Punisher Competition Winner!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

On Wednesday, Rob set the following competition question:

‘Sic vis pacem, para bellum’, Latin for ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’ is the mantra of which screen Punisher?

Is it a) Dolph Lundgren b) Tom Jane or c) Ray Stephenson?

The answer was b) Tom Jane and our lucky winner is Nick Gribbon, who wins the Sal Buscema variant cover of Punisher #1! Congratulations Nick, it's in your Reservation Folder for you!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

New Beginnings - The Punisher #1

Throughout the summer Marvel has started new series for its “Big Shots”, namely Moon Knight (Bendis), Daredevil (Waid) and now The Punisher by Greg Rucka.

Many of you will know Rucka from his work across the Batman titles for DC or alongside Ed Brubaker on Daredevil. Others many know him from the plethora of Eisner nominations and awards. Either way his presence within the comic world is certainly well felt.

So having not worked on The Punisher as a title before and starting it from #1, was this a good idea?

I've never really read The Punisher before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. In all honesty my only exposure was the 2004 Jonathan Hensleigh helmed film (as discussed by Rob this week too) featuring Thomas Jane so as far as the issue goes I am a blank canvas.

Blank is an ironic and also apt word to use though as I became worried that I had picked up a duff copy as the first five pages didn’t contain a single word and the sixth was an advert.

Now, some of the frames are obvious and you can get a general idea that the depicted scene is not the best of places to be, but it’s also a little confusing as well. There are sections which simply feel as though they could be anything to do with the story but also nothing. It’s only when you get into the bones of the that you start to get a decent feel for the story (although there are some more “blank” pages as well) and this feeling was an odd one.

For a title re-introducing The Punisher to the comic market, as Marvel has advertised, there is a distinct lack of the main character until the very end. In fact there is more presence of Frank Castle in the additional side story “interview” that you are given at the end too. However, that’s not to say it doesn’t do a job.

For the series Marco Checchetto has teamed with Rucka to produce the comic. Having come off of the back of Daredevil with Andy Diggle and previously having drawn the American Son mini story in Spider-Man you can see why he was chosen to support. The line work is clean, crisp full of detail in the well lit frames, however, as with the idea and feel of The Punisher a lot is done in the dark. It’s here when the really strong work comes to the front as Checchetto says so much more with so much less linework and pushes the depth of the shadows. Obviously Matt Hollingworth has aided this process with his colouring too but I really feel that the look of the comic is where its strength lies.

As a complete offering of half written and half depicted tale it both grabs and pushes away.

I’m left a little disappointed that I couldn’t read more of Rucka’s work and start to wonder if he followed the same line of thought as Marco did where at times less is more but at the same time if that wasn’t his plan it has worked. The slight movie feel about it all that is created is pointing towards something bigger being built and I’m thankful that it hasn’t gone down the gratuitous overuse of a character or premise.

I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this one for the next few issues but not quite sticking it on my pull list though...

Matt Puddy forgot the hyphen in Spider-Man again and now his editor is disappointed in him

The Watcher - The Punisher - Welcome back Frank

This week, to celebrate the re-launch of The Punisher in a new solo title, reviewed tomorrow by the incomparable Matt Puddy, The Watcher casts his gaze over the big screen exploits of everybody’s favourite Marvel superhero not created by Stan Lee, Joe Simon or Jack Kirby.

Unlike the current Marvel A-list, whose box office success shows no signs of abating, the film Punisher has endured the grim thankless reality of life as a vigilante, punishing evil for little or no financial return. Interestingly, although there have been no less than three cinematic adaptations of the character, no one film is considered definitive by fans or critics alike. And so in order to satisfy my boyish need to see who out of the three big screen Punishers would win in a fight, below you will find a summary of each, using, rather appropriately, bullet points to list the key facts. Let battle commence, Top Trumps style!

Overall, this film is pretty brutal, even for the 80s, with a body count of 60 and a true action great at its heart. But our hero is given the opportunity to show his sensitive side, as Dolph’s Punisher is seriously distracted from his mission to kill just about anything that moves by a bunch of pesky children who happen to need rescuing just as the carnage hits its stride. If you can overcome the Elvis hair and distinct lack of the character’s usual novelty t-shirt, this film is actually a serious contender.

Perhaps the most traditional film in the ‘superhero’ mould, complete with origin story and a strong grounding in the comics, this one very nearly got the sequel treatment. In a slight change to the status quo, we see not only Frank’s wife an child killed, but his entire extended family - mother, father, cousins, aunts and uncles - all ruthlessly gunned down before he himself is shot in the heart and practically blow up. Kudos to the film makers for the unflinching brutality of this scene, but it does rather make Frank’s subsequent one man war on crime, wherein only 22 mobsters are brought to justice, seem almost like a slap on the wrist by comparison.

