Customer Reviews

Punisher: Born

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This disturbing, yet masterfully written and beautifully drawn comic book (or "graphic novel" for those in denial) chronicles Frank Castle during his third tour of Vietnam, which is before he even thought about declaring war on mobsters and calling himself the Punisher, and showcases how the violence and gore surrounding him didn't turn him into what he is today, but rather how the war he was willingly a part of released his true, warped sense of morality and justice all those years before his family was slaughtered in Central Park, which was thought to be the original event that gave birth to the Punisher. Castle searched within his mind for the answer to the question of what he truly is and over the span of the four chapters it is so incredibly interesting to see how Castle comes to understand -- and accept -- that he is a monster and that he was born with this murderous yearning.

A combination of beautiful art and powerful story, "Born" is without doubt the greatest mini-series of 2003. If you are a Punisher fan, you will forever cherish this as a part of your collection. If you are at least adept with the basic knowledge of the Punisher's history, you will find this mini-series as pure literary genius. Ladies and gentlemen, mini-series do not get much better than this.

Ennis crafts a short (four issues or about 100 pages) examination of Frank Castle's time in Vietnam, cultimating in a particularly disastrous attack that only Frank survived. The carnage, while perhaps expected, certainly satisfies -- and the depiction of Frank's commanders as incompetents, while not uncommon in the Vietnam subgenre of war stories, resonates with the Punisher's attitudes.

Perhaps most interestingly, the story suggests that Frank accepted a kind of spirit into himself -- a spirit of killing -- and that he did so in Vietnam rather than after his family was killed.

Certainly worth having.

-- Julian Darius, Sequart.com (for the sophisticated study of comic books and graphic novels)

Frank Castle, the man who would one day be known as The Punisher, is on his third tour of duty in Vietnam when something terrible starts creeping into his psyche as his bloodthirsty nature gets the better of him in this trade paperback entitled BORN. I enjoyed it a lot, and I would love it if Garth Ennis took it upon himself to write more tales starring a younger Punisher who is still learning the ropes and coming to grips with who he is and what he will eventually become. BORN appealed to me because it centers around the notion that the death of Frank's family was not the catalyst that gave birth to The Punisher, but that the vigilante side has lurked beneath the surface ever since Frank's last tour in 'Nam, when he made a deal with something or someone that feeds on death and bloodshed. This allowed him to survive long enough to become the world's fiercest vigilante, but at a terrible price. I adore Robertson's art (check out Ennis and Robertson's other project The Boys for similar brilliance) and the covers of the individual issues by Wieslaw Walkuski are absolutely amazing. Punisher shows that even during his early years no one was safe from his wrath as he punishes Vietnamese and fellow soldiers alike in typically violent ways in trademark Ennis style. I loved the plot and the overall realization that some dark entity inspired the Punisher, and it makes for an interesting read at the end of the day. I gave it four stars because the comic turned out to be a tad more predictable than Ennis' ongoing Punisher MAX series, and it felt as if I had seen something like it before somewhere (a man in dire peril makes a deal with a devil or whatever to become something inhuman that serves the devil's needs, almost like Ghost Rider). What is different here though is that Frank Castle enjoyed killing and just needed an excuse to go on an endless rampage and become what he always wanted to become. Even when he moralizes with fellow officers his inner voice or demon refutes his claim that he wishes to be 'saved'. Throughout the book Frank is portrayed as a man in love with death, and though he is presented with a choice the reader gets the feeling towards the end that we know which path Frank will take, since he is obviously destined to become Marvel's quintessential vigilante, so the comic basically just shows you how the situation in which Frank makes the choice came about. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who has read the MAX series or even Ennis' earlier Preacher comics, it won't disappoint.

`The Punisher' was created for Marvel comics by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru in 1974, largely as an extremely canny way of cashing in on the zeitgeist of 'vigilante justice' films which were tearing up the US box office in the early seventies.

Frank Castle, The Punisher, is a former marine and Vietnam veteran who, after surviving a disastrous mob-hit in Central Park which slaughters his family, begins waging a one man war against New York's criminal underworld. He is organised, ruthless and completely unrepentant in the way that he goes about eradicating his targets.

BORN, by Garth Ennis, is an origin story of the kind that Hollywood would never dare bring to the big-screen.

