Customer Reviews

The Punisher Vol. 5: Streets of Laredo

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Covering Marvel Knights issues #27-32 and issue #19, Streets of Laredo is the fifth MK Punisher graphic novel. It's by no means the weakest offering, or the strongest. This is mostly due to the hodgepodge of art work. Three artists contribute- Steve Dillion, of Punisher, Preacher, and Hellblazer fame, Cam Kennedy- former Judge Dredd artist, and Tom Mandrake- Spectre, Call of Duty. Dillion's art provides the faming issues, and perhaps this is a mistake. We go from his crisp style to Mandrake's art, which tends to look like Tim Sale's of late. Then Cam Kennedy provides most of the art. While I enjoy Cam's work on other books, I felt as if it were less than perfect for this character, this story.

Speaking of stories, the writing is deep, dark, disturbing and wonderfully funny all at the same time. Only Garth Ennis can pull that off with any regularity at all. Any fan of Ennis should love adding this volume to their collection.

On a personal note, my two favorite stories were #19, which marks the return of Joan (and Joan's pies) and #32 which is the dubious origin of Detective Soap. The volume is worth adding to your collection for these two stories alone. When reading #19 note that the expressions on Frank's face and Frankie the Dog's face are often the same.

Over all, a very good book that is well worth the money. Highest recommendations!

Fact one: Garth Ennis is a superb writer when allowed to push the limits that he is known for (don't believe me, check out the Preacher comics). Fact two: his run on the Punisher is the best storytelling to hit the character in years. However, this four part storyarc is far from the best work to come from Ennis, but not all the blame can be contributed to him. When allowed to go over the limits of what can be done in a comic, Ennis' true talent shines, but when he is restricted (this is a PG+ book after all) his storytelling suffers, and it shows here. Not only that, but Cam Kennedy's art grates on the nerves quite a bit. I just can't get into it; his misshapen character models are an acquired taste to say the least. I mean his look of the Punisher just doesn't stick well; artists like Steve Dillon and Tom Mandrake have done far better than Kennedy. All that aside however, this is a solid storyarc that is still worth reading for Punisher fans. The story finds our favorite criminal killing vigilante in the desolate Texas town of Branding trying to stop the flow of illegal military weapons from leaving the town. We are introduced to a flat villain and one dimensional characters, something that is shocking to say the least to come from the pen of Garth Ennis. Streets of Laredo is so far the worst of Ennis' run on the Punisher, but this is still better than most comics out there today.

Starting with a moving story featuring Joan (last seen in "Welcome Back, Frank") and ending with a bittersweet (yet sometimes hilarious) origin tale for Soap; Garth Ennis has found a way to mix some beauty in with the carnage. In the middle, we have the Punisher doing what he does best. There's a crossover with Elektra with a body-count high enough to make Freddy and Jason blush. The mystery in The Streets of Laredo is too easily solved, but there are some interesting characters introduced and a very welcome (and unexpected) touch of social commentary. This is the best of the Marvel Knights Punisher titles.

Much like the other stories by Garth Ennis and crew, this book contains jsut as much fun, killing, and sympathy, as the others. The content of the writing is fine but the whole concept of the mystery of the Streets of Loredo is knida stupid and predictable. Another flaw in this book is it's art. The artwork, which is mostly by Cam Kennedy is simply awful and doesn't fit the Punisher's style at all. Most of his charcters seem to look the same and have distorted faces and straw-like hair. Looking at the pictures for too long gives me a headache.

In general, this is probably the worst of Ennis run, maybe because he has set high standards for himself, but even so this is at the bottom.

Overall, if you are a strong fan of Ennis and collect the Punisher...get the book.

If you are a fan of good art (like Steve Dillon's) then don't even bother.