Customer Reviews

Essential Punisher Volume 1 TPB (Essential (Marvel Comics))

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Years ago, comics used good stories and just plain fun to keep readers interested. Foul language wasn't necessary, and the graphic depiction of a man's brains being splattered across the room was never considered. Those were the great days of comics, and the ones represented here.

When the Punisher first came out, he wasn't all about killing everyone and everything that moved. Yes, he killed from time to time, but he also used "mercy bullets" that would put an enemy to sleep rather than kill him. Some of the greatest moments of developing the Punisher's character are in this book. Showdowns with Spider-Man (several, with one involving Nightcrawler too), Captain America, and Daredevil are in here. Also, we see the Punisher's first great arch-villian, The Hitman (sort of an evil for-hire version of the Punisher). No, there is no foul language nor huge splatters of blood (and with it being in black-and-white, you couldn't tell anyway), but you get some great stories. From his introduction, to his eventual madness (later explained as drug-induced), this is nothing but fun. The collection ends with the Punisher's first mini-series, and it's a great one. We get to see how other prisoners feel as they see the killer walking among them.

Seldom do we get a treat like this one. Most "Essential" collections start with issue one of a character and go from there. Here we are treated to several guest shots in other mags, and it is a great picture. Yes, there are some weak stories (the one involving Cloak and Dagger could have used some touch up), but overall it's a good collection. Probably more enjoyable for the old-time comic fan rather than the ones raised on the uber-violence of today's stories, but good nonetheless. I look forward to the next volume. Highly recommended.

Hey, how in the world am I reading BAD reviews for one of the best "Essential" volumes Marvel has put out. We are talking about "The Punisher," folks. One of the reasons that this collection is so good and so "essential" is because it would cost you upwards of $500.00 to put together all of these issues in their original format. Plus you have the advantage of reading all of the first Punisher appearances in chronological order, and you don't have to track down obscure volumes from five or six different series to do it. Sure, the other "Essential" volumes are great with their twenty or so issues of continuity from one series, but this volume is cool because it pulls it all together for you. I hope Marvel does a few more character oriented books in this series (like Bullseye for instance).
And you can poo poo the art and the stories all you want, but the stories collected here are simply chock full of Bronze Age goodness. Some people have gotten a little too used to the Punisher being ripped from his Marvel Universe roots into a bizzaro "Preacher World" by a marginally talented creative team. If you like the current incarnation of the character running in comics, you may not like this book because it isn't full of exploding heads, hit men with breasts and all the other forms of shock jock stupidity that have devalued the character over the past few years. If, like me, you remember a time when the Punisher was a single-minded psychopath on a mission fit for a crusader (not to mention the baddest anti-hero on the block) rather than simply a sadistic jerk, you will probably enjoy this book as well.
The black and white reproduction in this volume is much better than some of the other "Essential" books. There aren't any pages that look like the copier was running out of toner. Some of the material is a reprint of a reprint (copied from Marvel Tales rather than the original Amazing Spider-Man story), but it still looks good. The writing ranges from standard 70's goofiness to the genius of Frank Miller, but every story is enjoyable in it own right. The art is solid in most of the volume with only a few issues looking genuinely bad (but what do you expect from Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man). On the other hand, the Miller and Janson material as well as the Zeck and Beatty stuff looks great, even in a colorless format. This book is so worth the money, not only because it puts The Punisher into an historical perspective in comics, but because it is a throwback to the days when comics were still a little bit fun.
In order of appearance, this volume reprints: Amazing Spider-Man (ASM) #129 (1st appearance where he is duped by the Jackal into trying to kill Spider-Man); ASM #134 and 135 (vs. Tarantula); Giant Sized Spider-Man #4 (vs. Moses Magnum--later an X-Men villain); Marvel Preview #2 and Marvel Super Action #1 (both magazine sized soldier-of-fortune style anthology comics and some of the rarer material presented here); ASM #161 and 162 (1st appearance of the villain Jigsaw and also featuring Nightcrawler of the X-Men with a brief appearance by Wolverine); ASM #174 and 175 (vs. the Hitman); Captain America #241; ASM #201 and 202; ASM Annual #15 (by Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller and Klaus Janson; vs. Doctor Octopus and a milestone in the evolution of the Punisher character); Daredevil #182-184 (by Roger McKenzie, Frank Miller and Klaus Janson; #182 has been edited down to 8 pages, eliminating the non-Puniser part of the story; These issues were pushed back a year originally because the Comics Code Authority didn't like the strong drug issues raised in the story); Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #81-83 (vs. the Kingpin and featuring Cloak and Dagger-yippeee! The weakest material in the book); Finally the Punisher Mini-Series (sometimes referred to as "Circle of Blood") #1-5 (This is, for the most part, by Steven Grant, Mike Zeck and John Beatty and is the definitive Punisher story catapulting him into the limelight as one of Marvel's premiere characters; This is the mini-series that couldn't decide where to end as issues #1, 3 and 4 say it is a 4 issue mini-series and issues 2 and, obviously, 5 call it a 5 issue run with the last issue having a different creative team); Oh, yeah, there are a few pin-ups and a Who's Who entry as well.

