Holy crap this is a terrible comic book. What a difference an artist makes. And what a difference crappy storytelling makes. Sheesh. All of the mood, all the badassery, all the sensible storytelling goes right out the window with this lackluster and downright pathetic issue of Punisher. What the hell happened? I remember last issue ending on a very cool cliffhanger. But this issue just drops that cliffhanger flat. I half expected a sad trombone to play. The rest of the issue does not make up for it. We have a dull fight scene, a downright bizarre interruption and when we finally get to the moment the entire series has been buildings towards, it lacks energy and excitement because writer Greg Rucka has created a Punisher that just doesn’t interact well with people.

Punisher #9

And he looks freakin’ ridiculous!

Comic rating: 1/5: Terrible.

Rucka’s Punisher build up has come home to roost as we finally reach several confrontations that have been building all series. Punisher faces off against one of the leaders of the Exchange, and Punisher has a conversation with the Bride. But both encounters are absolutely botched. Punisher comes off as a pathetic lightweight against a villain who has not earned even an ounce of villainous cred, and then the fight ends in a ludicrously convoluted way that just flies in the face of the entire series up to this point. I could barely believe what I was reading. I know it all has to do with the crossover coming up with Daredevil next month, but couldn’t they have found a better way to introduce this idea?

Then when we finally get to the momentous meet-up between the Punisher and the Bride, it falls completely flat because Greg Rucka’s Punisher is very short on words, thoughts, emotions or anything else. There’s no chemistry between these two characters, but frankly that’s not surprising.

Join me for a full synopsis, with spoilers, and more analysis after the jump.

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Finally picking back up with the Punisher and the Bride facing off at the fireplace, the latest issue of The Punisher moves the plot forward in several ways. But it does so without fixing any of the frequent problems I’ve had with this series. Perhaps, like Teen Titans, I should just accept certain problems as part of the story and move on. Because if you overlook those issues, there really is a decent Punisher story here. And the twist ending is very exciting.

Punisher #8

We might finally get to see the Punisher doing some punishing next issue!

Comic rating: 4/5: Good.

The Punisher himself remains a quiet phantom, there’s no changing that. But at least we get appearances from all the other major players, we even learn a bit more about a lot of them. Not that this ‘bit more’ really adds anything, especially to the villains. As far as I’m concerned, The Exchange has fallen flat on their faces as bad guys. Adding a bit of tension between them means zilch at this point. But it’s better than nothing, I suppose. I enjoy plot progression at least.

But when is he going to lose that stupid eye patch? Did Punisher lose his eye or what?

Synopsis and spoilers after the jump!

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Greg Rucka throws us a curveball in this issue, writing a darn good character piece while solving none of the problems I’ve had with the series so far. If anything, this issue makes those problems worse. The story doesn’t move ahead at all. We learn nothing new about the villains, their motivation or anything, really. And neither the Punisher nor the Bride even appear! Instead we get the reason why Detective Ozzy Clemons dislikes the Punisher. That’s it.

Punisher #7

Still, it’s a well-written character examination. And the art of guest artist Michael Lark is to die for.

Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!

The problems with this series do not weigh down this issue, as they have previous issues. Rucka is clearly still going for style over substance, and with this issue, he does a very good job with it. Of course, I’d give the issue a higher grade if anything actually happened story-wise. As I said, the Punisher doesn’t even appear. It’s the Ozzy and Bolt show, as the two have a long talk about various topics (mostly the Punisher) on their way to the upstate lodge where Punisher and Bride did all that killing last issue. I’m a sucker for a good character exploration.

So hopefully I can explain why I’m cool with this issue, despite it not fixing any of the series problems, moving the story forward or providing much depth. Synopsis and spoilers after the jump.

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A healthy dose of action and murdery excitement kicks the Punisher series up a notch. Writer Greg Rucka finally answered my call to do something with the book, but there are still a lot of holes and problems with the story. The same sorts of problems that have been ongoing, like a shocking reliance on the recap page to tell us important information, an almost characterless version of the Punisher and a story that jumps ahead rather than progress naturally.

Punisher #6

Still, the Punisher actually punishing people is a good read.

Comic rating: 4/5: Good!

The biggest development in this issue is that The Bride has finally gotten involved in the overall story. The problem with that is it’s an incredible leap from where she was last issue to this issue, and an even larger leap from where she was only two issues ago. It’s easy to understand her motivation, but I don’t think we have been properly shown her mental progression to reach this point. We also haven’t been shown nearly anything about the bad guys in this story, called The Exchange. And that is a very big problem when reading a Punisher story.

I think it’s crucial in a Punisher story that you really want to see the bad guys get punished. Whether it’s movies, comics, TV or any medium, having a fully-realized antagonist is key. Think of all the great villains you love to hate. Or the villains you can really identify with, who think they’re doing the right thing, like Magneto. These are villains you can get behind because they are well-fleshed out. It’s why the hero’s eventual victory over them has such an emotional impact. And it’s moreso with the Punisher, because hated or beloved, that villain is going to die by his hand.

But with the Exchange, I just don’t care about them. Nor do I care that they and their faceless henchmen will die. I stand by my rating that this issue was a good read, but I have a lot to nitpick after the jump.

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