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Punisher MAX: Born
 
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Punisher MAX: Born [Paperback]

Garth Ennis (Author), Darick Robertson (Illustrator)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Book Description

February 21, 2007
The year is 1971. With mounting casualties and a rising anti-war sentiment, America's time in Vietnam is coming to a close. Yet in the isolated Valley Forge Firebase on the Cambodian border, Captain Frank Castle is one of the few soldiers still committed to the fight against the enemy. With dwindling reserves, Castle must stand against an impending Viet Cong attack that threatens to wipe out the entire American platoon. To survive the battle, what grim decision must he make that will forever alter the course of his life? In this acclaimed tale, superstar Garth Ennis reveals the never-before-told story of the horrors Castle was forced to face to come home fromVietnam alive, ending in a shocking twist that will forever change how readers see Marvel Comics' most famous urban vigilante. Collecting BORN #1-4.

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 112 pages
  • Publisher: Marvel (February 21, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0785110259
  • ISBN-13: 978-0785110255
  • Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.2 x 10.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Darick Robertson is an American artist best known for his work as a comic book illustrator. Highly prolific, Robertson has illustrated hundreds of comics in his twenty plus years in the industry. His body of work ranges from science fiction characters of his own creation to headlining on renowned classic characters from Marvel and DC Comics. Robertson is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the biting satires TRANSMETROPOLITAN and THE BOYS.

In January of 2010 he wrote and illustrated CONAN: THE WEIGHT OF THE CROWN for Dark Horse Comics.

Darick currently lives in California with his wife and two children. When he's not drawing comics, which is almost all the time, he creates custom action figures, writes music, sings and plays guitar.

Original art for sale can be found at tinyurl.com/DarickR

* Special thanks to Joey and Sara at ComicVine for the interview video contained in this profile.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
The essential Punisher story. February 12, 2004
Format:Hardcover
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.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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)
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Frank's inner demons July 9, 2007
By HJ Louw
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Voice drags down what otherwise would have been a good prequel.
I'm a pretty big fan of the Punisher Max series, but had put off reading this one for a while. I finally got around to it and yeah, I pretty much didn't like the story gimmick I... Read more
Published 1 month ago by BlazingOwnager
Frank vs the Vietcong
Vietnam, 1972. Captain Frank Castle commands his platoon in the most dangerous US outpost in the country, Valley Forge. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Sam Quixote
The Punshier BORN...
Or was he..Frank Castle has been around the Marvel Verse for well over 35 years...taking on every thing that crawls and preys on the human nature. Read more
Published 12 months ago by George W. Clonts Jr.
better than i thought
really, really good. Ennis knows the punisher. must read for any punisher fan.
Published 19 months ago by J. D. Milliken
book
Good, but graphic book. Arrived in described condition and a timely manner. Very pleased. Thank you!
Published 24 months ago by Tegan H. Vandenbosch
A Glimpse into the Punisher!
Before he became the vigilante called the Punisher, he was a marine in Vietnam. To me, it gave a glimpse into a man that seems he's always needed a war. Read more
Published on December 16, 2009 by Daniel W. Warren
Frank Castle is the Viet Congs worst enemy.
I loved this story because it technically isn't a 'Birth of the Punisher' story. It tells the story of the evil & death that Frank Castle has alwayhs carried with him. Read more
Published on October 14, 2009 by Nicolas Lemus
Props to all nam vets for having to go thru that
Besides this being an awesome story of where Frank Castle punisher's roots were sowed it is also very moving as an american to read, even more so for an american who has a heart... Read more
Published on September 22, 2009 by Paul Salazares
best of the best
this is the best punisher i've ever read, the best ennis i've ever read, the best war story i've ever read, and it would definitely land in my top 10 comic books along with DKR,... Read more
Published on August 6, 2009 by medicine
Semper Fi...
`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... Read more
Published on February 27, 2009 by darklordzden
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