Punisher #62 – Review

By Gregg Hurwitz (writer), Laurence Campbell (artist), Lee Loughridge (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Dave Johnson (cover)

After having the Punisher head south of the boarder to investigate a series of brutal murders, the last issue left us off with a very promising tale. However, this story is starting to look like your familiar Punisher story, where that bad guy presented is just screaming to get his face filled with bullets. With this familiar approach, I can’t help but feel that the writing walks the line of brilliance and mediocrity, it’s engaging but nothing new.

Last issue I had two big concerns, the dialogue and the story. Castle’s dialogue is inconsistent, distorting the Frank Castle character, specifically in the scene where he comes off as a knowledgeable detective who knows way too much about kitty litter and drugs. But I guess it’s envitable when you’re going to have three different writers tackling this arc. As for the story, it simply felt too similar to The Slavers.

The art however was more redeeming than the writing, Laurence Campbell does a good job dishing out brutality and the familiar grit we miss seeing when Ennis was still onboard. My favorite panel has Castle seeing his fallen family in the reflection of a mirror, serving as a slick and subtle reminder of why the Punisher is who he is. Campbell also makes excellent choices on when to and when not to show Castle’s face. For a personal, reflective moment we’ll get a quick shot of his face. When it’s time for business, his face is covered in shadow and only the skull on his chest remains. It’s a good move to show the true nature of one of Marvel’s favorite characters.

Ultimately, I think this book is unfocused. The ideas are there, but the execution is lacking. The Punisher feels out of place in his own title. Hurwitz needs to find the middle-ground between his inner monologue for Castle and everything else. As it stands now, The Punisher is trying to be too many things. It’s not that the character can’t be multifaceted, but those facets need to be on the same spectrum. (Grade D+)

-Ben Berger