After reading this book, consider me back on the Punisher bandwagon.

Punisher Max #1 is ment to accomplish a few tasks. First, this book sets out to obiterate the bad post-Ennis taste that seems to be in the mouths of all the Punisher readership. I have not read any of the issues after Garth Ennis left the title, but whenever I read reviews of them, they all seem to have some stigma that relates to these issues being in the shadow of his epic run. Whether these people are wrong or right is debatable, though seeing as this run was so monumental and did such great things for the Punisher character, the ill feelings people have are understandable. Oddly enough, though, another thing that Punisher Max #1 sets out to acomplish is the continuation of the tone that Ennis created with the Punisher’s MAX universe, which entails that much loved combination of true-life crime grit and bizarre Miike-like violence. This isn’t an easy thing to do, since it’s a bit of a catch-22 situation. The only way to ensure a positive outcome is to just but some great creators that are proven to deliver great work. Enter Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon, who rise up to the occasion like true pros.

Both Aaron’s script and Dillon’s art are pretty simple, yet they are both highly entertaining. Script wise, we have the familiar scenario of which the major mafia bosses are crapping their pants in fear of being found by the Punisher. This time, their nefarious plan involves creating a fake boss of all bosses (aka, a Kingpin) out of a patsy and a paper trail so that The Punisher will chase that instead of them. Here we get a Punisher Max introduction to everyone’s favorite bald fat man, Wilson Fisk. Much of my enjoyment of this issue comes from Aaron’s interpitation of Fisk, as he’s portrayed as a brutal low level lackey who is silently striving for more, and from the looks of things, he’s going to enact a plan to secretly screw over his bosses and become the true boss of them all. (OK, we all know he’s obviously going to become the Kingpin, just pretend that you have no idea about his Marvel Universe proper history). This is a fun character, and I feel that most of the fun from this arc is going to come from Fisk.

Additionally, Dillon’s art adds great depth to the issue. This type of story seems to play to his strengths as an artist, as its somewhat down to earth, but with a sprinkling of weird elements thrown in, like Fisk popping some dudes eyes out. So naturally, Dillon’s art fits like a glove for this series, so hopefully we can keep him around for the long run. I especially liked his take on Fisk, in which he had that dead behind the eyes look that not only made him look intimidating, but that he was secretly plotting something. Great stuff.

I’m really dug this issue, as it shows exactly why Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon are two of the best comic creators out there. It also succeeds in helping people move away from crying over Garth Ennis leaving the title, as it shows that The Punisher can still be great without him writing it. A definite must read.