Customer Reviews

The Punisher: Very Special Holidays

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I for one was glad this collection was put together for these one-shot stories. Often stores don't like to order these stand alone issues because of either price or being unsure of who would buy it. What they are missing out is some well crafted, adventure stories. And it comes as no surprise that the writing team of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (of Jonah Hex fame)are helming the stories. They have the great ability to craft self contained stories that are both entertaining and not "dumbed" down to the reader. Many might think that Frank Castle is a killing machine robot with no feelings or no emotions. They've proved that wrong with these stories. They've given Frank a fun, twisted relationship with Suspiria and kept up with the bar set by Garth Ennis.

Thankfully they've been paired with Paul Gulacy and the great Mark Texeira on the tales and you'll see, some artists are just made to draw certain characters. Gulacy and Texeira fall into that category. They give the Punisher that visceral look without sacrificing purpose and storytelling. I for one am glad this got packaged in a hardcover format.

This is a great buy!

When it comes to the Punisher, Garth Ennis is about the only modern writer to truly "get" the character and nail him down. That's one reason why none of the one-shots collected in Punisher: Very Special Holidays work. Written by the writing tandem of veteran inker Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (both of whom did an excellent job on DC's new Jonah Hex series), Very Special Holidays follows Frank Castle, beginning with a Christmas blood bath as Frank becomes the target of angry mob widows and a legendary (allegedly) female assassin named Suspiria. Next up, it's Valentine's Day, and Suspiria returns as Frank busts up a people smuggling ring, and they join forces and even hook up (yeah, you read that right). Finally, Frank is on the trail of a snitch in Silent Night. Yeah, that's it. Three stories that are shorter than you might think (and even feel a bit rushed), with varying art which is mostly good. What kills this TPB is the characterization of Frank and some unbelievably corny dialogue. Not to mention that Palmiotti and Gray just seem to want to inject some grittiness into the story, but it never feels gritty, especially not being under the MAX imprint like Ennis' ongoing series. All in all, this may be worth a look for Punisher fans, but you're better off, much better off, with any of Ennis' chapters.