Punisher War Journal - Volume 2: Goin' Out West (Punisher (Marvel Hardcover)) (v. 2) [Hardcover]

Matt Fraction (Author), Ariel Olivetti (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 2007 | Series: Punisher (Marvel Hardcover) (Book 2)

The Bushwacker has taken a hostage in the heart of Times Square. With every TV camera in the world rolling, it's New York City's biggest nightmare, and it's coming down live. As G.W. Bridge watches the worst day of his life uncoil in real time, a lone beat cop is the only thing that's keeping Bushwacker in check... and when Bushwacker demands to see Frank Castle... well, that's when thing get really interesting. By Matt Fraction (The Immortal Iron Fist) and Young Guns Reloaded artist Ariel Olivetti (The Last Avengers Story). Collects Punisher War Journal #5-9.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (December 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785128522
• ISBN-13: 978-0785128526
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,062,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Before joining Marvel Comics, writer Matt Fraction had already established his reputation as an emerging new talent with his work on Last of the Independents. Fraction's tale of a bank robbery gone wrong earned him a coveted "A" grade from Entertainment Weekly, as well as interest from Marvel. After taking on a short story assignment in the anthology title X-Men Unlimited, Fraction was handpicked to launch two of Marvel's biggest projects for 2006: Punisher War Journal with artist Ariel Olivetti, and Immortal Iron Fist, with co-writer Ed Brubaker and artist David Aja. Both series met with overwhelming critical and fan acclaim, selling out their respective first issues within days of release. This led to two even bigger projects: The launching of Invincible Iron Man, a high-profile first issue premiering the same month as the blockbuster film; and Uncanny X-Men, written in tandem with Immortal Iron Fist partner Brubaker. In addition to his Marvel work, Fraction writes Casanova, an off-beat series illustrated by Gabriel Bá which recently moved to Marvel's Icon imprint. He is also a talented filmmaker and graphic designer, heading up the MK12 firm with a worldwide client base that includes Adidas, MTV and Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Fraction remains one of Marvel's most popular writers; other credits include The Order and Thor: Ages of Thunder.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Laughable, March 30, 2008

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Punisher War Journal - Volume 2: Goin' Out West (Punisher (Marvel Quality Paper)) (v. 2) (Paperback)

Matt Fraction's (co-writer of the surprisingly good Iron Fist with Ed Brubaker) launch and run on Punisher War Journal has been less than flattering to the character to say the least. The issues contained in the first volume of the series found Frank Castle making his "return" to the Marvel universe in the midst of the Civil War, and now with Captain America dead, Frank reveals himself in a new Cap-inspired costume. If you can't tell already, the new uniform is laughable, as is the rest of the story contained in Goin' Out West, which finds Frank taking on the Bushwhacker. What really gets me about Punisher War Journal is that Fraction's take on the character is that of an insane zealot that has no method behind his madness. Granted, the Punisher has never really had a creative team to show the character at his full potential besides Garth Ennis in the acclaimed Marvel MAX series, but the character certainly deserves better than how he is depicted here. Ariel Olivetti's artwork, which was a bit of an acquired taste to begin with for some, doesn't fare any better here, and is sadly hard to look at in spots. No matter how much of a die-hard fan of the Punisher you may be, Goin' Out West is a laughable take on the character that is better off not read, and better off ignored.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ugh - look at that costume!, July 8, 2011

By 

Sam Quixote - See all my reviews

This review is from: Punisher War Journal - Volume 2: Goin' Out West (Punisher (Marvel Quality Paper)) (v. 2) (Paperback)

Possibly the worst thing to come out of the Marvel Civil War event from a few years ago was the Punisher's involvement. I know he started out in a Spidey comic but I think he's changed to the point where he and supes just shouldn't mix. That stupid Capt America type costume he's wearing on the cover of this book is proof positive.

Then there are other things - he's got a sidekick (which never worked eg. Micro), he spends most of his time in thrall to some moronic neo-Nazis, trying to get his way into their organisation for some reason (the book barely held my attention) but the Frank I knew from the Garth Ennis reboot would've just killed them all and figured it out later. Here he does that but only after the lamest attempt at becoming one of them for some reason. Utterly pointless.

Besides the crap storyline and poor characterisation and sub par art, what else is there to say? Nothing else really, it's more along the lines of "this is stupid, this isn't the Punisher, this book blows". And it does, it really does. Avoid.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars After a promising start, this train wreck occurs., April 9, 2008

By 

Brian Reaves (Anniston, AL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Punisher War Journal - Volume 2: Goin' Out West (Punisher (Marvel Quality Paper)) (v. 2) (Paperback)

The Punisher's reappearance in the Marvel universe was incredible during the Civil War. In the first volume of this new War Journal he shows us that merciless hero we've missed for so long during a literal beatdown he gives the Rhino! What great stuff!

Then this volume comes out. The majority of this story during his "I'm Captain America!" phase is told in a flash-forward/flash-backward method that makes no sense. We see him tied to a pole, then we see him starting the trip, flash back to him tied to a pole, flash back to the trip, and so forth. The story doesn't even really progress for about twenty percent of the book! When something finally starts happening it's such a letdown you'll find yourself bored out of your mind. Fortunately Marvel doesn't indulge this stupid Captain America phase for long and allows the Winter Soldier to show up in a future issue to take the mask away.

Marvel had such promise with this character. They brought him back with a bang (literally) during the Civil War and his interactions with Captain America were amazing. Even his decision to steal the mask was a good choice and showed potential. But when the time came to deliver on it, we are treated to the stupidest variation of the costume you've ever seen, and Punisher taking more of a beating than a nerd at a jock convention. They really blew it during this storyline, but fortunately it picked back up somewhat during the World War Hulk phase (which will come out in the next volume). If you like the Punisher, my advice is to buy the first volume, skip this one, and buy the next.