If anyone doesnt mind I’ve borrowed some of books at my book store I work at. Since I havent gotten a chance to review for that week I’m willing to go back and review some titles that I read.

I’m not a huge fan of this series, in fact I think it’s pretty weak. Fraction is a great writer and has done some good work, but this isnt one of them. One of the biggest problems seem to be that it’s one of those books bogged down by tie-in’s. Seriously in one trade we got a Civil War  tie-in, then issue two is about the Death of Captain America, and finally in this trade there is a WWH tie-in. Like, X-Factor, it’s hard to follow or care anything about the true original stories when there’s so many tie-ins. Sure there are some good jokes and overall it isnt terrible…It’s just really run of the mill storytelling when it comes to this Punisher.

One of the things that is also bad about this series is the art. Olivetti is trying to hard with looking realistic. The muscles are too big, the faces are weird, the skin colors are just pale, and overall it’s just ugly to look at. The background are rendered nicely, but I have a seeking suspicion that they were done digitally and with photography. Although after the WWH tie-in we get different artists and really there isnt anything to scoff at there…

Overall this has no good comparisons with the much better Punisher MAX series. It’s trying to be a superhero book, but that’s the worst thing you can do in a Punisher title. He isnt much of a superhero, he’s a cold hearted vigilante. He doesnt fight supervillians; he fights thugs, drug dealers, and anyone else in regular crimes. Hell it’s even mentioned threw-out Frank hates real superheroes, so why try a concept that doesnt work for the character in the first place?