Punisher

LOOSECANNON wrote:Punisher #16

I absolutely love this book. Good for Remender for sticking to his...um...guns with Franken-Castle and now the book drops Punisher from its title to end all confusion. I was supposed to review this issue for comicsbulletin.com but pulled in with only 2 reviews late, so I'll just say that this was one HELL of a fight between Franky and Hellsgard. It's really epic. But, while Tony Moore's art is phenomenal, admittingly, it can be difficult to actually see what's going on with all the mechanical limbs swining around between the two demonic warriors. And as usual, Remender writes subtlety so beautifully. Some of his one-liners are just great.

4/5 Permanent Franken Castle Haters - My favorite book that everyone else hates! In a huge week, perhaps Marvel Book of the Week, too.

Well your review has just swayed me to read this issue. Their still in my box at the LCS. Not anymore come Wednesday. Its not that I hated the book. Its actually a good story, especially because i'm a fan of Morbius and the Legion of Monsters. I just thought it would've bee cooler to see Frank as a cyborg and not as Frankenstein. And that cyborg should be whooping ass in The Siege. He owes Norman Osborn and Daken some HUGE payback. This story just feels out of place after what he went through with Dark Reign.

I haven't been reading this "Franken-Castle" arc, and don't really plan on it, but I thought Rick Remender's reasoning behind it was sound. In an interview he essentially said that while the whole supernatural thing doesn't necessarily fit with traditional Punisher stories, Punisher does still live in the Marvel Universe where supernatural things like demons, spirits, the Legion of Monsters, Mephisto, Doc Strange, Ghost Rider, etc exist. So if Remender wants to tell a story about Punisher confronting some of that then I think it's perfectly logical for him to do so.

I was DLing it but have since stopped. There is nothing that keeps me coming back so it's not worth even the time it takes to DL it. The art is generally not of my liking and all of it seems forced. If this had been some other character I would understand, but this seems like a desperate attempt to make Frank relevant when he is already relvant. It seems like one big waste.

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:I was DLing it but have since stopped. There is nothing that keeps me coming back so it's not worth even the time it takes to DL it. The art is generally not of my liking and all of it seems forced. If this had been some other character I would understand, but this seems like a desperate attempt to make Frank relevant when he is already relvant. It seems like one big waste.

I agree, Frank could be doing so much more. Although the art hasn't been that bad, but certainly not good.

Franken-Castle #17

No matter how high of a praise or rating I give some of these "non-essential" titles, there hardly garners a response. I'm sure the polarization stands between this book with those fans of Remender's excellent Punisher run and now his wildly imaginative supernatural take on the character, Franken-Castle.

Boschi continues the goods with the art; never to the level of Moore's detail but humorous and cryptic all the same.

I wish more people would discuss, but it is what it is.

3.5/5 Henry Spouts - Solid "downtime" and planning after the hellacious brawl with Hellsguard.

Franken-Castle #18

No one buys this book on Pop. Hoping "Reckoning" is worth the rematch. Lady Gorgon tastes her fate (makes sense with Secret Warriors and upcoming Shadowland and all). Fraken-Castle only here for another couple months.

3/5 - Really enjoyed Palo's art (Doc Voodoo) with the action scenes...very stylistic...there just wasn't much density, though I must give credit for not making this brief interlude a 2-parter.

The concept dude...can't get my head around that. Then you have PunisherMax and that is how the Punisher should be done!!

What do the "haters" of FrankenCastle think of In The Blood?

LOOSECANNON wrote:What do the "haters" of FrankenCastle think of In The Blood?

i thought it was a great start to a story

Punisher: In the Blood #4

The Punisher. There’s been three movies, several runs since its conception, and the ever-popular Hot Topic black T with the large white skull. Now why does the Punisher—as a comic—get absolutely no respect? Perhaps, it’s the fact we’re bound to a familiar result: Frank slays legions of lower-end mobsters and z-list villains with the best hand-made arsenal this side of Liam Neeson in Taken (or Unknown, take your pick), yet never comes close to duplicating the wordly results as the ever-powerful Spider-Man, Thor, etc.

Thus, with Rick Remender’s In the Blood, readers are taken down another haunting, not-all-that-different path than the films that also did little to place Castle at the pinnacle of superheroes. We’re treated with a deformed, snuff-suited mistress claiming to be Frank’s dead wife, Maria; a blonde and brunette double-deuce of Frank’s most famous arch-enemy, Jigsaw; two former communication compatriots in dire straits, whose recent actions have Frank mending on the fence; and Frank, himself, who we know won’t die since Daken already took care of that several months ago.

That last moment, ironically, happened to be the best thing to happen to Frank in years. Many had their issues with the imaginative FrankenCastle, yet it was the most attention this character had received in years. Otherwise, the current, excellent mini-series has little commentary, few reviews, unfound blog talk, and zilch marketing.

Turning Frank Castle into a monster wasn’t a bad idea, after all. While In the Blood has certainly been profound, you’d have to be a diehard to notice. With a brand new #1 on the way, could we possibly receive a Frank more involved with the Marvel Universe? In the beginning, we were teased with possible brawls featuring Norman Osborne and The Hood that never came to fruition. Jigsaw’s cool, but it’s about time Punisher received a well-deserved push…

…because no matter how much I sell you about this remarkable run from Remender, you’re probably not going to care anyway.

4/5