo of the story. The personal conflict between Terror and his ladyfriend are well done, especially the final battle. Terror points out that he's been using her arm for hundreds of years, so it knows him a heck of a lot better than it knows her. He also comments how he liked her back when she was nice. It's a well played confrontation.

Patrick Zircher uses the detailed pencil-style he used in his Thor one-shots, so everything looked nice. The color pallette was a bit dark. I prefer his pencils with the brighter tones he had in Cable & Deadpool.

Average

Punisher Frank Castle MAX #71

I realize this is going to make me look crazy, but I loved this comic. After reading the upsetting and ultraviolent Naked Kill, this comic helped me realize what I want from my Punisher stories. The bad guys have to be original and despicable, and I have to be rooting for Frank Castle to shoot each one of them. This storyline delivers.

Castle is driving through the bayou when he is passed by a rowdy carful of spring breakers. He stops at the same gas station they do, and immediately realizes something is wrong with the locals running the place. As he notes oddities around the store, he interacts in a polite enough fashion with the partiers, who seem like amiable doofballs. They're silly party people, but they seem harmless enough. The situation catches Frank's eye enough that he decides to pull over and wait for their car to pass after he leaves the gas station. It never does.

Frank doubles back to check on the kids, and there is no sign of them. He does some quick investigation, but he's got a "package" that is waking up in the trunk of the car, and he really doesn't have time to deal with this. He knows he's getting the runaround from a hot little swamp slut, and it does seem like trouble... Meanwhile, we catch up with the spring breakers, where the two ladies are in their underwear in a cage, one guy is being carved up for the grill, and the last dude is being fed to a 12-fool long alligator named General Lee. That's some fine villainy right there! I never realized how well Punisher works inserted into horror movie situations. This is the movie Wrong Turn with a few neat additions like General Lee and the hottie, it's just a ton of fun. Best comic I've read all week.

Goran Parlov is a fantastic Punisher artist. He can handle the brooding hulk that is the Punisher, but he can handle the violence and goons when he needs to. He draws pretty ladies, so it is always nice when the story includes them too. Seeing his pencils does make me miss Barracuda though. Parlov is the perfect artist for this story and I can't wait for the next issue. I'm grabbing the trade for certain.

Excellent

Punisher: Frank Castle: Max #70

This has been an amusing story as Frank races around Philly. The poison in his veins leaves him almost worthless this issue, but he still manages to pick up a rifle and cap the gangsters who had targeted him with a rocket last issue. The collapsing floor followed by a massive shootout between the FBI and the kill-squad was well done, with Frank reduced to dictating strategy to the surviving agents by the end. I liked the small touch that those two agents were only knocked out when Deidre finally managed to grab Frank. Deidre was one interesting and sick villain throughout this series. She's so messed up that she has to get with the killing machine that is the Punisher. How hilarious is it that she was so desperate to strip down Frank that she forgot what he was? That kill was a pretty great moment. Didn't Deidre know you can't tempt the Punisher? I remain confused by the two pretty-boy guys who face off at gun-point at the end. They look so similar I was almost unable to tell them apart all story long. I'm going to re-read this arc from Duane Swierczynski in trade in one sitting, I bet it will be all clear then, I think I just let too much time drag between reads in floppy format.

Michael LaCombe's art was pretty darn strong throughout. He's equally adept at hot girls and ultraviolence, so he was perfect for this arc.

Good

Werewolf by Night #1-4

Too sad for me. I know this was a MAX series, so I should have expected it, but I like my Werewolf by Night to be a little bit more fun. This was a sad, gory story from start to finish. I expect it is out of continuity too, since Jack Russell would be pretty unsalvagable after the amount of rending he does in this series. I was also befuddled by a plot point in the conclusion. It seems that werewolf blood can speak to other werewolves, as seen when Russell's sister's blood gives him a slideshow of her life. She also teaches him how to combine his wolf self with his normal self, which allows Russell to remain in control of his wolf-form. So she knew how to do that, right? So why did she rip Russell's wife apart to get to the baby within looking for him? That seems like she was totally controlled by her wolf-mind. If that isn't the case, then Russell's sister was totally evil and I have no pity for her. This series had some neat moments and twists, like when the scientists think they have Russell prepped for transport in issue 1 (spoiler: they don't), but the tone was so sad and negative that I can't really say I loved the series. The inclusion of a vampire and frankenstein in the final issue seemed silly too, especially since they were no threat to Russell at all. Duane Swircyznski continues to write comics that have some neat moments, but overall aren't my cup of tea. Adding in a complex government conspiracy rarely betters a character's origin. If I view this as an independent story apart from the existing comic character, it does hold up a tad better though. The ominous ending was pretty spooky too. "I'm coming for you, Daddy." What a nice family!

Mico Suayan's art is pretty dark throughout, but he does a good job on the faces. The experiment subjects in issue 3 were well-designed too, they looked absolutely pitiful.

Fair

Punisher MAX #68

Duane Swierczynski's story of Frank Castle has some neat things going for it. Sine Punisher is drugged, it actually seems like the bozos he's going up against actually have a chance to take him out (even though we all know they won't). The story is pretty grimy, with a nice cast of unique villains. We get to see inside the heads of the villains a bit more this issue, and I am looking forward to seeing them all get capped. Except maybe the Viet Nam vet, he seems to not even really know what is going on around him. In any case, the villains are good enough for me to hate them and really be ready for Frank to start working his way through them. The setting is kind of fun too, sine we don't often see the Punisher operating in Philly. Frank is constantly annoyed that his last 6 hours are in Philly, a city without enough big-time criminals for him to go out in a blaze of glory with. That's a fun idea. While the story has some neat things going for it, it isn't without flaws. I'm a little confused between the mayor and his lawyer buddy, on exactly who is who. Then I'm also just not quite positive why the mayor is so worried about the Punisher in any case. I know the mayor's cousin was into a child slavery thing in part 1, but aren't there a lot of folks who know about it and would go to the press before the Punisher? The mayor probably didn't have anything to worry about if he hadn't gone and awoken Frank's anger.

The art this issue is my Michel Lacombe, a different artist than before I think. He handles the guns and shootouts pretty well. He handles the skeezy scenes pretty nicely too. Again, I'm having trouble telling some of the characters apart because of how similar they look. But overall, the art is fine.

Fair