Marvel Knights Punisher by Garth Ennis: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2

The Punisher (2000/2001) (Collected Editions) #3-4

by Garth Ennis

Nobody writes the Punisher like Garth Ennis - and these brutal tales prove it! When ex-marine Frank Castle saw his wife and children murdered by the mob, he began a war on crime! So why is he trying to rescue a Mafia don from angry guerrilla fighters in South Africa? And Frank faces off against Wolverine as the two compete to take down a bizarre underworld predator who's cutting off crime at the knees! Then, Belfast-born Ennis brings Frank face-to-face with terrorism in Northern Ireland. The Punisher investigates a drug ring -and the cops who are supposed to be dismantling it. Frank helps a social worker who has discovered a dark secret beneath the streets...and does a little dental work in a rarely seen tale drawn by Joe Quesada! COLLECTING: PUNISHER (2001) 6-7, 13-26; MATERIAL FROM MARVEL KNIGHTS DOUBLE-SHOT 1

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book

424 pages, Paperback

Published March 5, 2019

About the author

Ennis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.

Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.

Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.

Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.

While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.

Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.

After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.

In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.

Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.

In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.

In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Volume 2 isn't as strong as the first volume in terms of storytelling, it is by no means one a Punisher fan should pass by. Collecting the Ennis/Dillon collaboration from the marvel Knights series.

Ennis' Punisher is a great character. Using dark humor, though the Punisher never cracks a smile, Ennis crafts some pretty funny and twisted stories. But, along with the humor there is a serious dark undercurrent here. Ennis' Punisher is brutal.

There are some really great stories in this volume. From Punisher running into Wolverine while fighting Mafia midgets (don't ask) to the great story about the two cop partners (one on the take, the other a wife-beater). Frank also heads overseas and has some fun with the IRA and even rescues a Mafia don from rebels.

The range of stories is all over the map. For the most part, they are all entertaining, but not as much as the first volume. But, this is still a great volume to add to my collection as I am a Punisher fan. If you've missed out on the wonderful run by Ennis, you should take the time to check out his violent and zany take on the Punisher. I think you will enjoy it as much as I.

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

More solid stories from Ennis, you can tell 9/11 came crashing in between volumes because suddenly the stories are more grounded and sad. Dillon's art is still fun to read, but I'm surprised I haven't seen Tom Mandrake's art before. It's so juicy! Liked this about as much as the first volume, which is good!

[kubelot · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5* rounding up to 3*
Two or three decent stories here, otherwise mediocre

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the initial volume which contained the mightly entertaining "Welcome Back, Frank" storyline, but still a solid follow up run. This volume collects the next several arcs of the Marvel Knights run of the Punisher, with most of the artwork done by Steve Dillon. There is a greater variety of Punisher stories in this volume as at this point Ennis ditches longer form storytelling for more one-off Punisher adventures. It's pretty well done, with some strong issues like the wordless ("'Nuff Said") issue, a fun crossover featuring Wolverine, and an arc featuring some corrupt cops. It's clear that Ennis is somewhat hamstrung by the censorship of the Marvel Knights line - he can only push the edginess so far without it crossing into full grindhouse like it so clearly seems like he wants to. But there is a certain charm to this iteration of Punisher stories, likely due to the campy artstyle Dillon implements. This isn't must read Punisher like Ennis' work on Punisher MAX is, but it's enjoyable, goofy fun for sure.

[Jack Bumby · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Garth Ennis madness. And a bit more of a mixed bag this time. In this volume, we see Ennis tackle Wolverine and turn him into a pretty cringeworthy caricature of the character. The same story sees Wolvie and Frank team up to take down a gang of little people. It's...weird. Elsewhere, Ennis takes the Punisher to Ireland in a story that gives the writer the chance to rant and vent about his problems with the Emerald Isle (more than usual).

But there are some really great stories here. One sees Frank going up against police corruption with two stereotypical NYPD cops, forcing him to question his no cop killing rule. It's handled well, which I really didn't expect. There's also a typical Ennis grossout when The Punisher takes on an army of cannibalistic homeless people under the streets of NYC. Not everyone's cup of tea, but a fun swerve into horror for Frank.

Overall, well worth it. There are some very good one-off stories in here too.

[Romulus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wróciła we mnie wiara w Ennisa i „Punishera”. Poprzedni tom mnie zawiódł a ten wręcz przeciwnie. Już pierwsza historia uderza subtelnością, ale i mrokiem. W drugiej nie pada żadne słowo, jest tylko obraz. W trzeciej fabuła przedstawiona jest z punktu widzenia rozwartej gęby pacjenta gabinetu dentystycznego. I tak dalej. Oczywiście, zdarzają się przegięte momenty w sposób za którym nie przepadam. Zbyt Ennisowe. :) Ale to szczegół. No i proszę, czekam na trzeci tom. Może będzie to tak dobre jak „PUNISHER Max”, też w wykonaniu Ennisa i Dillona (i z wykończeniem Jasona Aarona).

[Mhorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why punisher begins in his own universe

First, Garth Ennis is the best punisher writer ever. The artists can change, but Ennis is the best. The only bad story in here is Hidden, but I'll let other readers decide. The best is the story with no dialogue. But the punisher Kills in every single gruesome way that can be thought of. Do you really think a superhero would allow that?

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garth Ennis and Frank Castle go together like peanut butter and jelly.

If there’s something that Ennis excels at, it’s war stories - and it seems like writing the Punisher (as well as Nick Fury) are those perfect little spots where outlandish meets surprisingly heartfelt. It is so bizarre it has to be read to be believed.

[Killian · Rating 2 out of 5]

You really feel the post 9/11 cop love in this volume, where Frank helps a wife-beater and officer on-the-take clear their names and earn redemption. No thanks.

A couple of wacky storylines in the mix at least make it interesting, but this is slop for the piggies.

[BIGnick BIGnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection was even better than volume one. Dark, humorous, and F-ed up…so classic Garth Ennis.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. The wolverine episodes were just dumb. The ira one was exceptional as was the cop arc.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid collection. This one is more single issue stories, and they vary in tone. There are some real gems. I’m surprised some of this stuff got published in a non-Max book.

[Anthony O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, I'm not here to tell you how to live your life, but I reckon everyone should have a squiz at this MK Punisher run by Garth Ennis at least once. Cracking stuff.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last story in this is one of the most frightening things I've ever read and I don't think I will ever recover from it.

[The Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do Not Fall In New York City:

Garth Ennis’ first take on a serious Punisher story in a brief one shot, and it works perfectly. Frank going to put down one of his former marine-partners after they finally go all Travis Bickle. Frank’s inner monologue does give a really good perception of how shitty his outlook is; the final panel of this issue is probably my favourite image of Frank ever.


Killing La Vida Loca:

Love the fakeout at the end. Frank spending all this time and effort to free a mob boss so that he can call a meet between the families for a peace talk seems unlike throughout just for the switch at the end - “Why would I want peace between the families, Casino? Or let me put it another way, why would I want all the bosses in the same place at the same time?”

- “Must be good to be saving life instead of taking it, just for a change”.
- “How would I know?”


Downtown:

May very well be one of Ennis’ best story in his Marvel Knights run, clearly working off some steam from growing up in The Troubles by having Frank follow a coke trail all the way over and getting caught in the midst of it. Especially love the part where Frank sees children gleefully enjoying and taking part in the violence and contemplating how young is too young when it comes to the criminals he kills, with an incident from his time in Vietnam coming up.

“I wonder, sometimes, when it comes to what I do. Just how young is too young, exactly?
There was the boy in Angola, the one with the twin forty-fives and the necklace of fingers. He couldn’t have been more than nine. What kind of life would he have had?
Not that I did him any favours - but everyone he would’ve met might thank me.”


Of Mice And Men:

Is a peaceful future possible for someone like Frank Castle? Can he ever move beyond the hatred and violence that he has made of his life? That’s essentially what this issue is all about, probably the best of the Marvel Knights era; so much character development done in one single issue with little dialogue. Frank finds himself reunited with Joan (one of the neighbours from WBF) on a farm in the middle of nowhere whilst he heals up (by sheer coincidence). Love how much this issue does show that Frank actually cares for Joan (in a way he hasn’t cared for someone the death of his wife and kids); and he could very easily stay out with her but that’s not who he is and what he’s become. Love the full circle ending too, Frank telling Joan to “Just Go” at the end of WBF signalling Joan moving out of the crime-infested city to a peaceful future; whereas Joan telling Frank to “Just Go” here signalling Frank being unable to accept a normal life; 30 years of killing criminals and the war goes on.


Brotherhood:

Another great one and out of all the Marvel Knights stories this is probably the most reflective of what the MAX run would be. Frank obviously kills criminals and obviously think the justice system is inherently stupid and that cops are useless, but even corrupt cops he refuses to kill otherwise the NYPD would actually do their job and go after him. So what happens when he encounters a cop that beats his wife and one undercover for the mob? It’s a line that Frank won’t cross but everyone gets what they deserve right. Really great story that shows that even a serial killer like The Punisher has his limits but even those limits can be pushed.

Love the bit where Soap asks about a group of mafiosos that Frank killed and he can’t remember because a) they all blur together and b) he couldn’t give less of a shit about them.


Hidden:

Also really good; teaming The Punisher up with a social worker is just such a brilliant idea and I love how Frank’s hatred rubs off on her and her compassion rubs off on him. Really great story about how homelessness can drive people to desperate measures. Jen Cooke sees that they are a product of their surroundings and are merely doing this for money; whereas Frank doesn’t give a shit, they’re criminals just the same and the people they murdered are still dead, so Frank does what he does best.

[dp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edit 7/1/2024: I need to update this review because I realized later on that I was conflating The Punisher with an assassin from a Netflix movie that I watched at the time of reading. It was that character who was irredeemable. I returned to re-read and finish this, and can confirm that I was a bit confused at the time of this initial review. This volume wasn’t as enjoyable as the first but I still liked it.

—

Old review:

DNF, honestly the Punisher is just an irredeemable character. He’s quite demented to say the least