Punisher MAX: This ain’t your Daddy’s Comic Book

In a POA guest post, Shane talks a little bit about why Punisher MAX just might be the best thing for true fans of Marvel’s Punisher himself, Frank Castle.

About this author:

Shane is a comic and action figures collector who writes regularly for JoeDios.com and also contributes to Guru-Planet.com.

Poor Frank Castle. Imagine doing nearly 5 years in Vietnam. Imagine accidentally witnessing a Mafia Execution and then having you and your family wiped out in order to get rid of ALL the witnesses. Imagine being the only survivor. Imagine then spending the next 30 years taking down every low life scum you catch wind of.

Imagine writing those stories of revenge with a G rating.

That’s how The Punisher was presented by Marvel for decades. With a G rating. With insinuated violence and carnage. Then Marvel decided something. ‘Let’s govern our own comics and dump that relic called ‘The Comics Code Authority’. Marvel then starts to label their own comics similarly to that of movies. They start a line called Marvel MAX, aimed at adults, with adult themes, adult situations, adult content. Frank fits nicely in this new category.

Punisher MAX 1

Punisher MAX doesn’t really seem to involve many of the normal ‘capes’ of the Marvel universe. His past seems to be the same, and they have aged him accordingly, putting him well into his 50’s, but still being able to take out dozens of Mafia in single evening. He doesn’t interact with Daredevil or Captain America or take on the Kingpin. He takes out pushers, pimps, slave traders, villains more akin to this world than that of the ‘Marvel Universe’. They don’t change a thing about The Punisher in the MAX series, they just let the dog off the leash.

The stories in the Punisher MAX line are brutal. Hands down brutal. People die, and you see it all. Uncensored. Unedited. Uncaring. The story arcs in 4 issue series, and every issue has a cover done by the genius of Tim Bradstreet. This is Frank at his best/worst.

Punisher MAX 2

Don’t get me wrong. Punisher is a bad ass in any line. Punisher is a torn man, bent on filling a hole in his soul that will never close. The normal Punisher stories in comparison to The Max line is what Boxing is to the UFC. Boxing is a timeless sport, but the UFC is so much more brutal.

This post was written by Shane Welin from JoeDios.com. Shane also contributes to Guru-Planet.com.

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4 Comments

  1. Mike Haynes said...

    I’ve actually kicked around the idea of picking up a Punisher comic. It falls right into the type of comic I enjoy but I’ve had a tough time with it. I grabbed a couple copies of War Journal a while back and thought they were pretty solid but I’ve never read any of the MAX stuff.

    Looks like I might have to grab an issue or two next time I’m at the shop.

    Thanks for your article Shane!

  2. MidKnight said...

    You know, even though Punisher has always seemed like the type of character that I’d enjoy. The truth is that I’ve never really liked any of his comics. I’m not saying that they were bad or anything because they weren’t. It just doesn’t grab my interest.

  3. Dustin Colwell said...

    Great article Shane, I’ve followed this line from the beginning. It has some great stores, and I love that, finally, the Punisher is no holds barred. One of my favorites, a one shot Christmas issue, called Red Christmas, check it out.

  4. Hisham said...

    Although I’ve enjoyed MAX series (the most complete I have is US War Machines) I’ve never had the pleasure of reading Punisher MAX.

    And Tim Bradstreet is awesome. I’m always on a lookout for his work ever since I first saw it in the old Shadowrun rulebook.

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