Comic Books

PUNISHER MAX #4

“KINGPIN,” PART 4 While Wilson Fisk makes his move on the leading crime families of New York, Frank Castle has problems of his own. Namely the sledgehammer-swinging hitman known as The Mennonite.

WRITER: Jason Aaron
PENCILS: Steve Dillon
COLORED BY: Noelle Giddings
LETTERED BY: VC - Cory Petit
COVER BY: Dave Johnson

Price: $3.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 1.7%

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Comments

  1. This Mennonite guys is gonna be interesting, especially if his weapon of choice is a sledgehammer.

    I only expect it too be fucked up, that is for sure.

  2. I thought the last issue went overboard on the fucked up side and it stopped being interesting. I want good, extremely hard boiled noir. I don’t want Ennis fanfic. What I’m saying is, I want this to be fucked up in the right way.

  3. God damn this is good stuff

  4. Guess who else is a Mennonite? Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons. That’s interesting, isn’t it?

    Anyway, the last issue was pretty stupid. A swearing naked old lady does not a good story make.  Here’s hoping it picks up

  5. see, when the solicit mentions a sledgehammer and the cover shows an axe, it just bothers me

  6. @ABird: Technically he is a farmer too, so I guess he’s going to be using all type of equipment you would see on a farm.

  7. Let’s not pretend that the presence of an axe diminishes the quality of Dave Johnson’s work.

  8. "You’re goin’ to hoe him to death?"

    Classic…

  9. This run continues to disappoint me. I was expecting this to be Ennis semi-realistic Punisher MAX, but it’s more like Ennis Welcome Back Frank black comedy, cartoon style Punisher MAX.
    It’s an OK comic, I dont think it’s bad, I’m only disappointed that the tone is off & because it’s Aaron & I was expecting a lot more than OK.

  10. This was another solid issue as always. So far it’s been so good that it’s hard to really say anything that stands out. Menonnite is an interesting villain, I hope he stays awhile….Kinda doubt it though after that fight. But yeah that can be a bad thing sometimes but it still good. So it hasn’t lost any quality yet.

    @Wade: I don’t think it’s that cartoony or over the top. It still pretty violent and somewhat realistic. I think it’s because Dillon is so associated with Welcome Back Frank, everyone might think this is a ‘joke’ comic. When it isnt.

  11. @TNC- It’s violent, but it’s cartoon violence, there’s a difference. Do you want a list? lol (SPOILERS)

    Frank gets hit IN THE FACE with a sledge hammer. Do I need to type what this would do in real life? Or even semi-real life? It doesn’t even put a mark on his face.

    The hit man whistles his horses & they trample Frank. The horses are pulling a cart. Frank doesn’t hear them coming (ever heard of them?) & doesn’t get out of the way in time … & he gets up from this.

    The boot knife. It was a joke when it was in Tango & Cash. Here it’s not.

    I could go on, but you get my point. If all this stuff happened in the regular Marvel U, or in the Welcome Back Frank incarnation of Punisher, it would be totally normal — but this version of MAX is set in a semi-real world, close to ours, where NO superheroes etc exist. All this stuff is like a Looney Tunes cartoon. I was waiting for an anvil to drop of Frank’s head & little birds to circle around it chirping, while Frank’s cross-eyed.

    PS- Saying "fuck" a lot doesn’t make something "adult" or "hardcore".

  12. oops- I meant to say "ever heard ONE of them" — they’re LOUD lol

    Sorry for the rant, but I’m a fan of both Aaron & Punisher & was really expecting this to be more … awesome.

    One last bonus beef — "I was riding through the place they call Hell’s Kitchen when he just happened to drive past. I’d never seen him in the flesh before, but still I knew right off it was him. Just from the look in his eyes."

    LOL I’m sorry but that’s just BAD writing, (I don’t mean the dialogue) that this could happen.

  13. @wade: I still like it and think it’s somewhere in between Marvel Knights Welcome Back Frank and the Ennis Punisher Max.  It’s not uber realistic but it is not that over the top either.

  14. @wade: I havent gotten the chance to read this issue yet, but I agree with you on the cartoony violence brought by Dillon’s art. In the previous issues, and really, most all of Dillon’s work, I just cant get a feel of realism in it. Not to say his art is bad, but it just doesnt really fit this kind of a series. Personally, I’m not as big a fan of this current run just becasue of him.

  15. @wade: Well you said it yourself, it’s "semi" realistic. Both Frank and Menonnite gets beat up really bad, but obviously not killed cause that’s what would happen in real life. Okay so Castle’s face isn’t bashed in….but he now has broken hands, ribs, legs, and a few other bruises. He’s hurt. He’s not indestructable like the Marvel U Punisher.

    Menonnite got stabbed in the crotch! He’s gotta be bleeding out at this point.

  16. The Punisher might never have found religion but that didn’t stop religion from finding the Punisher!

  17. I’m not sure Ennis MAX Punisher had Frank suffering the full effects of his injuries either.  this is still a stylized fictional world.  realistic can only go so far and both Ennis and Aaron have only made things realistic to a point.  remember the Barracuda fight with the baby in tow?

  18. Any pretense of "realism" was eliminated with Eyeball Man in issue #1.

  19. I think I’m done with this series. I’m with wade, seems forced and goofy. It’s not bad, just not something I feel like paying $4 on. Shame too, I really like Aaron.

  20. The way Dillon draws lips really bothers me.

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