This is a good week for pellet reviews. First we have Deadpool #900 and now we have a final issue of Punisher Max before Jason Aaron comes in. It has some good talent involved, but a mix of new creators as well (Well new to me). All of the stories involve the day Frank Castle lost his family. Can these creators make a final sendoff to this long and (almost) great run on the MAX line?

Dolls: (Tom Piccirilli/Laurence Campbell) If there is one thing the Marvel has done, it's bring in great prose authors for Punisher. Piccirilli did a nice story about Castle helping a little girl find her dad. It ends in a very weird but also emotional finale and this is probably the most danger he's ever put an innocent person in. It is just a  sweet story overall even if there is death involved. Now I am not a huge fan of Campbell's art, his run with Gregg Hurwitz went from 'good' to 'almost unreadable'. But this was done pretty well and I think this is the best use of snow in a comic in a while. Seriously, it looks like snow and not just dandruff over the pages. It's a good start to this issue, that's basically the message here.

Gateway: (Gregg Hurwitz/Dan Pastoras) Hurwitz is becoming one of my favorite writers very quickly. His first run on Punisher was very good and the other stuff I read of his (both comics and prose) have been entertaining. Basically it's just a look into a man involved with the Castle slaying. Its an interesting character (Gateway) and I would've love to see more of him....just not a lot of him splattered across the kitchen. Dan Pastoras is also a unique artist, in where his stuff looks so damn lifelike but it feels so cartoony. The coloring is also very bizarre and I just can't put into words on what it looks like. All you should know is that this is a good looking story and I like Pastoras's style. Its not for everyone but it's unique enough for me to get behind.

Ghoul: (Duane Swierczynski/Tomm Coker) It's very sick to think that people auction off peices of a crime scene to get money. But that's what Swierczynski is showing us with a disgraced cop getting money off of 'souveniors' from the Castle murders. Duane had the best run on MAX since Ennis left and he is showing why he is a great crime writer. I love Coker's artwork, it's like Laurence Campbell's pencils but much more cleaner. He definitely sets the tone on how dark and creepy this story was.

Father's Day: (Peter Milligan/Goran Parlov) This is the saddest story I have read this year. Seriously, I was almost to the point of tears when reading this. At first it just seems like a basic flashback to all of the stories focused in the Punisher MAX run, but it's so much more. The revelation of this poem is just so heart wrenching, it makes me swear at Milligan but praise him on how great it was. Parlov's cartoony style seems a bit out of place for this sad story, but I still like his artwork. He does a great job giving us the highlights of every arc from this title, even from the one-shots Garth Ennis did a long time ago and his run with Steve Dillion. Just that last page....god it's so depressing.

The Smallest Bit of This: (Charlie Huston/Ken Lashley) Boy Huston is busy today with big sized comics this week isn't he? This was probably the weakest of the bunch in both story and art. This is something we've all seen before; Castle trying to think of life if the family stayed alive. So it's nothing real new here. Then Lashley's ugly artwork rears his ugly head. Some panels look alright but overall it's just a very sketchy looking story. Not the best way to end a pretty good comic.

This was much better then I thought it would be. The majority of the stories were interesting and brought new insight into the world of Punisher. It's a shame we can't see more of Swierczynski, Hurwitz, Milligan, Piccirilli, Parlov, and Coker with this title. But Jason Aaron is rolling into town with Steve Dillion; so I guess we can outweight the good with the bad in this. For the most part, this was an enjoyable run of Punisher MAX and this last issue solidifies why it was one of the best Marvel comics to come out every month. We're now in a new dawn with, hopefully, a very good creative team on board. Considering how the preview read in this issue, I think it's safe to say this reboot is a good thing.