The Punisher Vol. 2: Army of One [Paperback]

Garth Ennis (Author), Steve Dillon (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (February 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785108394
• ISBN-13: 978-0785108399
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #818,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

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M. Grant "MacGyver of the Books" (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Punisher Vol. 2: Army of One (Paperback)

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!

5 of 5 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

By 

Michael Pappalardo (Ronkonkoma, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Punisher Vol. 2: Army of One (Paperback)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slow, but solid beginning of the Ennis monthly Punisher, November 11, 2004

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N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Punisher Vol. 2: Army of One (Paperback)

After the success of the excellent Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon Punisher maxi-series that re-defined the character, Marvel released yet another monthly volume of the criminal killing vigilante, with the Preacher creative team at the helm. While Army of One is solid blood and bullets entertainment, the restrictions of the PG+ rating don't allow Ennis to steer into that ultra bizarre territory that made his earlier works such a smash. Not to mention that the Russian, who was previously decapitated in the max-series, makes a return, and while that in itself is a hilarious moment, it doesn't help the book. Besides that, Ennis' disdain for superheroes shows when Frank and Spider-Man "team-up" against the Russian (that in itself is worth the price of admission alone) and Dillon's art is excellent as always. The next volumes of the Marvel Knights Punisher series had their ups and downs, but the current Marvel MAX Punisher series is where Ennis' talent really shines, and those issues and volumes are what to pick up.