Punisher MAX #75
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By: Matthew Fantaci
Greg Hurwitz, Duane Swierczynski, Peter Milligan, et al.
Laurence Campbell, Das Pastoras, Tomm Coker, et al.
Marvel Comics/MAX
Plot: Five short stories about Frank Castle.
Review: Short story collections are tricky. Most writers either try to cram a full-length tale into a few pages or sacrifice forward momentum for a character study with little insight. It's a tug of war between too much and too little. Few writers have the ability to strike that balance of just enough. But when it happens it's like a rare gem.
Short stories in comic book format might be even trickier, but I still had hope for this issue. Punisher MAX has succeeded in being one of the most entertaining of the iconic Marvel titles. The writers have done a fair job of finding ways to make the one-note Frank Castle still sound like a melody. Even after Garth Ennis left the book, Marvel drummed up some pretty able-penned stand-ins.
Here we have five short stories to commemorate the 75th issue. Each of these tales touches on the day Frank lost his family in Central Park and became the killing machine he is today. Beyond that, however, nothing is added. One story after another provides the same basic equation of "Frank's family killed = Frank kills people." Five times. By the fifth story it starts to feel like you're being hammered over the head with a croquet mallet.
The worst offender here is a story called "Father's Day," which is only a pastiche of drawings by Goran Parlov scavenged from old issues of Punisher: MAX. Perhaps two pages, if that, are actually newly drawn. Marvel couldn't even bother to give us images that were somehow revealing. Writer Peter Milligan adds only some excerpts from a Father's Day note from Frank's murdered daughter as narration. The words are meant to pull at our heartstrings while oh-so-cleverly juxtaposed against the random graphically violent images. Instead, the whole thing just annoys in how little effort was actually put forth.
The only story that feels like it's even trying is Tom Piccirilli and Laurence Campbell's "Dolls," in which Frank crosses paths with a lost little girl looking for her father. While a bit sentimental for my taste, Piccirilli at least understands how to use the short format to give us a glimpse into Frank Castle's character.
The most compelling part of this issue is a preview for the up-coming reboot of the Punisher MAX series (after only 75 issues? OK) by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon. In it we see a clean slate approach, as the origins of the Kingpin are explored. The rest of the stories here aren't even worth mentioning. But Aaron and Dillon? Punisher and Kingpin? Yeah. I'll be back for that.
Final Word: Don't bother with this turkey. Back issues will have to suffice until Punisher MAX #1 comes out.
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