Punisher: The Trial of the Punisher #2 Review

Writer: Marc Guggenheim
Artist: Mico Suayan

I really enjoyed the first issue of this series as it was nice to see Punisher back in a solo series, and the news since that issue that Punisher will be getting his own ongoing series again made me very happy. Till then however I have been looking forward to seeing the end of this short story.

Plot

The trial of the Punisher continues with Daredevil (Matt Murdock) getting pulled in to help determine whether the Punisher is mentally sane or not.

Review

This was a brilliant issue, as although not quite as good as the first it was still very enjoyable. Marc Guggenheim did a fantastic job with the trial sequences in this issue, once again using his past experiences as a lawyer to great advantage. I did however feel that this issue didn't have quite the same level of tone, as although the trial had a very realistic nature to it, I would have loved the dark, sombre tone that we got in the first issue. Another thing that hindered this issue was the fact that the story should have been at least one issue longer, as although it's a good thing that Guggenheim is keeping it fairly short, the ending felt a bit too sudden to me, whereas one extra issue would have fixed that.

The artwork on this issue was also amazing, as although it wasn't quite as good as Leinil Francis Yu's art from the first issue, it was still outstanding, and Mico Suayan did a fantastic job. What I liked most about Suayan taking over in this issue was the fact that he has a very similar style to Yu, as although it's easy to tell the two apart, it makes it more natural flowing between both issues. Sunny Gho's colours would also help with this as well, keeping the same tone that made the first issue so intense. I also really enjoyed the amazing layouts from Suayan, as although the characters facial expressions were slightly awkward at times, the layouts would add a lot of depth to the issue, making it more dramatic.

The main argument during the trial would be whether or not the Punisher crazy or sane. Now although I personally feel that Punisher knows exactly what he's doing, it's a good idea to question whether he's mentally healthy or not, as although he may know exactly what he is doing, has he deluded himself into thinking that this is acceptable? Again I personally doubt that, but it is a good arguing point, and I enjoyed how Guggenheim utilised this in this story, with the defence for and against Punisher being sane or not being very interesting.

This issue would also see Matt Murdock make an appearance. Now I said during my review for the first issue that I was happy that Guggenheim didn't make Murdock Punisher's lawyer, as that would be rather obvious. I did however enjoy his appearance in this issue, as although it wasn't necessary it was handled in a very interesting way, showing some of amazing flashback sequences involving Daredevil and Punisher. I also enjoyed seeing a battle of lawyer wit when it came to whether Murdock would be testifying or not, and although I still feel that this story could have happened without old horn head, it was still a nice appearance.

The main question that I have been asking throughout this short story has been what is Punisher's real motives, as it's obvious that he has a plan, with this issue showing that even more. Now I won't go into any details as to avoid spoilers, but we would get to see Punisher's modus operandi during this issue, and although it wasn't quite as intriguing as I hoped it would be, it would add some excitement to the end of the issue. I do however feel that it would have been better to have made this reveal at the end of the issue, with an extra issue showing how the Punisher capitalised on this.

Final Verdict

This was a fantastic issue, as although it didn't quite live up to the opening issue, it would be a very entertaining issue, having some interesting monologue and dialogue, also having an exciting conclusion. I do however feel that the story could have done with an extra issue, as despite the exciting nature of the ending it was rather sudden. I would however highly recommend this issue as well as the first and can't wait for the new ongoing series from Nathan Edmondson to come out.

Rating: 8/10

Daredevil #20

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Chris Sammne

This has been one of the best Daredevil runs I have ever read and I've enjoyed every issue so far. What Mark Waid has done with this series has been phenomenal and I can't thank him enough for all the issues he's done so far.

Plot

This issue sees Daredevil who is now minus a head in Coyote's lair where Coyote tells Daredevil of his plans and shows him all the other heads he's collected and kept in a cupboard. Daredevil now needs to find a way to save himself and all the poor people who are minus their bodies.

Review

This was a brilliant issue and this story involving Coyote just keeps getting more interesting each issue. Waid has done an amazing job on this issue just like he's done an amazing job on the series so far. Although I thought this issue was brilliant and that Waid keeps adding more suspense with each issue I did however feel that the overall mood of this issue wasn't as good as some of the previous issues. This is however still a very good issue and I have been enjoying how he's been involving Matt more in the series whilst giving some of the best Daredevil adventures I have read in years. I like when series acknowledge prior events even so I' was very happy to see this story take elements of the issue 1 which I never expected to be brought up later in this series.

The art throughout this series has also been amazing and both Chris Samnee and Paolo Manuel Rivera have done some amazing works of art throughout this series. When I noticed that Samnee would continue to do the interiors whilst Rivera did the covers I was very happy as we have the best of both worlds. Rivera's covers are amazing and although this cover only had a few elements from the issue shown it was still very stylish and well thought out. Samnee's interiors have been equally as impressive and although his art isn't as beautiful or detailed as other artists it is still brilliant and suits this issue perfectly. Javier Rodriguez' colours have also been amazing and have added the tone that is needed to tell dome of the stories seen in this series.

The development of Coyote in this issue was very interesting and it's been very surprising to see the Spot turn into this well prepared villain who has Daredevil speechless. I also loved how this issue also showed flaws in Coyote and begged questions about his true intentions. I'm also looking forward to seeing if anything is revealed about Coyote or his plans in next issue.

Daredevil being headless throughout this issue was a very interesting element and if it wasn't for the fact that anything can happen in comics I'd be questioning how this is even possible. It was very amusing and interesting seeing Coyote having a conversation with Daredevil with his head Daredevil's head in his hands. In some respects this also reminds me of the Shakespeare play Hamlet, and although I've never read or watched the whole of it I'm pretty sure like most people of a certain age they'll have seen the iconic image of Hamlet holding a skull at one point or another.

Coyote having a cupboard full of heads minus their bodies in this issue was not only visually stunning but made the story's progression that much easier. Seeing all these heads minus bodies was very interesting and the reaction Daredevil had showed that he wasn't going to play around any more. It also made it easier to hate Coyote more and although I like joking fun villains that you want to like, I love when a villain leaves you disliking them as that shows that they've done their job well. It makes total sense that Coyote would have more than one bodiless head lying around and was funny to see him feeding them. It also questions if this is Coyote's only means of dealing with someone and if he always uses this device to do his business or eliminate a foe.

WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD! (Should be safe to skip to next paragraph)

Daredevil's plan for escaping Coyote's clutches was brilliant and very interesting. It was initially weird seeing Daredevil's body move without his head attached, but it made total sense that if he could talk and breath without his body he should still be able to move his body without his head. I also wonder if Coyote ever though of this possibly happening when he started using this device as Daredevil is the only person really capable of doing this. Although we get to see Daredevil's heightened senses used to help him out of this predicament it was however funny to see that his body still stumbled every now and then.

Kirsten McDuffie's involvement in this issue was also very interesting as was the lack of an appearance from Foggy Nelson. Last issue Fogy divulged to Kirsten that Matt was Daredevil and told her about how he worried about his mental state and due to him being Daredevil, Matt could be a danger to everyone. It was interesting to see how this continued into this issue and it was even more interesting to see what has transpired inbetween Kirsten finding out Matt's secret and going to report to her superiors. I won't talk any more on this event as to avoid spoiling it.

Final Verdict

This was a very good issue and this story involving Coyote is getting even more interesting. I would highly recommend this issue and am looking forward to seeing how the story concludes next issue.

Rating: 4/5