Punisher by Garth Ennis Omnibus [Hardcover]

Garth Ennis (Author), Steve Dillon (Illustrator), Darick Robertson (Illustrator), Tom Mandrake (Illustrator), Cam Kennedy (Illustrator), John McCrea (Illustrator), Dougie Braithwaite (Illustrator), Joe Quesada (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 26, 2008

The bodies of drug dealers, murderers, and the scum of the Earth litter the streets...the Punisher is back, courtesy of writer Garth Ennis! The critically acclaimed creator that brought you Preacher restores one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe to his former glory and ultra-violent roots. Stripped of sidekicks, spiritual directives, and other excess baggage, the vengeance-crazed vigilante hits the mean streets of New York city with a renewed sense of purpose! Lawbreakers beware: Frank Castle is locked, loaded and waiting for you to slip up! Collecting Punisher (2000) #1-12, Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, Marvel Knights Double Shot #1, and Punisher (2001) #1-7 and #13-37.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (November 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785133836
• ISBN-13: 978-0785133834
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 7.7 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,041,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Quality- A Physical review, April 3, 2009

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pdj733 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Punisher by Garth Ennis Omnibus (Hardcover)

It's my prediction that if you are seriously considering buying this, you know what you are getting content-wise. The entire book, content-wise, can be reviewed for the informed comics buyer in one poignant sentence: It's Garth Ennis and he is writing Punisher.

You are probably much more concerned with the quality of the book. I would give it a solid A-, still 5 stars. As others have noted, it is a sewn binding. This means a few things:

1) It will lie flat. The binding bends, adjusts, and folds seamlessly, unlike a glued binding, which stays flat while the pages adjust instead. While I like the stability of glued bindings during reading, I got used to the sewn quickly.

2) In comics with glued binding, full page spreads and in some instances other art generally extend into the depths of the margin and a quarter-inch or so of art is completly lost to the reader. Because of the sewn binding, every page is fully viewable to the art margin before it even comes close to the center. The result is being able to see a full-page spread as well as you can with a retail comic book lying open.

3) It's probably gonna last a long time. This omnibus is basically exactly at the limit of pages that I feel comfortable saying the binding is going to hold up a long, long time. If this thing had 200 more pages, I would be skeptical - it would be a monster.


One last word, dealing with content.

This book contains the one-shot Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe. I own the entire Ennis Punisher run, including MAX, and must say: This is the best Punisher story ever. When Ennis started the main run, this earlier individual comic was selling at $50-60. The story is simple: Frank's family dies in the middle of a superhero battle instead of a mob shooting, and as a result Frank punishes the heroes of Marvel rather than the criminals of the world. It is worth the price of admission alone.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Garth Ennis meets Frank Castle, November 24, 2008

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Punisher by Garth Ennis Omnibus (Hardcover)

Garth Ennis had made quite a name for himself by the time he had come to Marvel to reboot The Punisher. After a revered run on Hellblazer, Ennis and artist Steve Dillon created Preacher for DC's Vertigo imprint, and the rest is history. When Ennis took on The Punisher, he had in his hands a character that started out oh so promising when he was first created, and then went on to overexposure and pure mishandling over the years that followed. Ennis changed all that, taking Frank Castle to the grim and gritty streets of New York in the Marvel universe, which you can see for yourself in this massive hardcover omnibus. Collecting Ennis' 12-issue maxi-series "Welcome Back Frank", as well as issues 1-7 and 13-37 of the Marvel Knights series that followed, plus the Marvel Knights Double Shot and the Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe one-shot; these are the stories that began Ennis' defining journey in re-inventing The Punisher. There are a few downsides to this collection, including the fact that issues 8-12 are mysteriously missing. Also, since these comics were before Ennis launched the mature themed, and brilliant, Punisher MAX series, it often feels as if Ennis' patented blend of black humor and blood curdling, hard hitting storytelling is a little held back. Flaws aside though, this is a wonderful collection that displays Ennis' disdain for superheroes, and the fun that he has at their expense. The artwork is mostly great as well, including great work from frequent collaborators Dillon, Darick Robertson, Dougie Brathwaite, and John McCrea (as well as some less than stellar work from Cam Kennedy). All in all, while not as masterful as the MAX series (which hopefully will find its way to the Omnibus format), Ennis' Marvel Knights Punisher series is (mostly) here in all its glory, and this Punisher Omnibus is definitely worth your time whether you are a longtime fan of Ennis' Punisher work or just a newcomer to the character.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Punisher fans, January 1, 2011

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M. Green (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Punisher by Garth Ennis Omnibus (Hardcover)

If you're looking at this (sadly out of print for the moment) item, it's quite likely that you're already a fan of Garth Ennis' Punisher run and are familiar with the content of this omnibus. If not, I'd recommend checking out the "Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank" arc in trade paperback format, which collects the legendary first twelve issues of Ennis' run on this title. If the violence and black humour of that story hooks you, there's a good chance you'll enjoy the rest of Ennis' work with the character. The real joy of any oversized comics omnibus, I feel, is in having the entire run in one volume which emphasises the artwork within, is solidly constructed, and looks great on a bookshelf, and this massive hardcover certainly meets these conditions.