Why I hate Punisher MAX.
With Garth Ennis penning The Punisher under the Marvel MAX label, Frank Castle seems to be more popular than ever. I, for one, have no idea why. Ennis is blatantly ignoring everything about the character and making him something he isn’t. Don’t see it? Go grab your copy of where it all began, Amazing Spider-Man #129.
Back? Good. Take a look at the second page. The Jackal is talking to The Punisher about killing Spider-Man. The Jackal assumes Frank kills because he likes it. Frank is quick to say that he doesn’t enjoy killing, and he only kills those who deserve killing. Later in the book, The Punisher says he doesn’t enjoy killing again. Okay, remember that. Twice he says that he doesn’t enjoy killing. Now get your copy of MAX #1.
Open to page 14-15 spread, when The Punisher is gunning down some random mob guys. Last panel. Frank says “And only now, pouring automatic fire into a human wall – do I feel something like peace”. So, in the first issue of the MAX series, Frank has down a full 180 since that first appearance. Now, he enjoys killing. Check out Punisher: Born for more examples of how much he loves killing. Okay, character’s sometimes change, right? Well, check out (link).
The interview asks Ennis if he likes the character. He replies “I wouldn’t say I’m a big fan of the character…” Well, I guess you don’t have to be a huge fan of the character to write about him, as long as you've read it. You can skip down to where the interview asks Ennis “What kind of guy is the Punisher?” Read Ennis’s reply to that and the next question. Ennis just comes out and says Frank kills because he likes it, or so he assumes, because you can tell he hasn’t read much other Punisher work (if any). The rest of the interview isn’t about The Punisher, so you can skip it or keep reading if you really want to.
Let’s go back to the second page of Amazing Spider-Man #129, or the first paragraph. The Punisher says he only kills those deserve it. He doesn’t kill innocents. That is well documented through-out The Punisher’s history. Let’s check out issue 7 of the MAX series now. Page 7. A bomb goes off outside of a dinner our guy happening to be eating in. Lots of carnage. A man is lying on the floor with a whole in his chest. He asks for help. “So I do.”, says Frank. He starts to kill the man. The point isn’t that he doesn’t go through with it. The point is that he broke his biggest rule. He tried to kill an innocent. There is nothing to make us believe this man did anything worth punishing him for. He was eating a dinner at the wrong time. Frank doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t want to help at first, he’s simply going to kill him. Ennis believes that is Frank’s idea of helping. Frank wouldn’t kill an innocent for any reason. As I said before, that is his number one rule.
So, Ennis just doesn’t simply care about The Punisher’s back-story. Okay, so I guess that isn’t so bad for new readers, but these simply aren’t great stories. They’re filled with shock value (Punisher #31 is a prime example, although it isn’t outlandish for the series) and constant talk about sex and cussing. Not to mention, Frank hardly appears in most of the issues. They aren’t stories about The Punisher, they’re stories about criminals with The Punisher thrown in to just move the story along. You could just replace him with any other character and have the same stories. Maybe that would be better.
If you are looking for good stories about The Punisher, check out Carl Potts and Jim Lee’s “An Eye for An Eye” (Punisher War Journal #1-3) or Mike Zeck and Steven Grant’s “Circle of Blood” (original 5-issue mini-series). Those aren’t the only good Punisher stories, but you should check them out to see how The Punisher should be written. If you’re looking for other stories, most comic stores sell back-issues of The Punisher for pretty cheap. The recent Bullseye VS Punisher story wasn’t bad, although it was more about Bullseye. You don’t need to put up with Ennis disregard for the characters continuity or childish humor. I want you all to get up right now and stick your head out of the window and yell “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take Garth Ennis’ Punisher anymore!” Or maybe not.
Back? Good. Take a look at the second page. The Jackal is talking to The Punisher about killing Spider-Man. The Jackal assumes Frank kills because he likes it. Frank is quick to say that he doesn’t enjoy killing, and he only kills those who deserve killing. Later in the book, The Punisher says he doesn’t enjoy killing again. Okay, remember that. Twice he says that he doesn’t enjoy killing. Now get your copy of MAX #1.
Open to page 14-15 spread, when The Punisher is gunning down some random mob guys. Last panel. Frank says “And only now, pouring automatic fire into a human wall – do I feel something like peace”. So, in the first issue of the MAX series, Frank has down a full 180 since that first appearance. Now, he enjoys killing. Check out Punisher: Born for more examples of how much he loves killing. Okay, character’s sometimes change, right? Well, check out (link).
