Punisher War Journal Classic, Vol. 1

Punisher War Journal (1988) #1-8

by Carl Potts, John Wellington, Jim Lee (Contributor)

Angry and dangerous loners are famed for keeping journals, and Frank Castle is no exception! The Punisher confronts deadly enemies from both war and peacetime, but a vacation in Africa introduces him to a far different legacy of the dinosaurs! But the wild man waiting to throw down on him is no throwback. It's Wolverine! Guns vs. claws for the historic first time! Guest-starring Daredevil! Collects Punisher War Journal #1-8.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Crime, Marvel, Superheroes, Fiction

208 pages, Comic

First published November 1, 1988

About the author

Creative Director, Writer, Artist & Editor with experience in visual arts, entertainment, marketing, interactive and education.

Reviews

[JL Shioshita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started trying to incorporate Frank more into the wider Marvel U (yes I know he was a Spider-Man villain and a Daredevil antagonist) pulling him out of his own gritty noir back alley and placing him firmly in the world of mutants, superheros, and spandex weirdos. His first meeting with Wolverine is kind of a let down, but his interactions with Daredevil are fun, as always. Overall a little disappointing, though it is a blast seeing the artwork of a baby Jim Lee.

[Matt Piechocinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny ... in the years that this came out, I would never think about picking this up ... as I considered myself a highbrow "X" fan. But 25 years later, this stuff is classic 80s, and just fun.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvel's darkest character gets some adventures.

[Oscar Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hay cómics que con el tiempo y las modas han sido injustamente olvidados. Éste es uno de ellos. En comparación con mucho de lo que hoy se hace en la industria de superhéroes, la obra de Potts y Lee se hace imprescindible.
Tomando una premisa arriesgada para la época (1988) e incluso para hoy, Carl Potts presenta un corpus esencialmente verosímil. Un protagonista como Frank Castle correctamente construido, al límite del colapso pero sin caer en la caricatura sociópata, apoyado por líneas argumentales concisas, secundarios interesantes, una documentación que hoy parece enciclopédica y un enemigo cierto como es el crimen organizado en todos sus niveles y consecuencias, y no como la caricatura que se lee hoy.
Punisher War Journal es un cómic para adultos, que sin evitar la denominación de género, evita apelar a la nostalgia. Su violencia no es gratuita, sin ahorrar en crudeza (las muertes son realmente cruentas, niños incluídos), pero el dilema moral está siempre presente. El héroe está sometido a sus limitaciones físicas y a las consecuencias de sus decisiones. Los conflictos no siempre se cierran de forma satisfactoria para la moral tradicional y no se rehuye el conflicto político ni social. Y aún hay espacio para las imposiciones editoriales como la continuidad y los crossovers con personajes gancho como Daredevil o Wolverine. En todo eso, es una lástima que Carl Potts haya cambiado la industria del cómic por la de los videojuegos. Se necesita la lucidez de un autor como éste. Aunque claro, tal vez la industria no le dé ningún espacio. Ya está fresco el caso de Ed Brubaker en la misma Marvel.
Párrafo aparte para un novel Jim Lee que, todos los dioses sean testigos, despliega en esta serie un talento superlativo. Nunca más se prodigó de manera tan efectiva, me arriesgo a decir. En un estilo clásico, su nivel de detalle y capacidad narrativa son magníficos, lejos de la contaminación efectista y llena de ruido a la que se habituó después. Ciertamente, aqui hay un Jim Lee resolviendo las páginas más duras de su carrera, tanto por el nivel de diálogos de Potts, como por no contar con su inefable entintador Scott Williams. La reciente edición en español de Panini le hace gran justicia a este trabajo.
Quizá en su momento, comparado con tanto cómic de impacto saliendo por Marvel y DC, War Journal fue sólo un cómic sobre la media. Con los años, es un manual de estilo imprescindible del género. Lectura obligatoria, absolutamente.

[Eldon Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pure nostalgic read for me; when these stories were written I was just a boy reading them and The Punisher was at the apex of his popularity. The early 90s in comics was a time of the antihero.

This is a good collection made all the better by Jim Lee's impressive artwork and the inclusion of the first ever meeting between The Punisher and another dark hero at Marvel...Wolverine.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es el mismo arco argumental que publicó Columbia en los '90s!

[Mhorg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Classic?

When punisher was in the marvel universe there were lane stories like the ones in this volume. Silly situations and encounters with superheroes who could trash him in seconds. Not among my favorites.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints Punisher War Journal #1-8. Frank Castle fights his war on crime and finds allies in his safehouse neighbors. I am not a huge Punisher fan but War Journal is a little better than the other series. Castle's character is developed a bit better, a little less comic booky (despite an appearance by Wolverine and dinosaurs). The Shadowmasters side story is interesting, but a set up for a separate limited series (so underdeveloped).

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be great - I'm not particularly familiar with the Punisher and this shows him off nicely. It revels in the death and brutality that other Marvel comic books shy away from and is all the stronger for it. There are some nice touches of detail in the wounds Castle receives and the weapons are very well researched.

[Richard Cosgrove · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm a huge Punisher fan, but hadn't come across this before. Possibly the worst run of the character in history. Appears to have been written by a twelve year old who has never read a Punisher comic in his life. Way to much exposition, terrible dialogue and containing characters called the Punisher and Wolverine who don't resemble any other incarnations I've ever read. In short, avoid like the plague.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent collection, but ideally this should have been incorporated into the Essential Punisher series. War Journal could be read separately from the main line, but it always made sense to read them in sync.

[Tânia · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Justiceiro não é de perto nem de longe um dos meu heróis preferidos - apesar de adorar anti-heróis. Contudo, até gostei das aventuras reunidas neste livro - a dose perfeita de máfia, violência e memórias trágicas.

Tânia @MyLovelySecret

[Will Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I️ would actually give this 3 and 1/2 stars. I️ like it better than the original Punisher title. It hasn’t heightened Frank to the insane, ultimate killing machine yet, but it’s still good stories.

[Greyson Woody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic 80’s comic book fun,by today’s standards it’s still decent,but if your looking for a dark and gritty punisher story,this is not for you

[Nuno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but the stories are simple and dated. The art is awesome but somehow not so fluid as other comics I've been reading from the 80's.
A versão portuguesa têm uma tradução desleixada, com erros ortográficos e falhas gramaticais.

[Bernard Convert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les scripts de Carl Potts sont très très bavards, le dessin de Jim Lee n'est pas encore à son sommet, mais c'est très bon quand même. Daredevil vient faire un tour sur la première série, et Wolverine sur la troisième, magistrale. Mes personnages préférés de l'univers Marvel.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Individual issues on marvel unlimited

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, but the Shadow Masters subplot felt out of focus.

[Muhammad Syahid Sundana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished re-reading half of this vol. Nice classic collections for Punisher fans.