The Official Punisher by Rick Remender / Punisher MAX thread

[NightBeetle]

PUNISHER #14
Written by RICK REMENDER
Penciled by DAN BRERETON & TONY MOORE
Cover by MIKE McKONE
“FRANKENCASTLE,” PART 4
Broken, savage and at his lowest, Frank Castle lurks in dark places, hunted by pitiless assassins and their mysterious leader Hellsgaard.
Who is this giant skull-faced behemoth and why does he relentlessly slaughter the grotesque?
Find out in this haunting tale of pulp dread painted in ghoulish detail by Eisner award winner Dan Brereton.
In order to protect those who kept him alive, The Punisher is in for the bloodiest, down and dirty, gutter fight of his life -- get your tickets now.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99

 

[runawayboulder]

So I guess this Hellsgaard guy is the skull shaped video display the monster hunters were talking to on their communicators. Hellsgaard has a German ring to it, and those hunters looked Japanese....hmmmmm.

 

[cthulhu]

zombiepunisher? sorry frankencastle?!? Urgh I wouldn't even mind if it was a what if style tale like punisher kills the marvel universe or if it was an original idea. However I have been a fan of fear agent from the start and this is very similar in that the main character in FA was killed in the forth issue and was brought back in another cloned body so it isnt a fresh idea. Im a fan of rick remender but also the design of frankencastle is very similar to the 'creature' from doll and creature so neither the concept nor the design are original. It all seems to stem from the punishers first name being frank which is the same as frankenstein, pretty weak. I love tony moores art but the whole way daken took the punisher out sucked. sure the punisher put up a fight but since when does the mutant healing factor allow daken to just walk through all the damage punisher dealt? ah the whole thing is sad.

 

[Phenomenal]

Has Punisher wasted any big names yet?

 

[Themanofbat]

I really dug the first issue... it's good ol'fashioned Marvel fun... the people who hate this stuff take their comics waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too seriously...

 

[StreetWarrior]

I really dug the first issue... it's good ol'fashioned Marvel fun... the people who hate this stuff take their comics waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too seriously...

Or they're a little pissed that they're favorite character got completely raped in every shape and form and were f***ed over after purchasing well over 500 comics about said character. You may like this garbage, but for fans of the Punisher, this is a low blow from Marvel. There's no reason why that asshat, Remender, couldn't have created a new character instead of ruining an established one.

You can like what you want, but don't be surprised when people get pissed about getting screwed over.

 

[StreetWarrior]

Also, the same people who are praising this "change" would be the same people pissed and ranting if Batman magically became a vampire or if Spider-man became a werewolf, etc. I have an immense amount of sympathy for the Spider-man fans upset about Brand New Day. I feel your pain.

If you want humor, go read Deadpool or Incredible Herc (like I do). Punisher was never meant to be a joke. But then Marvel's been making dumbass decisions since the early 90's. I shouldn't be surprised that the current creative teams have NO understanding about the characters they're writing.

 

[Themanofbat]

Oh my...

 

[runawayboulder]

Wow

 

[Balthus Dire]

Also, the same people who are praising this "change" would be the same people pissed and ranting if Batman magically became a vampire or if Spider-man became a werewolf, etc. I have an immense amount of sympathy for the Spider-man fans upset about Brand New Day. I feel your pain.

If you want humor, go read Deadpool or Incredible Herc (like I do). Punisher was never meant to be a joke. But then Marvel's been making dumbass decisions since the early 90's. I shouldn't be surprised that the current creative teams have NO understanding about the characters they're writing.

I don't really care too much because, to be honest, the only Punisher book I really care about the integrity of these days is Punisher MAX. The regular Marvel stuff is just fun fluff for me and even though it's technically 616, I don't think Marvel has done anything remotely "cool" with 616 Punisher in forever. It's a shame because this new series was shaping up to be pretty cool, then they make the same dumb mistake they made in the 90's.

For those in this thread who think this "Franken-Castle" is fresh or new, you need to check back a few years. In the 90's, a stupid gimmick exactly like this is what killed The Punisher's title in the first place before Garth Ennis revitalized him. Frank was turned into an "undead warrior" with magical powers, and it was a god awful idea.

Frank being human and "powerless" is a very important part of his character. If you're a casual reader, then yeah I can understand you not caring, but hardcore fans can easily see this is kind of a dumb move. If it's only for a couple issues, then yeah, who really cares...but if it's more of a permanent thing, then good Lord....

 

[runawayboulder]

I wouldn't compare the Franken-Castle story to OMD at all. OMD was handed to us as the new status quo. I've never heard that term used with FrankenCastle once. It's a storyline folks. I'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts and I'm positive that Punisher will go back to his old self soon. IT"S NOT PERMANENT.

To say that they're "raping" a character is going waaaaaaay overboard.

