I’m starting to turn into one of those guys.

You know what I’m talking about: An uber Punisher fan.

Ever since the change in writers on the MAX title I have been trying to get people on the bandwagon because this title hasnt lost a step since Ennis has left. But now I am fearing I am going to turn into one of those guys who dresses up in black leather jackets, with the punisher logo on the shirt; admit the War Zone film wasnt god awful, and second guess everyone’s opinion on the character….Or just turn into Pete LePage.

But it’s just hard not turning into that type of person when I have been giving nothing but bliss since Swierczynski has joined the title. He provides a great inside into Frank Castle and bring some much deserved black humor into the series. You see humor and Punisher doesnt usually go along very well. Again, unless your name is Garth Ennis you just cant bring much humor into the character without making it look bad or too campy. But Duane S. is just able to blend the right amount of dark humor into the title without making it look bad. Whether it’s writing ‘Mother Russia Sucks Balls’ on a mob member’s car to saying ‘Yeah this prick is worth the stop’, Duane just provides enough insight into Punisher by making him root for the guy by making us hate the man he’s about to kill.

My praise continues with the great art by Lacombe and Staples. Lacombe’s pencils are just gorgeous to look at. His background are nicely detailed on the city of Philadelphia (I even recognize some of those areas) and his faces are pretty too look at as well. There is one panel that looks a little iffy (where Castle pushes a woman aside) but overall it’s pretty golden. The colorist should get a nod in this review as well. Val Staples is a man who is bringing the tone of the book. He also does a great job of lighting in some scenes and a splended use of red when Castle is out and about killing.

So yes it seems I have sunken into the abyss of uber-Punisher fandom. I might not be going the whole LePage route by loving Wolverine too much but this is just a fun comic to be had. It’s dark like it should be and it provides some nice humor into an otherwise action packed, blood soaked series. I’ll repeat it once more: IF you have dropped this series after Ennis’s run….pick this title up now! It’s some of the best Punisher material you could be reading right now….Unlike that Rick Remender pretender Punisher.