Alright, I had no idea who the Punisher was when I picked this up. I knew he was a bad ass that actually killed people and I was interested in the movie. I've always liked him, I even used to squeal with delight anytime he appeared on the Spider-Man or X-Men cartoon. But now I found a perfect way to get into the character.... Essential Punisher. You may or may not know that the Essential series are the first 25 issues of a Marvel comic on regular paper with no color. Essential Punisher is different, since Punisher didn't get his own series for a while, this book is composed of his first 25 appearances which includes:

Amazing Spider-Man #129, 134, 135, 161, 162, 174, 175, 201, and 202.
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #15
Giant Size Spider-Man #4
Marvel Preview #2
Marvel Super Action #1
Captain America #241
Daredevil #182, 183, and 184
Spectacular Spider-Man #81, 82, and 83
Punisher #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

These comics are right past the Marvel Age in the 60s and start in 70s. They go all the way up to the 80s where Marvel started to go downhill so we got perfect timing here. Surprisingly, Punisher's character basically stays the same all throughout the book. From his first appearance where he's hired to kill Spidey to his own series at the end, he's pretty much the same. I especially recommend the first 5 issues of Punisher and the 3 issues of Daredevil, those are my personal favorites.

Get this right, Punisher is not a hero, he is a vigilante. It was a very pivotal time in Marvel history, having Punisher kill people and busting up junkies and so on, but it's not as graphic as today. Punisher has mercy bullets and knock-out gas, but he only really uses them on innocents. It's also really cool to see how different Marvel heroes interact with the vigilante. Spider-Man stands him but doesn't always approve of his methods, Captain America completely despises him for killing, and Daredevil realizes his potential but doesn't like the whole killing thing.

I really only have a few problems with this book. Marvel Preview #2 and Marvel Super Action #1 are a little hard to read do to the art style having to be shown in black and white. Another problem is that you are shown bits of different Spider-Man plots all mish-mashed together. Like you may read Amazing Spider-Man #135 and Harry Osbourne will discover Peter's secret identity and hate him, then the next time you Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #161, they're best friends. Little plot hole like that can be a pain. My [physical] problem aside, this is a great book for Punisher newbies and vets and I look forward to Volume 2.

In the late 1970, Marvel was revamping its line. They were offering readers new and seconary stars in their own books...like such marvel characters Power man (Luke Cage), Iron Fist (started in their Fist of the Dragon magazine), Werewolf by Night, Dracula (Tomb of Dracula), , ROM, Moon Knight and even Howard the Duck. These characters books ran aside books of Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Thor, The Avengers and the X-men.


Most of these books, if bought today in the collector's comic book shops, would cost thousands. Marvel in an intelligent business move created the Essental series. A wonderful way to buy classic comic books in a black and white format (most books over 500 pages) at a price you can afford. Some would rather have them in color, to those I suggest think of these as Black and White Classics uncolorized.

The Punisher was a villian character in Spiderman. However, his origins are too similar to Don Pendleton's the Executioner. It seem to work in a comic format.

His early guest appearance in Spiderman, Daredevil and Captain American lead into his so called limited series, which became an unlimited series.

I will say the Frank Miller Daredevil with the Punisher are worth its weight in gold.

Most may say this isn't worth the reprinting, i say it sure it

Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD

The Punisher is one of a handful of Marvel characters who has had quite a sordid history. The 25 comics collected in this Essential collection shows that, beginning with his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #129 (written by Gerry Conway), and the vigilante is showed at his best in classic Frank Miller penned Daredevil issues #182-184, and the classic Grant/Zeck mini-series from the 80's. There's also a Captain America story, as well as his first encounters with Jigsaw and Hitman. It's a nice collection, but the only problem with the book is the same problem with all of Marvel's Essential books, and it entirely depends on the reader. The black and white format marrs the art in a few issues, and the paper quality is easy to accidently rip. Even though you get a lot for the price, your better off getting the collected Grant/Zeck mini-series (which catapaulted the Punisher to superstar status in the 80's) or picking up any of the recent Garth Ennis penned Punisher tales to get the most from the character.

