Thursday 13 February 2014

The Punisher #1 Review

Writer: Nathan Edmondson
Artist: Mitch Gerads

What will Frank get up to in L.A.? Read on to find out.

The official description from Marvel:

For years, The Punisher has waged a war on crime in New York City with an array of very large guns, but a lead on a major source of drugs, weapons, and more has set his many sights due west. NOW! Frank Castle's in the City of Angels, looking to give the devil his due. Things aren't all they appear, though, with a highly trained military hit squad hot on Frank's tail. Caught between a posse of Punisher predators and targets of his own one-man-war, Frank's manifest destiny may be a shallow grave!

I've been looking forward to this series for quite some time now, as following the end of Greg Rucka’s run comics haven't been too kind to Frank. This new series however looks to change all that, putting the Punisher back into the kind of environment that he thrives in.

Nathan Edmondson gives us a story that is very suited for the Punisher, with it also being very new reader friendly to non-Punisher fans. Edmondson showed the difference between Punisher and the rest of the Marvel Universe perfectly, and I especially enjoyed the line, " because everyone isn't afraid of the Avengers." as it revealing that the people of L.A. are more afraid of the Punisher than they are of actual superheroes. The issue was however not quite perfect, as despite setting the perfect tone it's still a little rough around the edges, and will need a little bit more development before reaching it's full potential.

Mitch Gerads' artwork was also amazing, as despite being a little rough for my usual taste it was simply perfect for this series. What I especially loved about Gerads art was the explosiveness of it, as the action sequences were very energetic, feeling like something out of a movie. Gerads also did a really good job of both the characters facial features and the layouts of the issue, with the latter adding a lot of intensity and the former capturing the story's tone perfectly. On top of this Gerads cover was also spectacular, with the symbolism of an urban jungle being perfect for the Punisher, especially considering he's moved to L.A.

The Punisher gets off to a terrific start and if it continues like this I will be a very happy fan. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8/10

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