Marvel MAX

Discuss and review Punishermax (what in hell did they do to that tile?!), Terror Inc. and rest of the books and mini-series in the MAX imprint.

I loved The Hood mini. Absolutely loved it inspite of the fact I'm not big on the "MAX" line due to the censorship they do to its titles. I want my damn nude Elektra NUDE, dammit!

That's the hypocrisy of American entertainment.

I enjoy the Max line. While Marvel will cross the line with language I can't see them doing the same with nudity. Tomer is right when he said "That's the hypocrisy of American entertainment." You can curse up a storm and slaughter an entire city of people but show a little boob and the world stops.

Review of Punisher MAX # 1 is up on the main site.

http://panelsonpages.com/?p=14954

Good review

Good start to the series

Punishermax #1

Great Scotts! More Punisher violence! This book has not sold well in Ennis' absence. This all changes this week with the arrival of Punishermax #1. It's got Steve Dillon, and Jason Aaron pens like the Punisher legend who paved his way here. It's not bad to write nearly identical to someone so impactful; the only problem was not hearing Aaron's voice. With Scalped and Weapon X currently being favs of mine, I couldn't help but read this as a fresh take on the continuity that was Ennis' run. That sounds awfully good. It reads good. It's just that if you read last year's solid Punisher: War Zone series from Dillon & Ennis, you don't get the sense Punishermax is Aaron's book.

At least not just yet. The cartoony over-the-top violent pencils and persuasive dialogue go hand-in-hand, so we're off to an exciting start regardless. Nutty fun, for sure.

3.5/5 Bags&Boards - Add This 2 The Punch

Rath99 wrote:I enjoy the Max line. While Marvel will cross the line with language I can't see them doing the same with nudity. Tomer is right when he said "That's the hypocrisy of American entertainment." You can curse up a storm and slaughter an entire city of people but show a little boob and the world stops.

I remember when Frank Cho hinted at his Shanna THe She-Devil series, he said it would be a Max book with nudity, but it was then watered down to a Marvel Knights book with no boobage.

Double post...nothing to see here.

Punishermax #1

This was my first foray into The Punisher in the MAX universe and I didn't mind it all. Pretty brutal but felt immediately like I was in a mafia style story which should be good. I think the rise of Wilson Fisk will be an entertaining story.

As I'm a newbie to this stuff can someone fill me in - I take it The Punisher MAX stuff has it's own continuity? And is he in his 50s or something here as the mafia guys mentioned he's been a pain in their ass for 30 years? Has Wilson Fisk ever been shown in this universe before or is this his first appearance?

I think this is Fisk's first appearance in the MAX Universe. I know Nick Fury was featured in one of Garth Ennis' arcs of the first Punisher MAX series, and I think Jigsaw was featured at some point.

I love MAX. Anything Marvel releases that breaks up with the Comics Code Authority and establishes its own rating system has to be good. I think I've only read a few...Elektra and The Punisher comes to mind. But again just like the Mangaverse series-I can get them for dirt ceap from Amazon or eBay. I don't but comics like I used to so I should get started soon...

Doesn't DC have a mature series? Vertigo, right?

Punisher Max #1

I've always been a firm believer that Punisher only truly works in a Max or "adult" book. He can be used in the regular MU but just not to the full potential of the character. That said, I really enjoyed this book. Maybe I've gone soft over the years, but man did some of the violence make me cringe But that's exactly what I expect from a Punisher book. Plus Steve Dillon is perfect for the book's tone, and Jason Aaron is a superstar in the making. Looking forward his take on Punisher going forward.

Bigtymin504 wrote:Punisher Max #1

I've always been a firm believer that Punisher only truly works in a Max or "adult" book. He can be used in the regular MU but just not to the full potential of the character. That said, I really enjoyed this book. Maybe I've gone soft over the years, but man did some of the violence make me cringe But that's exactly what I expect from a Punisher book. Plus Steve Dillon is perfect for the book's tone, and Jason Aaron is a superstar in the making. Looking forward his take on Punisher going forward.

