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| Essential Punisher, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials) (v. 2) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Mike Baron, Roger Salick, Eliot R. Brown, Ann Nocenti, Klaus Janson, David Ross, Whilce Portacio, Mark Texeira, Mike Vosberg, John Romita Jr.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $4.09
You Save: $12.90 (76%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 104836
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 536
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 6.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 0785127348
Dewey Decimal Number: 741
EAN: 9780785127345
ASIN: 0785127348
Publication Date: October 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Punisher in His Prime June 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Punisher's earlier works, depicted in the first Essential volume, were all over the map in terms of the Punisher's portrayal. This volume depicts the character at his best, straddling the line betwixt the PG-rated version of the late 70s (when he was still using "mercy bullets") and the R-rated MAX version, (which often tries too hard to assure the audience that it's "grown up"). Here the action is fun and not just for shock value; and while the Punisher is an anti-hero, he retains a sense of decency that makes him a better fit in the Marvel universe.
Re-reading these earlier adventures, I was struck at how many of them would make great films, as the attention to action and story are equally balanced, especially in the earlier issues. I will say that the series went through some growing pains midway through this volume (the Kingpin storyline doesn't work on several levels), but would recover later in the series, so I'd recommend the next volume as well.
As for the art, I can't say that many of the artists were particularly to my tastes, esp. the Portacio-pencilled issues, which I guess were going for a "gritty" look but that I just found grating. But for me, stories take precedence over art, and there are some really good ones here.
I guess comparisons to the later Garth Ennis version of the character are inevitable. I don't want to knock Ennis--unarguably he's a skilled writer, if a bit more nihilistic for my taste. But if you can enjoy action comics without f-bombs and castrations, and you don't object to the occasional super-hero guest appearance (they become more rare but are still present), then you ought to have fun with these PG-13 adventures.
Essential Punisher is Essential Reading February 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not a bad anthology of Punny comics from the late 80s. Artwork and stories have decent enough depth to them, as does the taut action. Not a perfect collection, and the Max comics out now are much better since they are more adult-oriented...but remember these are from the 80s.
If you like Punisher and want to read some decent adventures of this iconoclastic Marvel hero, then check out this collection. I think you'll like it.
 Unintentionally funny September 26, 2007
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
The Punisher managed to strike a chord with readers when Gerry Conway first introduced him way back when in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, which would eventually result in a smash hit mini-series from Steven Grant and the great Mike Zeck. His popularity would spawn his first ongoing series, which this second Essential Punisher TPB collects the first twenty issues of. However, the stories featured here don't really amount to a whole lot, and are the beginning of the overblow of overexposure the character would experience that would make him one of the most laughable characters in Marvel's lineup for a number of years. This can be seen in particular during the last few issues collected here, which are just unintentionally funny thanks to the poor dialogue and non-sensical plot lines. Daredevil is here briefly, and Frank even tangles with the Kingpin, but there's nothing here that does the character justice. Worth reading just to see how badly the character got treated back then compared to now, who comes off as just as laughable in the hands of Matt Fraction (the recently launched Punisher: War Zone) and violenty brilliant in the hands of the great Garth Ennis (who writes the highly acclaimed mature themed Punisher title under the MAX imprint). Needless to say, Essential Punisher Vol. 2 is better left on the shelf.
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