Broken Frontier

The Punisher makes his return to mainstream Marvel tomorrow, after spending the last few years under Marvel’s MAX imprint. And he’s coming back to the mainstream in a big way. Punisher: War Journal sets him squarely into continuity, smack dab right into the middle of the Civil War crossover. He will be interacting with super villains and superheroes just like he did before he moved to the adult side of the comic rack.

But his return to the mainstream doesn’t mean that his MAX book will be ending. No, the adults-only book, complete with its graphic violence, sex and language, will be continuing, running concurrently with this new one which is aimed at ages teen and above.

The Punisher’s first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129, cover dated February 1974, may have come out before the first Death Wish movie, which was released on July 24, 1974, but it is hard to believe that the latter did not influence the creators of the former.

The Punisher’s origin, first recounted in Marvel Preview #2—which came out a full year after Death Wish—features a loss of loved ones, much like Charles Bronson’s Paul Kersey did. This loss caused both men to start a vendetta on the type of criminals responsible for the killing.

But while there were only four sequels to Death Wish, the last one coming in 1994, there is another influence of the Punisher. The first installment of the series in question began in 1969, a full five years before the Punisher hit comic pages. And the series proved to be just as popular; it is still being published today (11 years after the original author’s death) with the latest of the series hitting bookstore shelves just two months ago.

While not as famous as the Death Wish movies, Don Pendelton’s Marc Bolan: The Executioner character bears perhaps an even closer resemblance to the Punisher than the movie. Both Bolan and Castle were Vietnam vets. Both take on the Mafia, who were responsible for the death of their loved ones. And both have had adventures all over the world.  Even the names Punisher and Executioner are similar.

So, if the Punisher is the mash-up of two characters from two different media, why has he lasted so long? Why has he found such a strong audience with comic fans? What makes Frank Castle so different from Paul Kelsey and Mack Bolan? It could be the world he lived in.

The Punisher spent the first part of his existence in the comic book world as a guest star. Before he got his first series in 1986, he was only seen in the pages of the Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil and Captain America. Part of the appeal to the character, for me at least, was seeing how he interacted with these heroes and how they interacted with him. They might be working on the same side as him, but his methods put him directly at odds with them. This dynamic will be played up again in the new volume of Punisher: War Journal.

The people the Punisher fights are not nice people. Their real life counterparts don’t shoot to wound, don’t say shucks or darn when things don’t go their way and don’t lead a celibate existence. This is what the MAX series tapped into so acutely. If you want a Punisher story to clothe itself in reality, you need cursing, gory bloodshed and the occasional nudity.

Now it appears comics fans have the best of both worlds—interaction with the Marvel Universe in one book, gritty realism in another. But retailers should beware. The two books are aimed at two entirely different audiences. If the teenage audience War Journal is aimed at picks up the adults-only MAX Punisher, there could be hell to pay.  One concerned parent is all it takes to cause a firestorm of trouble for the small store owner.

Think I am exaggerating?  Recently, a motion to dismiss the case of the State of Georgia v. Gordon Lee, a Rome, GA comic retailer who accidentally gave a copy of Alternative Comics #2, a book which had nudity in it, to a minor, was denied.  The trial is set to begin in 2007. The same thing could happen if a copy of the MAX Punisher was given out instead of Punisher War Journal. Although, the same brouhaha happening over a book published by the same company that publishes Spider-Man and the X-Men could cause more media attention and bigger consequences.

Is the character big enough to appeal to teens and adults? Yes. Are retailers savvy enough to make sure each group gets the appropriate book? I hope so. 

For a sneak peek at Punisher: War Journal, check our interview with Matt Fraction.

Also out this week:

• Runaways #22: The end is nigh for the Runaways. No, the book isn’t being cancelled or the characters being replaced. Rather, this issue marks the beginning of the last arc by series creators Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. Vaughan has been with the title since the beginning, although there have been other artists on the book other than Alphona.

The book will continue, written by Joss Whedon and drawn by Michael Ryan. An able team, no doubt, but it will still be strange to read a Runaways comic not written by Vaughan. It shows faith that Marvel will allow the title to continue without its creator on board. If you are a fan of Whedon thinking about picking up the title when he takes over, you might want to give this arc a try so you can understand what Joss will be left to work with.

Brian K. Vaughan (W), Adrian Alphona (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Ongoing series

• Red Menace #1: When people reminisce about the 1950s, they remember it fondly as a simpler, more innocent time. However, that decade was home to one of the darkest blights on American history—the communist witch hunts by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Many a life and career was ruined by one man’s paranoia and ambition. Imagine how it would have turned out if a superhero was accused by the H.U.A.C.?

This series is from Wildstorm, who earlier this year published The American Way, a superhero story set in the turbulent 1960s. If this series is as good as that one, the company could have created a new niche for itself—a publisher of historical superhero comics. And for a history buff and comic fan such as myself, that would be a good thing indeed.

Danny Bilson, Paul DiMeo & Adam Brody (W), Jerry Ordway & Al Vey (A), DC Comics/Wildstorm, $2.99. Six-issue miniseries.

• Drain #1: It’s vampires! It’s ninjas! It’s vampire ninjas! It’s two, two, two genres in one! And an interesting concept to boot! Each genre has a cult-like band of followers. Combine the two and you could have a comic made in sales heaven. Think about it: a ninja with the powers of a vampire would be almost unstoppable.

Created by C.B. Cebulski and Sana Takeda, the series tells a tale of a young woman whose family was murdered by vampires. Becoming a vampire herself, she has tracked the Dark Lord responsible for killing her family and making her into something she hates. It has the makings of an epic story which spans decades. And the fact that it’s about vampires and ninjas makes it even cooler. But I already mention that, didn’t I?

C.B. Cebulski (W), Sana Takeda (A), Image Comics, $2.99. Ongoing series.  

• Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes #24: There have been many different incarnations of the Legion of Superheroes over the years. The concept has been revamped over and over again since their first appearance in Adventure Comics #247. The latest version proves the super team of the future is still going strong. The recent addition of Supergirl to the roster gave the title the shot in the arm it needs as it approaches its 50th birthday.

However, there is one constant in almost every Legion incarnation—Mon-El. Mon-El is from the planet Daxam and has powers similar to Superman, only with a weakness to lead instead of kryptonite. He is one of the most popular characters in Legion history and as of yet, has not appeared in the most latest revamp. However, signs point to this issue changing that.

Mark Waid (W), Barry Kitson & Mick Gray (A), DC Comics, $2.99. Ongoing series.

• Dead Sonja: She Zombie with a Sword #1: Sword and sorcery comics are making a comeback, especially Robert E. Howard-based characters such as Conan and Red Sonja. Another popular genre that has gained popularity in more than one medium is the Zombie Story. Both story types are ripe for parody. But what do you do if you don’t have time to poke fun at each one individually?

If you’re like Owen Gieni and Robert Blatant, you combine the two and come up with Dead Sonja. Yes, it’s a zombie version of Red Sonja. Is it unique? That would depend on the execution. If it’s successful, does this mean we will see more zombie parodies in our future? Quite possibly. Use that as a determination on whether or not you want to buy this book.  

Owen Gieni (W), Robert Blatant & various (A), Blatant Comics, $9.99. One-shot.

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. Bill also writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software.