Customer Reviews

The Punisher Vol. 2: Army of One

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Listen up Punisher people! If you want to score a copy of the hard to get Punisher Army of One, Amazon UK is your best friend.

I paid $28, including air freight, for my copy. The cover art is different but the classic US version cover is contained in the reprints inside.

Now, on to the story. Garth Ennis cleverly creates a Super Villain for the Punisher to battle. The Russian, a buffoonish beast, is a modern day Frankenstein, pumped up with Gorilla lungs, 2 hearts, a hardened skeleton and a reattached head. The Russian is a villain tough enough to fight Frank one on one.

Steve Dillon's art is great, but leans towards the Punisher as super-hero rather than as super-vigilante. There's plenty of killing but Dillon depicts Frank in the usual superhero tights. I prefer the combat solidier look myself.

This is a very enterating read and you'll be happy to outsmart the North American scarcity of this title by hopping the Pond and pocketing your Punisher at Amazon UK.

Basically more of the same. Garth Ennis isn't quite "there" yet and this is essentially a retread of Welcome Back, Frank with a new set of bad guys. There are some welcome returns (Soap) and some unwelcome encores (The Russian). If you thought The Russian was too "cartoony" last time, wait 'til you see him now. The character really drags down the book and is a bigger part of this one than he was in Welcome Back, Frank. Still provides enough mindless entertainment to make it worth parting with your dollars, but the REALLY good stuff doesn't come until the next book.

If there is any Punisher book worth picking up and buying in the series, it's the original collected 12-issue paperback by Garth Ennis.

With "WELCOME BACK, FRANK", Ennis and Dillon were able to cleverly steer around a lot of boundaries and constraints by withholding cussing and serious gore, but told a very entertaining story through and through. Every loose end was tied up nicely: villains got what they deserved and the downtrodden achieved the hope they always dreamed of. It should have ended right there, but I found myself buying the second volume just like that, because I was really impressed with what Ennis and Dillon could do. Eventhough Ennis has a solid reputation of churning out brilliant goofiness and serious outlooks on life, as he did so well with Hellblazer and Preacher, what transpires in ARMY OF ONE is basically a s**t sandwich, and everyone who bought it and was unsatisfied with it had to take a bite.

One of the major problems with this volume was undoubtedly The Russian. He comes back to life as a cyborg with massive breasts, and as the story deepens his character becomes progressively worse and annoying. Spider-Man serves as a useless cameo in one issue, whereas Daredevil's cameo in the original mini-series was quite entertaining and well-written. I don't know if Ennis was trying to portray Spidey as a hot-headed wimp because he disliked the character or what.

We also meet up with Soap once again. Now I was really angry at the fact that all these fulfilling closures were carelessly torn open and ruined just for the sake of more issues being written, and it definitely shows with Soap's return. Soap is depressed once again, having been knocked from his recently attained position of Comissioner and returned unceremoniously to the impossible Punisher case. Fortunately he doesn't show up after the first three issues and basically disappears as The Punisher travels to a foreign country to confront other evils, and a laughable conspiracy to boot.

I highly suggest you stand by the racks in whatever comic store you frequently attend, read the rather good bonus stories towards the end, then return it to the empty void from which it was taken along with other, better graphic novels resting beside it.

This and Garth Ennis' other Punisher works are excellent. Taught scripting, and fun adventure a-plenty. There are great laugh-out-load gags that lighten up an otherwise dark, sinister book, but don't detract from the characters or the gravity of the homicidal lunatic that is the Punisher. There are surprisingly moving parts too, that really show Ennis as a storyteller in touch with the human condition. You can also see where he's planting the seeds for the upcoming BORN story arc that details the origin of the Punisher in the jungles of Vietnam (his family's murder just set him off...)
The Punisher may not be for everyone, and certainly isn't for kids, but is great entertainment for anyone who ever fantasized about dealing out justice when the law protects the wrongdoer.

The humor in this book is so contrived, it mars the otherwise action-packed book. What the creators did with The Russian is more apt for a Deadpool book rather than the gritty, grim world of Frank Castle (However, I enjoyed the "team-up" of Spidey and Castle). It seems the Ennis and Dillon are trying very hard to be cool and relive the glory days of their Preacher run (which I enjoyed by the way).

Punisher is a good revenge hero And I mean it he is.
My only probablem is how come the covers look waaaaaaaaaaay
better than the acctual pages and pics and dialog.
Why cant we get the guys who drew the covers draw the main pages with dialog! GOD! Than it would be awsome.
Really awsome. The book is good no doulbt but it could have bin better.

Now off to the MAX comic versian. For any true punisher fan you would also get this adult orientated versian but be fore WARNED1
The max comic punisher is very heavy on the gore and violence and graphic language that wont bother most people.

Example(punisher shoots a guy in the head and the guys head is graphicly detailaled with brains and ect and then parts of his brains and guey guts fall into an old mans mouth and ect)

Bottom line. Its for Mature Readers.
But give it a try if you like. I happen to like it alot.

Its my most favortie max comic ever.
They did a good job leaving the old PG+
and starting what the punisher was really about...Ultra violence
and hard core guns so make a quik stop at a comic book store and give this blood bath a try.
You wont be dissapointed. I wasnt I really liked it.
Later.