Good review, Bigtymin504-you pretty much hit the nail on it's head with the Punisher owns MAX. Though that's true, I'd like to see dark times for every superhero-yes, I'm wanting Spider-Man to be a part of this...who knows?

ChrisToPhenom wrote:Good review, Bigtymin504-you pretty much hit the nail on it's head with the Punisher owns MAX. Though that's true, I'd like to see dark times for every superhero-yes, I'm wanting Spider-Man to be a part of this...who knows?

Thanks

As far as other characters like Spidey going "Max" goes, I don't think it will ever happen. Marvel wants to keep a certain image for its most mainstream heroes like Spidey, Cap, Hulk, Iron Man, and yes even Wolverine to a degree...so don't expect to see any nudity and/or extremely gratuitous violence in any book featuring Marvel's big guns. Closest we're gonna get is probably the Noir-line..

Bigtymin504 wrote:

ChrisToPhenom wrote:Good review, Bigtymin504-you pretty much hit the nail on it's head with the Punisher owns MAX. Though that's true, I'd like to see dark times for every superhero-yes, I'm wanting Spider-Man to be a part of this...who knows?

Thanks

As far as other characters like Spidey going "Max" goes, I don't think it will ever happen. Marvel wants to keep a certain image for its most mainstream heroes like Spidey, Cap, Hulk, Iron Man, and yes even Wolverine to a degree...so don't expect to see any nudity and/or extremely gratuitous violence in any book featuring Marvel's big guns. Closest we're gonna get is probably the Noir-line..

Good point but speaking of Iron Man-he made an appearance in The Punisher video game including with Stark Towers and you might as well say that was a MAX game-extremely violent. I'll have to play the game again-never got to finish it. Here's a clip-

ChrisToPhenom wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:

ChrisToPhenom wrote:Good review, Bigtymin504-you pretty much hit the nail on it's head with the Punisher owns MAX. Though that's true, I'd like to see dark times for every superhero-yes, I'm wanting Spider-Man to be a part of this...who knows?

Thanks

As far as other characters like Spidey going "Max" goes, I don't think it will ever happen. Marvel wants to keep a certain image for its most mainstream heroes like Spidey, Cap, Hulk, Iron Man, and yes even Wolverine to a degree...so don't expect to see any nudity and/or extremely gratuitous violence in any book featuring Marvel's big guns. Closest we're gonna get is probably the Noir-line..

Good point but speaking of Iron Man-he made an appearance in The Punisher video game including with Stark Towers and you might as well say that was a MAX game-extremely violent. I'll have to play the game again-never got to finish it. Here's a clip-

Haha nice. Yeah whenever it comes to the issues of sex, nudity, and violence...people always find violence the most allowable for some reason.

Spider-Man will never be featured in MAX (well, except for the recent Strange Tales, that was a project Marvel could allow) because his too huge of an icon and appeals to youngsters. They'll ruin his life, bring crappy storylines that involve deals with demons and ancient aunts that refuse to die - but Marvel will never let Spidey be portrayed in a uber-violent or uncensored way. Millar's Marvel Knights Spider-Man was the closest thing we'll ever get to a MAX Spider-Man story.

As for the Punisher: I've been pretty much out of the loop in recent years, but I thought that his "realistic" origin and Vietnam days was both part of the MU and MAX world. When he returned to the MU post-Civil War it was awkward, but I just thought it was the way certain artist drew him. Now I rather see Frank just in his own little world, especially after what they did to him after Steve Rogers died and now the most recent development. Suddenly the black Frank Castle and angelic Punisher sound like good premises...

ChrisToPhenom wrote:

Bigtymin504 wrote:

ChrisToPhenom wrote:Good review, Bigtymin504-you pretty much hit the nail on it's head with the Punisher owns MAX. Though that's true, I'd like to see dark times for every superhero-yes, I'm wanting Spider-Man to be a part of this...who knows?

Thanks

As far as other characters like Spidey going "Max" goes, I don't think it will ever happen. Marvel wants to keep a certain image for its most mainstream heroes like Spidey, Cap, Hulk, Iron Man, and yes even Wolverine to a degree...so don't expect to see any nudity and/or extremely gratuitous violence in any book featuring Marvel's big guns. Closest we're gonna get is probably the Noir-line..

