Reprints Marvel Preview #2 and Marvel Super Action #1
Written by Gerry Conway and Archie Goodwin.
Penciled by Tony De Zuniga.
Inked by Tony De Zuniga and Rico Rival.
The Punisher is patrolling the rooftops of New York in the Financial District. A political candidate is speaking, when Punisher notices a man with a rifle.
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| The Punisher looks for an assassin on the rooftops of Wall Street. |
He shoots the man and, when he approaches him, the Punisher recognizes him as Mike Hauley, an old acquaintance from their time in Vietnam. Mike says his wartime experiences made him unhireable, so he was forced to work for a paramilitary organization. Before he can tell Punisher any more information, a helicopter drops a bomb in their direction, killing Mike.
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| The Hauleys' home is firebombed. |
After researching Mike's history, Punisher tracks down his family in the Chicago area. He learns that Mike was one of many Vietnam Veterans recruited by a billionaire extremist named Mark Christianson. He's recruiting the vets to form an army that will be strong enough to overthrow the United States Government. The Punisher locates Christianson's base of operations and prepares to attack.
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| Punisher survives an attack from |
Can the Punisher stop Christianson and deafeat his team of assassins?
Sometime later, Punisher tracks down some of the mobsters responsible for killing his family. He learns they are part of the Costa crime family, led by Bruno Costa.
Sometime later, Punisher tracks down some of the mobsters responsible for killing his family. He learns they are part of the Costa crime family, led by Bruno Costa.
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| Punisher takes out some thugs working for the Costa family, then steals their money to fund his "war." |
After killing some of their hitmen in New York and New Jersey, he heads to Florida's Gulf Coast for a final showdown with the Costas.
Review:
Classic Punisher is the oldest reprint book I've reviewed here. It was published in 1989. And it's also one of the thinnest, containing only 64 pages. But I figured it's worth reviewing because of its historical importance for the Punisher, since it contains his first solo stories. It's still easy to find a copy online or at comic shops. I'm hoping Marvel will eventually publish a collection that includes all of the Punisher's Bronze Age adventures.
I should mention that these stories were originally published in Marvel's black and white magazines that were aimed at an older audience. So there are some mild curse words and adult situations here. Call it a "PG rated" comic.
Story:
Gerry Conway co-created the Punisher so it's appropriate that he got to write his first solo adventures. These stories are the fifth and sixth appearances of the Punisher. Conway creates the template here for future Punisher tales, as Punisher narrates through entries in his War Journal. This was the first time readers got to see his origin depicted. Conway does a good job showing what could make someone run around killing criminals with a skull emblazoned on his chest.
I'm not a big fan of the Punisher, but he can be interesting in small doses and works best as a guest star. Classic Punisher contains some good, down to earth, entertaining "shoot 'em up" stories. Conway is careful not to make Punisher a "misunderstood good guy", portraying him as the dangerous vigilante that he is.
The first story, from Marvel Preview #2 is very good. The Punisher becomes a detective of sorts in order to discover who hired Mike Hauley and the other veterans.
The portion from Marvel Super Action #1 (a one-shot magazine) isn't as as strong, but it's okay. It's just a typical revenge story. The mobster's hideout feels more like the headquarters of a James Bond villain, but the finale in the private aquarium makes for a great ending.
Art:
Tony DeZuniga handled the pencils here and did a great job. The first part is absolutely gorgeous, some of his work reminds me of Gene Colan and Neal Adams. The image below is a great example of DeZuniga's fine work in this book.
Review:
Classic Punisher is the oldest reprint book I've reviewed here. It was published in 1989. And it's also one of the thinnest, containing only 64 pages. But I figured it's worth reviewing because of its historical importance for the Punisher, since it contains his first solo stories. It's still easy to find a copy online or at comic shops. I'm hoping Marvel will eventually publish a collection that includes all of the Punisher's Bronze Age adventures.
I should mention that these stories were originally published in Marvel's black and white magazines that were aimed at an older audience. So there are some mild curse words and adult situations here. Call it a "PG rated" comic.
Story:
Gerry Conway co-created the Punisher so it's appropriate that he got to write his first solo adventures. These stories are the fifth and sixth appearances of the Punisher. Conway creates the template here for future Punisher tales, as Punisher narrates through entries in his War Journal. This was the first time readers got to see his origin depicted. Conway does a good job showing what could make someone run around killing criminals with a skull emblazoned on his chest.
I'm not a big fan of the Punisher, but he can be interesting in small doses and works best as a guest star. Classic Punisher contains some good, down to earth, entertaining "shoot 'em up" stories. Conway is careful not to make Punisher a "misunderstood good guy", portraying him as the dangerous vigilante that he is.
The first story, from Marvel Preview #2 is very good. The Punisher becomes a detective of sorts in order to discover who hired Mike Hauley and the other veterans.
The portion from Marvel Super Action #1 (a one-shot magazine) isn't as as strong, but it's okay. It's just a typical revenge story. The mobster's hideout feels more like the headquarters of a James Bond villain, but the finale in the private aquarium makes for a great ending.
Art:
Tony DeZuniga handled the pencils here and did a great job. The first part is absolutely gorgeous, some of his work reminds me of Gene Colan and Neal Adams. The image below is a great example of DeZuniga's fine work in this book.
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| Punisher saves the Hauleys from a fire. |
For the second story, DeZuniga is inked by Rico Rival. It's okay, but not as exciting as DeZuniga inking himself.
How does it look?:
It looks fine. The stories were originally printed on newsprint, so even if Classic Punisher is old, it looks better than the original magazines. Here's another page that shows how good this reprint looks:
Extras:
The book ends with an exclusive 8-page story that was new when Classic Punisher was published.
Classic Punisher contains two solid stories that are very important in the development of the Punisher. Hardcore Punisher fans will enjoy it and all Bronze Age fans should check it out for DeZuniga's art.
J.A. Morris' rating:
3 Sals.
How does it look?:
It looks fine. The stories were originally printed on newsprint, so even if Classic Punisher is old, it looks better than the original magazines. Here's another page that shows how good this reprint looks:
Extras:
The book ends with an exclusive 8-page story that was new when Classic Punisher was published.
Classic Punisher contains two solid stories that are very important in the development of the Punisher. Hardcore Punisher fans will enjoy it and all Bronze Age fans should check it out for DeZuniga's art.
J.A. Morris' rating:
3 Sals.