In many ways, the most successful when it comes to getting the job done, Ray Stevenson’s Punisher surpasses Tom Jane’s kill count in his first scene. But despite, the high action content and the story’s basis in the successful Nineties comic series ‘Punisher: War Zone’, it somehow failed to match the relatively impressive box office of the previous film, and effectively killed the franchise. The film also suffers from the same affliction as Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ (1989), in making the villain more interesting that the main character, as Dominic West’s unhinged Jigsaw steals the screen - Jack Nicholson style - only without the latter’s undeniable charismatic humour.

Overall, you can’t help but laugh at the irony in the distinct lack of films sequels, that the Punisher’s first story in the pages of ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #129 (1974) was called ‘The Punisher Strikes Twice’. But at the end of the day, The Punisher, for all his justifications, is a ruthless killer who has rejected society, and such a character was always going to be a tough sell for a mass audience. Its important to note that although the above tries to strike a light hearted tone, the character really isn’t about glorifying violence, but more about the psychology behind a man who feels that violence is the only answer. In that respect, and as much as I enjoy the films, I also believe that comics, where words and pictures can often show far more depth than live action, are always going to be the best medium to explore such a challenging concept.

COMPETITION!

This month sees the re-launch of The Punisher in a new ongoing monthly title from the excellent team of Greg Rucka and Marco Chechetto. Here at Proud Lion, we have a copy of the stunning Sal Buscema variant cover of Issue #1 to give away. In order to be in with a chance of claiming this prize, simply answer the following question:

‘Sic vis pacem, para bellum’, Latin for ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’ is the mantra of which screen Punisher?

Is it a) Dolph Lundgren b) Tom Jane or c) Ray Stephenson?

Please send your answer to shop@proudlion.co.uk

The first correct answer received will be the winner, and will be announced on Friday.

Don't forget to check out Matt Puddy’s review of ‘The Punisher’ Issue #1 tomorrow!

Robert Barton-Ancliffe punished himself to get this article done. Mainly by sitting through the Dolph Punisher film...

Welcome to the Land of Shadows

The Siege of Asgard has brought an end to Norman Osborn's Dark Reign. I'll do a review round up of the Siege finale soon, but just because Osborn is gone and the Heroic Age is beginning, it doesn't mean the whole Marvel Universe will march into the light.

As part of Norman Osborn's List, H.A.M.M.E.R. Agents entered Hells Kitchen and tried to apprehend Matt Murdoch. Bullseye put aside the Hawkeye costume and went looking for The Man Without Fear.

It didn't end well.

Mstt Murdoch is now the leader of the ninja clan known as The Hand.

In a move similar to Angel Investigations taking over Wolfram & Hart, Murdoch hoped to make a difference. Changing evil within. But power corrupts. Andy Diggle, the writer behind this story, spoke to Newsarama recently:

"Matt's always been a very driven, self-righteous character -- but of course, every villain believes himself to be the hero of his own story. Matt is walking the road paved with good intentions -- but we all know where that leads. So putting Matt in charge of the Hand is a great way of addressing these fundamentally dramatic questions -- where is the line between good and evil drawn? How far is too far? Will Matt turn the Hand towards the path of good, or will the Hand turn Matt towards the path of evil?"

In July, that story comes to ahead with a mini event called Shadowland. Unfolding in Daredevil, plus a separate five part miniseries and various other tie-ins including the new Thunderbolts - Marvel is promoting this as The Battle For The Soul Of New York.

Rather than the epic battles between God-like superheroes, this promises to be street-level vigilantes fighting for their lives. Eight teaser images have been released so far, giving us a indication of the players who will be knockling lumps out of each other.

Shadowland will be written by Diggle and illustrated by Billy Tan. It begins in July. The solicitation promises "a jaw-dropping final page that will have everyone talking for years to come!"

Ben Fardon is the owner, proprietor, manager and filing clerk for Proud Lion. Bascially, Ben is Proud Lion is Ben. He often uses the personal pronoun 'we', in an attempt to not feel like a man alone. In that context 'we' refers to Ben, the bricks and mortar, the stock and the branding that comprises Proud Lion. It also makes him sound kind of crazy. 'We' are OK with that.

Ben has been reading comics since he was five years old and his Dad bought him a Transformers comic at the local newsagent. In the same comic were reprints of Iron Man in the red and silver armour. To this day, Tony Stark is his favourite superhero.

He likes eating, swimming and science fiction Tv series. He recently became addicted to The West Wing.

One day, he'll finish a script for something.