Punisher (Vol. 6) #33

Background

The Punisher has been on a killing spree for years, dispensing his own brand of justice. He has crossed the path of many heroes, but none them have managed to take him down for good...

Story Details

The Punisher is taking down some bad guys and finds out that something big is going down, so starts torturing informants to find out where and when.

Meanwhile, Daredevil has called Spider-Man and Wolverine together, asking them to work with him to take the Punisher down. His reasoning is that together they will be able to take him down cleanly with minimum collateral damage. Spidey and Wolverine agree.

The Punisher continues to hunt for leads, stopping in with Soap and catching up with snitches. On his journeys he runs into Dave (formerly known as Spacker Dave), the Punisher's former neighbour. Dave tells the Punisher how he's a super-spotter (think train spotter) and that he figures by following the Punisher he'll get to spot other vigilantes and heroes. During the conversation the Punisher gets a call. Its one of his snitches. He ditches Dave and heads off.

When the Punisher meets with the snitch, instead of giving information the snitch gives some lip, getting stuck right into the Punisher. The Punisher's a little taken back. Then he notices DD emerging from the shadows. Then Spider-Man and Wolverine appear. The snitch takes off. DD tells the Punisher its up to him on how things will play out. The Punisher says he feels like a burger....

General Comments

I haven't caught up with the Punisher in quite awhile, fortunately I had stuck with the series to have read the original stories that are flashbacked to in this issue. Not that you need to have read those stories to appreciate this issue, the recapping is done pretty well. The stories had gotten a bit repetative, but I mainly dropped the title because I simpley didn't have the money to keep buying it. Now there's a Spidey appearance, so I guess HAVE to buy a few issues more....

This issues is okay, it addresses something that probably should've been addressed in Marvel Universe by now. Basically superheroes like DD and Spidey should be trying to take down the Punisher and the fact that it hasn't really happened before is a bit of anomally. Ennis takes a off-beat, comedic approach to this story idea, which kind of robs it of its potency. I'm guessing that this story will provide a few laughs, but the central idea won't be properly addressed. The simple reason for this is a business one, the Punisher sells books, the fans like the Punisher out shooting up bad guys, so eventhough it conflicts with the internal logic of a superhero universe, Marvel have to keep the Punisher on the loose.

John McCrea's art this issue I found to be inconsistant. At times I could've sworn some panels were done by former regular penciller Steve Dillon. At others the art was alot looser and not as polished. I prefer the Dillon style, but McCrea's normal style is okay too. I just wish he'd stick in the one groove for the length of 22 pages!

Overall Rating

This is really just set up, but it promises some funny moments to come.