PunisherMAX #12 – Review

by Jason Aaron (writer), Steve Dillon (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Locked in a prison infirmary and unable to defend himself as enemies surround him, Frank recalls a chance encounter back in Vietnam.

The Review: That’s two for two.  Last month, I ranted and raved about just how awesome this book is and now, 12 issues in, I honestly believe that we are seeing the very best of this series.  Since returning from that long hiatus, Aaron is creating an exemplary Punisher comic.

This issue is a massive success because it touches on so much of what makes the Punisher a compelling character (contrary to the belief that many seem to have of his being two-dimensional).  On the one hand, there’s the public persona, the Punisher mystique that haunts the streets and is both myth and legend.  On the other hand, there’s the beast that lurks within Frank Castle, the incomprehensible drive and relentlessness. I truly believe that using and addressing these two points is critical to making a good Punisher comic.  Here, Aaron divides this issue into two stories, each of them addressing one of these two aspects of the Punisher and both succeed massively.

In the present-day portion, the sheer terror and suspicion that the Punisher has clearly ingrained in the collective criminal consciousness is a lot of fun to read.  Prisoners prepare to attack a bed-ridden, restrained Frank Castle with his limbs in casts and all, but they’re still too scared to do it.  It’s all part of Frank’s plan, he’s just waiting for them to try something.  Of course, that’s just paranoia on the part of the prisoners.  Frank’s too broken to even move.  But this terror and doubt is amazing to read.  It’s ridiculous to the point of comedy which only makes it that much more fun to read, to see the legend of the Punisher having such an effect.

The flashback to Vietnam is essentially Jason Aaron analyzing the Punisher/Frank Castle character, and it is a fantastic piece of work.  It sees Frank conversing with a physically restrained soldier gone murderously insane.  This soldier hits many of the same notes that Bullseye did last month, albeit at greater length and in more detail.  But what makes it so special is that, particularly given that the soldier is never named, this almost reads like a surreal, internal dialogue, as though Frank is conversing with and denying a part of himself.  That raving, bloodlusting lunatic could just as easily be the frothing animal that lurks behind Frank’s stoic exterior.  The result is unsettling, but also absolutely gripping.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Avengers the Children’s Crusade #5 – This kinda came out of left field.  In a week that had several highly anticipated #1 issues from Image and the launch of Marvel’s newest event, who would have thought that an issue 5 out of 9 would be the best of the week?  How did Heinberg do it?  Well….for starters, he is eschewing typical Act II slowness.  This issue was action packed as the Young Avengers first fight with Doom and then bounce around the timestream with Iron Lad and then it ends with a kinda big character making her big return to the Marvel U.  It also doesn’t hurt to have Jim Cheung doing some just beastly art.  Every page is outstanding from an art standpoint and it shows what happens when you give an A-list artist 2 months to work on something.  This will be a real masterpiece when it is done.

Most Anticipated: Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker #2 – For all hullaballoo about a couple of Image #1s this past week (and a couple of them were quite good), Butcher Baker #1 beat the pants off of them, so I can’t wait to see what Joe Casey and Co. do for an encore in issue #2.  Sure, it probably won’t match the shock value of seeing Dick Cheney and Jay Leno as part of the right-wing establishment trying to talk retired superhero Butcher Baker (a Comedian clone) out of his Charlie Sheen-esque retirement, but I’ll still bet there are some goodies in this issue.  You know one thing: There won’t be any punches pulled!

Other Picks: Unwritten #24, Infinite Vacation #2, Amazing Spider-Man #658, Lil Depressed Boy #3, Black Panther #517

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Secret Six #32 – While all the buzz was understandably about Fear Itself #1, and it was pretty good, I can’t deny the awesomeness that was this week’s issue of Secret Six.  It was the perfect blend of dark drama, darker comedy, and intricate team dynamic.  In other words, it’s everything that makes Gail Simone’s series so special.

Most Anticipated: Journey into Mystery #622 – I’m a Thor fan.  I’m a Kieron Gillen fan.  I love books centered on the bad guy.  Journey into Mystery offers all of these things, plus the awesome artwork of Doug Braithwaite.  That’s enough to leave me very excited.  I fully expect this to exceed Gillen’s Thor run, which was already pretty solid.

Other Picks: Infinity, Iron Man 2.0 #3, Uncanny X-Men #535, Uncanny X-Force #7, PunisherMAX #12, THUNDER Agents #6, Birds of Prey #11, Batman and Robin #22, The Flash #10, Amazing Spider-Man #658, New Avengers #11, Secret Warriors #26