 

[Shockdingo]

I'm not a fan of this, though not as vocal, it really irks me. I never really liked applying the term rape to something so trivial as comic book treatments by the way. Anyways, we all know its not permanent, but from a statement from Remender it seems like this will be here for a couple months up to a year.

See, the problem we, the dissenters have, is that it is such a bizarre departure from the core of the character, be it 616 or Max. Take any of your favorite characters, for example, Herc. Say the writers depower him and throw him into COloumbia, he's found by some local scientists who are on the verge of discovering a new energy source, mercs and such are sent into the area, Herc has to help fight them off with the help of a scrappy ol warhorse and detective. The series loses humor and over the course of many arcs becomes a noir-like mystery series. Wouldn't that leave you guys scratching your heads? Not the best example, but it's just so far detached that they could have easily made a new character instead.

I'm all for new direction and experimentation, but it has to have limits or else it just stomps on the toes of what works and what's integral to the character. That being said, I liked the 616 Punisher experiencing some weird stuff, using new tech and such. I'm not going to call for the death of Mr. Remender, I don't like the current direction, but I did like the last bit. I'm not taking this personally but man, this is just a bad cut, I was really enjoying the stuff prior to the death etc.

That's my $0.02 and pocket lint.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Personally, I'm starting to think that this story is more of an excuse to find some way to de-age the Punisher while keeping his Vietnam War origins intact and Remender decided to just go all out with it.

 

[Themanofbat]

I never said it was new & fresh... but I do think it's cheesey and fun.

I remember the Punisher Angel of Death story... it was awful.

 

[runawayboulder]

I never read the Marvel Nights Punisher series, so I can't comment. I do remember that it had mixed reviews. People were going ga ga over DD and The Inhumans at the time, that probably had a lot to do with it.

 

[NightBeetle]

Punisher: Monster Mash

In terms of where he's at now, it's a very painful place," says Remender. "He's having a hard time with his body. His mind is drifting, broken; he's got these pills that Morbius gave him that he has to take to keep his brain working; he's just a slab of meat at the lowest point a person could be and he's contemplating ugly things. One of the things that's weighing heavily on Frank's head is what happened when the Hood resurrected his family and how he made the decision to put them right back down in the grave. Everyone is focusing on his physical injury after his battle with Daken, this is the real injury.

"It's a mixed bag," reveals Remender. "You've got characters like Werewolf by Night who sees Frank as only making things worse. He doesn't approve of Frank, he doesn't like Frank, and then you've got other characters who can identify with where Frank is at right now and what Frank's been through, seeing the benefit of having him on their side; ultimately, if he takes their side that remains to be seen.
"PUNISHER #12 is establishing the new status-quo for Frank's life, the new Monster Metropolis beneath New York, and setting up one of the goriest, biggest fights I've ever been a part of, coming up in issue #13. I'm having a ton of fun and [artist] Tony [Moore] is turning out the work of his life."

 

[NDX]

I love that art. This will probably be the only non-Max trade I get for Punisher.

 

[runawayboulder]

The art totally suits the feel of the arc. I hope this storyline does for the monsters in the Marvel Universe what Annihilation did for the sci-fi end of Marvel.

 

[NDX]

Sadly, they've been trying to reboot the Monster side of Marvel for a while now, with the Dead of Nights, Legion of Monsters, Marvel Zombies 4, etc. As much as I'd like to see a revival of the genre, I don't see it going too far outside of being a short series or 2 for the cult fans.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Wow, I think this Franken Punisher is the first I've been interested in the Punisher since....ever, plus I've really enjoyed Remender's previous work. I'm going have to pick up the trade when it comes out

 

[NightBeetle]

Another page from #12

 

[NDX]

Morbius is getting more and more decrepit with each appearance his makes as of late. Hope this is just a Moore drawing style thing.

 

[Shockdingo]

I've been wondering about that, does anyone know why Morbious looks so terrible? I mean the last time I saw him, he had a full head of hair and defined fangs, not the weird little rat teeth. Despite his haggered appearance, I still like the art even if I'm not thrilled at this direction for Frank.

 

[jebhdb]

Anyone been reading "Welcome to the Bayou"? I think it's amazing and so close to Ennis' writing that you could swear it was Ennis himself. And I love the art. I really don't see why they need to reboot MAX if they continue with stories like this.

A nice breath of fresh air after that horrible 6 Hours to Kill.

I agree completely regarding Welcome to the Bayou. Much better than 6 Hours to Kill, but as much as I liked Welcome to the Bayou I thought the first issue of the Jason Aaron/ Steve Dillon Max book was even better. Based on the first issue I think Aaron may give the Ennis books a run for their money.

 

[Phenomenal]

Yeah, Punisher is just Boss level, the guy has skills to pay the bills. He is suppose to have super abilities in his return.