Good point but speaking of Iron Man-he made an appearance in The Punisher video game including with Stark Towers and you might as well say that was a MAX game-extremely violent. I'll have to play the game again-never got to finish it. Here's a clip-

I finished the game, but never found the time to replay it and gain all medals and achievements.

Tomer Soiker wrote:
I finished the game, but never found the time to replay it and gain all medals and achievements.

Awesome-I'll get it for PC or Xbox, I guess.

The Hulk...if I remember correctly, the relaunched series showed Bruce on the run and he'd shave his head, get into a fight with gangbangers, have sex with a diner's waitress-all of that good stuff. I also remember(it's been a while) some chick had a shard of glass stabbed into her neck after Hulk's rage-it was some crazy stuff.

Also, how dark was the The End series including Spider-Man: Reign?

Spider-Man: Reign wasn't really The End nor a MAX book (MK, actually), but it was pretty dark in tone. I hated it, because the story was too cluttered and messy. I would say Kaare Andrews should stick to drawing only, but even his art in that series wasn't that good.

(I loved most of his covers to Amazing Spider-Man when JMS started his run on the book and that farewell issue/homage to Will Eisner of Wolverine by Mark Millar [well, I had the b&w version and loved it as opposed to the colored version], but other than that I'm not really a fan of Andrews' work.)

Hulk? I think you mean Brian Azzarello and Richard Corben's Startling Stories: Banner? Never bought it, but pretty much read the whole series in a book store when it was published, and it was a great alternate take on the Hulk/Banner. I loved the twisted end. But again, it wasn't under the MAX imprint.

I don't know if there's a Punisher version for the Xbox, but I played it on the PS2.

Tomer Soiker wrote:Spider-Man: Reign wasn't really The End nor a MAX book (MK, actually), but it was pretty dark in tone. I hated it, because the story was too cluttered and messy. I would say Kaare Andrews should stick to drawing only, but even his art in that series wasn't that good.

(I loved most of his covers to Amazing Spider-Man when JMS started his run on the book and that farewell issue/homage to Will Eisner of Wolverine by Mark Millar [well, I had the b&w version and loved it as opposed to the colored version], but other than that I'm not really a fan of Andrews' work.)

Hulk? I think you mean Brian Azzarello and Richard Corben's Startling Stories: Banner? Never bought it, but pretty much read the whole series in a book store when it was published, and it was a great alternate take on the Hulk/Banner. I loved the twisted end. But again, it wasn't under the MAX imprint.

Tomer Soiker wrote:I don't know if there's a Punisher version for the Xbox, but I played it on the PS2.

I know it's not under the MAX imprint but I'm just discussing about the dark stories of Marvel's heroes that was a bit close.

Yeah, there's a version for the Xbox as well as the PS2, PC and mobile phone.

Rath99 wrote:I enjoy the Max line. While Marvel will cross the line with language I can't see them doing the same with nudity. Tomer is right when he said "That's the hypocrisy of American entertainment." You can curse up a storm and slaughter an entire city of people but show a little boob and the world stops.

There was some minor boobage in the War Machine 2.0 mini (which sucked hard, btw.

Punishermax #2

Jason Aaron takes the premise of his new take Punisher MAX from last issue and turns it up a notch. Not only does Aaron and Dillon masterfully enhance the brutality that is the world of Kingpin, but also show moral character and genuiness in his motives. Perhaps calling some of these morbid scenes of murder and absolute disdane for human life genuine is reaching. Kingpin's horrific personification--through the details of his origin--is what carries this issue and having Frank behind the shadows adds even more intrigue to the mix.

I've never been huge on Steve Dillon up until this point and this series is making me a huge fan. Maybe that's because I've never read his earlier volumes of Pun with Ennis. There's just something about his deranged cartoony art that works well with alternative comics. And it's never been more disturbing than on Punisher Max.

4/5 Bags&Boards - Great