Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
ARMY OF ONE IS A "HIT AND MISS" AFFAIR, March 12, 2002
Don't let the rating fool you, even though ARMY OF ONE isn't as strong as Garth Ennis' WELCOME BACK FRANK, it's still stronger that the character has been portrayed in years.This TPB reprints the first seven issues of the Punisher comic title that was relaunched in 2001. It tells three tales: 1 - The Punisher locks heads with a renegade military general and his own personal island of mercenaries (including The Russian, from Ennis previous Punisher tales). Punisher gets to do all the things we like to see him do; shoot, kill, maim, and get creative with the tools that he has on-hand. 2 - A character driven story about life in NYC and how it is still capable of crushing even the strongest of people. The tale shows the Punisher attempting to track down an ex-army friend that has...lost his purpose in life. 3 - A picture driven story (no dialogue at all) showing the Punisher chase down a criminal and how these actions can not only effect the lives of innocents, but how a similar action can be viewed as heinous when coming from a different character. I like the Punisher, and I am a HUGE fan of Mr. Ennis work on other titles (notbably the Preacher series). The problem with his take on Punisher is it feels like a half-way effort. We don't get the violence, swearing, or grotesqueness that we expect to shock us in a tale about one man's war against crime...it just feels watered down. On top of that the first story-arc features The Russian who is placed into a comic element that just doesn't work in this type of story (Punisher afterall is not Preacher). So when all is said and done we have a version of The Punisher that shows signs of what a brilliant character he could be. Marvel needs to loosen the reins on Ennis and allow him to cut loose with all the gusto that we know he and artist Dillon are capable of. The Punisher's tale is the simplest of any comicbook character: REVENGE ON CRIMINALS (usually through extreme violence on a shocking level). So in future endeavors I hope the writers will steer away from the comedy and focus on the driving force of Frank Castle, THE PUNISHER!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great series, but not quite as good as the first!, April 14, 2003
Following in the steps of the previous series, the Punisher is no less violent or dark. But it lost a bit of its edge this time around.Don't be confused...the story is still great. A brief and rather funny, one-sided "team-up" between Spider-man and the Punisher against a familiar and unexpected enemy adds some great humor to the book. The Punisher finds himself later heading to a remote island where a traitorous para-military American force is planning a horrible terrorist act to deal out some indiscriminate justice. The Ennis/Dillon duo, along with Jimmy Palmiotti, manage to once again weave an engaging and action-packed story with its fair share of blood, violence, and wicked sense of humor. Its a great book because it takes itself seriously, but at the same time has just enough humor to get you to laugh to yourself. I would say this falls short of the standards set by the first one only because there are a few aspects about it that are a little silly, and some parts of the story just don't add up too well. Nevertheless, in the end, we have a good, solid story with great artwork and entertaining characters. Definitely worth the purchase.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"See a few familiar faces. Break a few familiar Necks.", November 29, 2005
Another phenomonal TPB by the dynamic team of mad genious writer, Garth Ennis (Preacher, Hellblazer) and his partner in crime, artist Steve Dillon (Preacher). Army of One consists of three story arcs, The first is about the return of the Russian, guest starring the Amazing Spider-man, the second is about Frank Castle aka the Punisher's old army comrade, and the last 20 or so pages of the book is a story written and pencilled by artist Steve Dillon.
First, the return of the insane Russian from the Maxi series, Welcome Back Frank. The Russian is back after getting his head cut off by the Punisher, being resurected by a couple of scientists backed by General Kreigkopf. With adamantium skeleton, titanium jaw, and many other artificial body parts, the Russian is more deadly than ever. Can Punisher stop him once and for all, with a little help from Spider-man. In this story arc, Garth Ennis seems to be trying too much in being funny, especially when the Russian came back with a pair of gigantic breats, but his usual humor does show up, just not as dark as it was in Preacher. Second, a story of Punisher's old army freind, Joe Perrett, who's failed bissiness and marriage deteriorates him and drive him to commit murders. And the last story is written and pencilled by Steve Dillon showcasing crime and its effects on people. This story does not have any dialogue or captions, driven only by Dillon's art, which shows his true talent to tell a story without words, with only picture. Very funny, packed with action, and smart, Army of One is very well written.
As usual, Steve Dillon's stunning art was a perfect compliment Ennis's (and in this case, a little of his own) storyline. Jimmy Palmiotti also does a fine job with the inks. Steve Dillon is the all time best artist for Punisher.
This is a very good follow-up to the 12 issue Maxi series Welcome Back Frank (also by Ennis, and Dillon), not as good as Welcome Back Frank, but still better than almost all comics out there in my opinion. It's well worth your money if you're an Ennis, Dillon, or Punisher fan.
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