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Eye really liked this issue. Looking forward to more.
The heads of the major crime families (the ones the Punisher hasn’t killed, that is) meet to discuss their futures and the threat that Mr. Frank Castle has posed to organized crime for 30 years now. Don Rigoletto promises a heavy hitter that can take out the Punisher, but for the time being, he has an idea that should be able to keep Castle out of their hair: the Kingpin. Everybody knows the Kingpin is nothing more than a myth: there hasn’t been a boss of bosses since ’31. But with a little planning, perhaps the Punisher can be convinced that the Kingpin is real and focus his efforts on taking him down.
Frank, having tortured a low-level thug into spilling a bit of information on the meeting, shows up and takes out a few more high-ranking members of the family, which convinces the rest to go ahead with Rigoletto’s plan.
The Max version of the Punisher seems to take the character back to his roots as a vigilante inspired by Don Pendleton’s Executioner series and it was a brutal, bloody good time. Just one dude against the Mob. Torture, violence, Mafia Dons meeting clandestinely and planning big plans… heck, there was even a scene in which a man’s eyeballs popped out of his head. What’s not to like about that?
At times, it did seem a bit too much like Punisher + Sopranos + Preacher; but to be fair, that probably had a lot to do with Steve Dillon’s artwork, which always reminds me of Preacher. Even when the guy drew Wolverine, I just saw the characters from Preacher in costumes… which is kind of freaky. But Aaron did seem to be going for a Preacher vibe with the gross-out gags and such.
The mob stuff was pretty much by-the-numbers generic mob stuff and the outcome of the story seems pretty predictable already. Is that necessarily bad? Time (and the next few issues) will tell.
Cover art to PUNISHER MAX #1 by Dave Johnson
Going back to my “Punisher + Sopranos” comment… if you like that sort of thing then you might dig this book. I happen to like that sort of thing quite a bit, so I thought this book was a lot of fun. Gruesome, but fun, and I’ll probably be back for the next issue. Though it did tend to fall a bit on the clichéd side of things, it was entertaining in sort of a no-brainer, action movie sort of way. And I really enjoyed seeing a version of the Punisher that is still a Vietnam Vet, ages in real time and is totally unconnected from the Marvel Universe. It might not be totally original, but it was an exciting read. And it’s not like the Punisher was a totally original idea in the first place.
I wasn't aware of any weird timeline discrepancies as I have only read Ennis' first arc on Punisher MAX. So it's all new to me. I can totally understand where you're coming from though, savage. It does work though and I think I'll keep reading. I've been very burnt out on the Punisher for a long time now but the past year or so has rejuvinated my love of the character. I dig what Remender is doing on the 616 title and I'm liking this one as well.
I just hate that they have to restart the series for no reason. I wish Marvel would quit doing that. Was it really necessary?? I thought they would have learned there lesson being that they are returning all titles to there original numbering
The timeline on this comic is confusing.... This story happens AFTER the Garth Ennis Max series, but BEFORE the Kingpin has risen to be king of New York. Which is bloody confusing. I thought the rise of the Kingpin would be an 80's period piece, but instead it seems to be taking place today.
It works, it just throws me a little.
I'm really happy anytime Dillon is working with Hollingsworth.