It is 1971, and, prior to the tragic events which are to shape his life so irrevocably in New York, Frank Castle is captain of 'Firebase Valley Forge' - a remote American infantry outpost on the Vietnamese/Cambodian border which is falling into dissolution and is under constant threat of destruction or occupation by the Vietcong. Castle, with a ruthlessness that prefigures the terrifying focus of his later life, leads his men through jungle Patrols and skirmishes with the enemy until, faced with a situation which sees the 'Firebase' seemingly overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers, he is forced to make a decision, the consequences of which will haunt him long after the final bullet has been fired.

Narrated primarily through the eyes of a 'still-green' PFC called Stevie Goodwin, this is an excellent four-issue miniseries which completely redefines our understanding of an archetypal protagonist and which pulls absolutely no punches in its depiction of the meat-grinder that was the Vietnam war. It's some of Garth Ennis' strongest writing on the series and its publication within the MAX imprint allows him to explore its adult themes to the utmost degree. Darick Robertson's splash-pages depicting the aftermath of the battle of Valley Forge are lurid works of Grand Guignol genius which linger in the memory long after the final page has been turned.

Highly Recommended reading for both old fans and those who are unfamiliar with the character.

Punisher Born shows that Frank Castle was a hard bitten US Marine in the Viet Nam War, dispensing his own brutal justice long before he became The Punisher.

Darrick Robertson's art is nicely done, albeit with a few major blunders. For example, his opening scene of a US C-130 is not well drawn and later on he shows a US airstrike that first depicts a pair of F-8 Crusaders that mysteriously transform one panel later into a pair of F-4 Phantoms. That is way too big of a blunder.

The coloring is excellent, especially in the jungle scenes. It's a solid piece of the Punisher puzzle but I think Garth Ennis could have plotted it more thickly.

Amazing story. Great art. Garth Ennis. Need I say more? A touching and great look into the mind of Frank Castle like only Garth Ennis can provide. The book also has really cool "special features" at the back including a storyline overview written by Garth Ennis, thoughts about the story by Darick Robertson, Vietnam photo references, page layouts, and character designs.

Get this book!

An amazing look at how Frank Castle evolves from man to soldier of fortune during the Vietnam conflict.
Worth at least two readings for anyone that enjoys war stories or especially the Punisher

I think that this subject, the birth of the Punisher, or the background for his birth, should be one of the best possible chances any writer will ever have to be creative and violent in his storytelling. Alas, this story is only violent. There is no creativeness. The Vietnam setting dosen't really get used in the story, the action far too much resembles that of Platoon, and the story is only about half as long as it should be.

I must applaud the interaction between Frank Castle and Death though. I don't, as another reviewer does, see it as unlikely or out of character. It's a psychological twist to the character that would become the Punisher. It gives him that sort, in lack of better words, mental dysfunction, that one would expect from a man as brutal and determined as the Punisher.

Overall, I don't think justice has been done to the subject of the birth of the Punisher, but there are a few good things in there.

Despite having heard good things about this, I waited until a week before the Punisher movie release to pick this up. I'm a tough critic so for me to give something 5 stars, it has to be special. This one is. I've been a fan of Ennis's work on the Punisher and think that its the best Marvel currently offers. And this is among the best of that lot. From all that I heard about this before reading, I must say that I expected to be shocked, floored and left with my jaw open. I was all of those things and one very unexpected thing. The end gave me the CREEPS! I totally did not see that coming. After you read it you will understand.
I place this alongside "Welcome Back Frank" as Ennis's finest moment on Punisher. But be warned. This is extremely graphic and made for adults that enjoy being shocked and disturbed. That's what Ennis does best.

In the tradition of the smash hit Origin: The True Story of Wolverine, Punisher scribe Garth Ennis has crafted Born; telling the never before seen story of a pre-Punisher Frank Castle during his third tour of Vietnam. While Born may start out as average, it quickly evolves into one of the bloodiest, most shocking, and expertly written stories that has ever come from the pen of Garth Ennis. This is by far Ennis' best work since his acclaimed Preacher saga, and he is without a doubt the best writer to ever pen the Punisher. The art by Darick Robertson illustrates all the graphic and gritty detail as he and Ennis both strike gold again as they did earlier with the Fury mini-series. The twist ending will actually make you look at the character of the Punisher much differently than before, and the unexpected impact will leave your jaw on the floor. Born is nothing short of brilliant, and deserves to be in every comic fan's library, even if you aren't a fan of the super hero genre of comics.