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mark_johnson 's review for:
The Punisher MAX, Vol. 1
by Garth Ennis
I usually don`t read MARVEL comics, not because I have something against them it`s just how it is. This one won`t change it, I picked up the Punisher comic only because of the TV show.
I heard a lot about how Garth Ennis` run on the Punisher is one of the best on the character if not the definitive version of it. Because I never read any other stories about Frank Castle I can`t say anything about whether or not this opinion is true. I can say for sure that its first volume is dark. Almost miserably dark. Striving for a “mature” “realistic” approach went this story into the land of grimdark, and I get it, Frank Castle isn`t a very merry dude and on the daily basis, he`s dealing with the purest scum of the New-York`s underbelly. But when everything is dark and ugly and violent it starts to feel monotone very soon. Also, there`re no sympathetic or even interesting characters here. Frank is an emotionless killing machine and… that’s the whole character. He`s basically your typical manly stoic badass protagonist. Funny thing, because of the art on the first half of the book Frank sometimes looks like a Clint Eastwood, that reminds me of the Roland Deschain from The Dark Tower - another stoic badass that I grow tired of later on in the series. Don`t get me wrong, I like badass man characters and I have nothing against dark and mature “realistic” tone, but it should be balanced in order to work, at least for me. When every character is violent and unlikable and this didn`t change throughout of the book it stops evoke any emotions out of the reader – even that visceral feeling of the violence. The two stories presented here is perfectly fine, showcasing the nature of the protagonist and the world he lives in. The second one has a twist at the end that I saw from the mile away, still satisfactory though. Art is also OK, liked the covers more than pages itself.
Again, I cannot say that praise The Punisher MAX as a whole and this book, in particular, getting is unearned. I cannot say that it is a bad version of the Punisher. All I can say that it is not appealing to me.
I heard a lot about how Garth Ennis` run on the Punisher is one of the best on the character if not the definitive version of it. Because I never read any other stories about Frank Castle I can`t say anything about whether or not this opinion is true. I can say for sure that its first volume is dark. Almost miserably dark. Striving for a “mature” “realistic” approach went this story into the land of grimdark, and I get it, Frank Castle isn`t a very merry dude and on the daily basis, he`s dealing with the purest scum of the New-York`s underbelly. But when everything is dark and ugly and violent it starts to feel monotone very soon. Also, there`re no sympathetic or even interesting characters here. Frank is an emotionless killing machine and… that’s the whole character. He`s basically your typical manly stoic badass protagonist. Funny thing, because of the art on the first half of the book Frank sometimes looks like a Clint Eastwood, that reminds me of the Roland Deschain from The Dark Tower - another stoic badass that I grow tired of later on in the series. Don`t get me wrong, I like badass man characters and I have nothing against dark and mature “realistic” tone, but it should be balanced in order to work, at least for me. When every character is violent and unlikable and this didn`t change throughout of the book it stops evoke any emotions out of the reader – even that visceral feeling of the violence. The two stories presented here is perfectly fine, showcasing the nature of the protagonist and the world he lives in. The second one has a twist at the end that I saw from the mile away, still satisfactory though. Art is also OK, liked the covers more than pages itself.
Again, I cannot say that praise The Punisher MAX as a whole and this book, in particular, getting is unearned. I cannot say that it is a bad version of the Punisher. All I can say that it is not appealing to me.