The interview asks Ennis if he likes the character. He replies “I wouldn’t say I’m a big fan of the character…” Well, I guess you don’t have to be a huge fan of the character to write about him, as long as you've read it. You can skip down to where the interview asks Ennis “What kind of guy is the Punisher?” Read Ennis’s reply to that and the next question. Ennis just comes out and says Frank kills because he likes it, or so he assumes, because you can tell he hasn’t read much other Punisher work (if any). The rest of the interview isn’t about The Punisher, so you can skip it or keep reading if you really want to.
Let’s go back to the second page of Amazing Spider-Man #129, or the first paragraph. The Punisher says he only kills those deserve it. He doesn’t kill innocents. That is well documented through-out The Punisher’s history. Let’s check out issue 7 of the MAX series now. Page 7. A bomb goes off outside of a dinner our guy happening to be eating in. Lots of carnage. A man is lying on the floor with a whole in his chest. He asks for help. “So I do.”, says Frank. He starts to kill the man. The point isn’t that he doesn’t go through with it. The point is that he broke his biggest rule. He tried to kill an innocent. There is nothing to make us believe this man did anything worth punishing him for. He was eating a dinner at the wrong time. Frank doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t want to help at first, he’s simply going to kill him. Ennis believes that is Frank’s idea of helping. Frank wouldn’t kill an innocent for any reason. As I said before, that is his number one rule.
So, Ennis just doesn’t simply care about The Punisher’s back-story. Okay, so I guess that isn’t so bad for new readers, but these simply aren’t great stories. They’re filled with shock value (Punisher #31 is a prime example, although it isn’t outlandish for the series) and constant talk about sex and cussing. Not to mention, Frank hardly appears in most of the issues. They aren’t stories about The Punisher, they’re stories about criminals with The Punisher thrown in to just move the story along. You could just replace him with any other character and have the same stories. Maybe that would be better.
If you are looking for good stories about The Punisher, check out Carl Potts and Jim Lee’s “An Eye for An Eye” (Punisher War Journal #1-3) or Mike Zeck and Steven Grant’s “Circle of Blood” (original 5-issue mini-series). Those aren’t the only good Punisher stories, but you should check them out to see how The Punisher should be written. If you’re looking for other stories, most comic stores sell back-issues of The Punisher for pretty cheap. The recent Bullseye VS Punisher story wasn’t bad, although it was more about Bullseye. You don’t need to put up with Ennis disregard for the characters continuity or childish humor. I want you all to get up right now and stick your head out of the window and yell “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take Garth Ennis’ Punisher anymore!” Or maybe not.
posted by brunbbmerc at 2:59 PM
3 Comments:
But they've all got corking Tim Bradstreet covers, you've got to admit.
I'm with you brunbbmerc, although I don't think Ennis bugs me as much as he does you. I enjoyed "Welcome Back, Frank" - I think the MAX rating has allowed Ennis to go completely wild, whereas he had to show some restraint on the MK books.
Out of all the MAX arcs, I enjoyed "Mother Russia" best - although I thought Ennis' characterization of Nick Fury was horrible.
I've pretty much convinced myself that the MAX universe is not in continuity, no matter who says differently.
For me, I really liked Mike Baron on Punisher. Frank still had some humanity left, he had a sense of humour, he chummed around with Micro - sure, he was a loner, and a tortured guy, but he was NOT a psychopath, which is pretty much what Ennis has turned him into.
That said, the Punisher is one of my favourite characters, so I'll keep reading MAX nonetheless.
I'm really looking forward to the upcoming launch of the new Punisher War Journal.
I didn't really talk about the Marvel Knights series because I didn't think it was as bad, but you can see his lack of knowledge about Frank coming through.
I haven't read Mother Russia, but Ennis did write a MAX Fury mini. I heard he turned Nick into a racist war-mongerer.
I bought the Born, In The Beginning, and Kitchen Irish trades (first three trades I ever bought). I thought they were okay until I got Essential Punisher and furthered my knowledge of the character on the internet. Now, I really can't stand them. I re-read them all recently, and that's what brough this article around. I also picked up MAX #31 to try and give it another chance, but it just intensified my feelings.
I can't wait for War Journal though. It seems like Fraction is learning about the character and hopefully not go the Ennis route by making Frank a psychopathic killer.
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