I don't like new Punisher MAX. I think that Mr. Castle was always great guest star but not so great main character. So, why do I recommend this?

There are issues written and penciled by Frank Miller and inked by Klaus Jansen. They are best Daredevil and Punisher story and best drawn Daredevil and Punisher EVER. You can see black and white comic masterpiece in black and white, and it is worth especially if you are aspiring comic artist. Spiderman issues are also really good.

GET IT.

Not bad, but the Punisher still works better on his own, or at least in an appropriate setting, not swinging around on webs with Spider-Man with mercy bullets. The Mini-Series etc. parts here are much better, where it is just Frank versus organised crime types that are his raison d'etre, not worrying about mutants, aliens, or scientific accidents. Just all around better writing and stories there.

I was kind of worried that I wouldn't enjoy reading these stories, because they date back to the 1970's, and the Punisher I am familiar with (Punisher MAX version) doesn't wear a one piece suit with a skull; he wears a skull T-shirt and a trenchcoat. However, I was pleasantly suprised. There were a few stinkers in this collection, but overall this compilation is superb, because I didn't expect the level of violence I encountered in these books. In today's market, the comics are much more lenient on violence and language so I didn't expect to see much of that here. I wonder, exactly how did they managed to get such graphic scenes of violence and language passed the censors under the old comics code? For instance, in the Marvel Preview Presents issue, a sniper has a wristwatch with a built in incindiary device, which he uses to commit suicide to prevent being forced to talk. It's pretty gruesome for a comic from 30 years ago. However, the guy tells Castle, before burning himself up, "I don't have to tell anybody anything. Got me a gadget that'll burn your--(badguy activates device) AAAASSSHHH!" I think it's obvious what AAAASSSHHH! means.
Some of the issues collected here are top notch and earn five stars in my opinion. These include the Marvel Preview Presents the Punisher #2 by Gerry Conway, because we see Franks motives for becoming the Punisher, Marvel Super Action Featuring the Punisher #1, because we see Frank get revenge on the people responsible for the death of his family, and Daredevil 182, 183 & 184, because Frank and Daredevil don't see eye to eye on how justice is dealt. The five part Punisher series that closes out the collection is also pretty good and I give it 4 1/2 stars. However, as I said, not all the stories in this 25 issue collection are great, but you are going to have a hard time finding copies of these gems anywhere. It's nice that Marvel started the Essential Collection so the fans can get these older issues, and while some fans may complain that these issues all appear in black & white, I didn't feel these stories lost anything due to a lack of color. After all, black and white are the Punishers colors.

The Punisher is probably my second favorite character,Ghost Rider being the first. However, that is on levels of coolness only, when it comes to actual comics Punisher wins. This Essential collection has 25 comics inside, including a storyline by Frank Miller and a 5-issue miniseries by who-cares-it's-pretty-good. The paper is similar to that of newspaper(or the Daily Bugle:)and is black-and-white. Every story is well-written, and this is a pretty thick volume. The only thing I could ask for is more issues collected or a volume two. I don't care about the color, simply because the Punisher's world is pretty dark and gritty itself. Final Word:Great

the first impression that i get when i take this book, is that it might have the most essential comics on punisher, but such work of tribute to a specific chararacter, should have a good intro full of text of many pages telling you about the character origin, evolution, influences, historical context of every comic or at least the key ones and whatever any other info that i am surelly missing and you might think of... in essence all that other extra information that enriches your knowledge about this character. you ususally find that in other much smaller comic book compilations and tpbs, but ununderstandably in this one that is an essential dedicated compilation, it's a real disappoinment.
i am a punisher fan, and i was expecting to find that info also, to enrich my knowledge, but if i weren't i would like to know also about it in that way when taking any other essential on any character.
on the contens as i say i guess they are the most importants. I am not here to discuss that, im sure i would have put 5 stars if i were reviewing that, but i have to see it overally.
paper quallity could have been better, a bit thicker, not to rip it off easily agreeing with other review i've red.