Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: In the Beginning: Part 2
Written by: Garth Ennis
Penciled by: Lewis Larosa
Inked by: Tom Palmer
Colored by: Dean White
Lettered by: Virtual Calligraphy’s Randy Gentile
Assistant Editor: John Miesegaes
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics > Max
It’s obvious that without buffoonery there’s nothing left to do with the Punisher!
The Punisher was one of my favorite characters when I was about ten years old. It was the 80’s and any old garbage where a good guy killed endless baddies was great fun. Unfortunately, this type of storytelling and character really lost its usefulness more than a decade ago; why the hell do they still tell Punisher stories? To be fair, why are they once again trying to tell Punisher stories that aren’t farcical?
So, you may ask why I am reading this comic. That’s simple enough really. The answer: A mistake…a very, very big mistake.
I’ve been following Garth Ennis’ work on The Punisher in trade paperback form for a while now. I think Garth’s work on books like Preacher and Hitman is some of the preeminent work of the last ten years in the comic industry. I loved each and every trade from the previous Punisher series, so I figured it was time to read Ennis’ tales of Frank Castle on a monthly basis.
The funny (in a bad sort of way) thing that happened with this relaunch is that all the fun was taken from the Punisher. This is old-school Punisher storytelling at its best (or worst). The quirks, buffoonery, and ludicrous nature of the characters and situations have been wrung completely from this book. Sadly, that means the reason to read is gone; leaving nothing more than a hollow story about a guy dressed in black, killing and maiming.
Everything old doesn’t become new!
Is this a bad story? Of course not! Garth Ennis is one of the finest writers that the industry can offer us. Yet, this is not a typical Garth Ennis book. The Punisher is a retro kitsch pastiche of old that decays more and more with age. There is simply no need for him to still be running around the Marvel Universe unless he’s not-in-on-the-joke. In the past, Ennis played Frank Castle as the “straight man†in a series of bumbling episodes, and it was pure gold. This new book, unfortunately, is by-the-numbers action, killing, and dismemberment.
So what’s the story about?
It’s about the Punisher killing mobsters…in bushels. The only somewhat interesting wrinkle is that Frank’s old partner, Micro, shows up on the other side. This makes for a rather interesting face off, but from there what’s going to happen? Oh right, the Punisher is going to kill everyone! There’s never going to be any development, or moving on with the story. That’s it folks.
If you want to see work with a character in a similar vein, but vastly better: check out the previously mentioned work by Mr. Ennis on Hitman. That’s a book about a killer that actually went somewhere.
I have to hand it to Lewis Larosa. His artwork isn’t thrilling, but it works well for this dark and grim storyline. The Punisher is the sneering, oaf-some character from the old days and looking in fine form. I still miss the wonderful work of Steve Dillon, who was on board for much of Ennis’ previous work on The Punisher. As a whole though, I am actually glad that he’s not here for this new series. His work fit the more humorous surroundings a while back, here, unfortunately, it just wouldn’t fit.
The sum of my fears!
I didn’t pay much mind to the buzz on this relaunch. My understanding was the book was coming to the Max imprint so Garth could do what he wanted. I didn’t find out until a couple of days before that it meant dropping the funny-stuff. I probably wouldn’t have bothered picking it up if I had known sooner, but I didn’t want to stick my comic shop for the two issues this month, so here we are.
