Customer Reviews

Punisher MAX: From First to Last

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

 

 

It's no secret that Garth Ennis' long run on the Punisher (particularly the MAX titles) has been nothing short of superb if not visionary, and this handsome hardcover collection, featuring three seperate one-shots, further proves that point. From First to Last begins with the Tyger, a story in which a young Frank Castle embarks on his first night of vengeance as the Punisher. As he has some mob men in his sights, he recollects to a summer in Brooklyn when he was a young man, and a shocking event that only further shaped Frank's inevitable path to becoming the Punisher. This story is good, but it's not anything really great, though John Severin's art is quite good. Thankfully, everything gets better from this point on. The Cell finds Frank turning himself in and convicted of his many murders and taken to the bowels of Riker's Island. However, Frank has a reason he's here, and it involves five men who all share a secret and a link to Frank that you'll never see coming. This story alone makes this collection worth picking up, and the art by Lewis Larosa (who also worked on the first Punisher MAX TPB, In the Beginning) is gritty, bloody, and brilliant. The third and final story is the spectacular Punisher: The End, featuring art by the legendary Richard Corben, which more than makes it worth checking out alone. As part of Marvel's "The End" line, this one-shot is just that, as an elderly Frank Castle finds himself as one of the last men on Earth after a nuclear holocaust has turned the world to ash and dust. Of course, there are still those that are guilty, and need to be punished. The last two stories alone are some of the best Punisher stories ever written, period. If you missed out on the one-shots when they were first released, now is your chance to read some of the best mainstream comic gold to come along in a long time, and this collection only furthers the notion that is discussed on the book's inside flap: Ennis was born to write the Punisher.

If you are not a Punisher fan, this story just may very well turn you not only into being interested in the character but also following more work done by Garth Ennis. And like me, if you already are a Punisher fan, this will bring more depth into why Frank is the way he is and just maybe even who he has always been deep down inside beginning in his childhood and beyond. The art I thought was well done, 3 different artist tackle the 3 different stories, each with their own style which I thought fit the different times the stories take place in Franks life. I highly recommend it!

The three stories contained in this volume are phenomenal! They take you from Frank Castle's childhood, to his ultimate revenge, and finally to the story to end all stories. This could possibly be the "perfect" collection of punisher MAX stories written by Ennis. It is worth more than what it cost. Excellent!

Punisher fans or not, I just got back into comics, and graphic novels are the way to go. This is a complete all in one story. Great characters, and story writing along with awesome graphics. And being a hardcover for only $13, I sure am happy.

The book collects 3 one-shot stories written by the excellent and bloody-minded Garth Ennis featuring the Punisher in various stages of his life. The first story takes place in his youth when he first encounters mobsters; the second when he turns himself in to a maximum security prison in order to gain access to some old mob bosses and assassins; the third set in the future when the world has been ravaged by nuclear war and he's on a mission to take out those responsible.

They were all excellent reads but I felt the first story was a bit slow. I understand it's important to see Frank Castle as a kid to flesh out his character and give him more depth but it was still kind of dull. The second story was probably the best with Castle breaking through the various security levels of the prison, defying both guards and prisoners alike, to get to his men. It's gruesome what he does to them but sort of justified (to the character at least) because of a revelation of what they did. The third story was good as well if pessimistic. Then again that kind of death and end to Frank Castle's life felt suitable to the character.

It's a great read with Ennis perfectly in tune with the character's attitude of bloody justice and the demand of the high levels of action Punisher stories require. An excellent book of stories featuring a controversial anti-hero with some great set pieces.

The three stories here are all terrific stories, with "The Cell" being superb. My take on this is that it is the artwork that separates them. Clearly, Larosa is perfect for Punisher, Corben's is OK as a one-shot and Severin's style is not suitable for the Punisher, too. If Larosa had illustrated all 3 stories, the rating for this would have gone off-scale.

Garth Ennis renders one of his hectic stories with Frank Castle coming back to his origins. The first story deploys Frank's childhood and the unexpected consequences of it later on. I humbly believe the second part(The cell), is the best of this issue. It narrates the ultimate vengeance of Castle against those who took the lifes of his family, several years ago in the middle of a shooting at day light in Central Park. A mention must be done of the art in The Cell. The pencils of Lewis Larosa, the Inks & Finishes of Scott Koblish and Raúl Treviño's colors, leave nothing to desire and accomplish to portrait that classic look of Castle as a somewhat mature/old man still capable of hell when it comes to seek revenge for his family.

The End, however, which puts Castle in a dystopian future of a post-nuclear bombing, fails to blend smoothly Garth Ennis' script with the caricaturesque art from Richard Corben and Lee Loughridge. There is a dissonance between this very old Frank Castle in an apocalyptic environment and the drawings that for some reason maintain a gap with previous artists.

As a whole, From First to Last is totally worthy. Garth Ennis is back to team with Castle and that's all what counts.

Cristián Gómez O.