The Punisher (2004 series)


The Punisher was a comic book ongoing series published under the MAX imprint of Marvel Comics, featuring vigilante and antihero the Punisher.

Publication history

, also writer of the The [Punisher (2000 series)|2000] and 2001 Punisher series, wrote issues #1–60 of the series. Also like the earlier series, Tim Bradstreet provided the covers for those issues. Continuing his run on the character, Ennis used the freedom of the MAX imprint to write more graphic and hard-edged stories than had previously been seen. Ennis also wrote two miniseries accompanying the main series, The Punisher Presents: Barracuda and Born, and several one-shots.
With issue #61, Gregg Hurwitz replaced Ennis as writer, joining artist Laurence Campbell to do a five-issue story arc. With issue #66 released on January 21, 2009, the series was re-titled Frank Castle: The Punisher, with writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Michel Lacombe coming to the series. Victor Gischler came on board for the storyline "Welcome to the Bayou" in issues #71–74 before the title finished with issue #75, a double-length issue with stories by Thomas Piccirilli, Gregg Hurwitz, Duane Swierczynski, Peter Milligan, and Charlie Huston.
The title was relaunched as Punisher MAX in late 2009, with writer Jason Aaron and artist Steve Dillon.

Differences from the mainstream Marvel Universe Punisher

The series explicitly does not use a floating timeline like the mainstream Marvel Universe, instead presenting a Punisher who ages in real time. Gravestones and other references indicate that his family was killed in 1976. The Punisher has been active for almost 30 years at the time presented in most stories, with issue #19 specifying that he has killed approximately 2,000 people. Born also establishes that the Punisher's service in the Vietnam War is still in MAX continuity.
Promotional art for the cover of Punisher #44, gives Frank's born as Queens, New York, 1947 but that was removed for the published issues. The story "Valley Forge, Valley Forge" corroborates this date, referring to Castle as "a twenty-one year old Captain" in April 1971.
Another major difference is the complete lack of superheroes and supervillains in the series, although non-superpowered characters from the Punisher's past, most notably Microchip, do make appearances. Nick Fury also makes several notable appearances, with his characterization echoing Ennis' MAX-imprint Fury stories. However, the character Jen Cooke, a social worker, appeared in the Marvel Knights storyline "Hidden". She then appeared in the MAX storyline "Slavers". The character Yorkie Mitchell made appearances in both the Marvel Knights and the MAX Punisher comics.
In the Civil War Files comic, just before the "Civil War" storyline was published, Iron Man talked about events in the Punisher's past from the Marvel Knights and MAX comics, which indicated that it did happen in the mainstream Marvel Universe at some point:
  • "Captain Frank Castle, sole survivor of the Firebase Valley Forge massacre".
  • "Although recently Castle has escalated his war on crime even further, with record-breaking body counts, he is paradoxically now rarely encountered in the field by any super hero save Daredevil".
  • "It's almost like he inhabits two worlds, one where heroes can capture him and one where they can't, and he can slip from one to the other with ease".
Many characters are past or current intelligence and military operatives from governmental agencies like the American CIA, the Soviet KGB and the British SIS and SAS and militaries and militias from the Balkans, the Middle East and the IRA, all with agendas rooted in past conflicts like the Cold War or the Yugoslav Wars.

Prints

Issues

No.Story arcCover dateComic Book Roundup ratingEstimated sales
#1In the BeginningMarch 20048.0 by one professional critic.56,350, ranked 20th in North America.
#2In the BeginningMarch 200449,197, ranked 24th in North America.
#3In the BeginningApril 200446,383, ranked 34th in North America.
#4In the BeginningMay 200447,096, ranked 32nd in North America.
#5In the BeginningJune 200434,236, ranked 57th in North America.
#6In the BeginningJuly 200448,533, ranked 31st in North America.
#7Kitchen IrishAugust 200448,126, ranked 30th in North America.
#8Kitchen IrishAugust 200447,477, ranked 31st in North America.
#9Kitchen IrishSeptember 20046.0 by two professional critics.46,885, ranked 30th in North America.
#10Kitchen IrishOctober 20048.0 by one professional critic.45,397, ranked 33rd in North America.
#11Kitchen IrishNovember 200444,036, ranked 45th in North America.
#12Kitchen IrishDecember 200442,661, ranked 36th in North America.
#13Mother RussiaJanuary 200542,086, ranked 38th in North America.
#14Mother RussiaJanuary 200541,512, ranked 42nd in North America.
#15Mother RussiaFebruary 200540,359, ranked 37th in North America.
#16Mother RussiaMarch 200539,262, ranked 35th in North America.
#17Mother RussiaApril 200538,732, ranked 42nd in North America.
#18Mother RussiaMay 200538,300, ranked 56th in North America.
#19Up is Down and Black is WhiteJune 200538,746, ranked 47th in North America.
#20Up is Down and Black is WhiteJune 200538,123, ranked 49th in North America.
#21Up is Down and Black is WhiteJuly 200537,992, ranked 47th in North America.
#22Up is Down and Black is WhiteAugust 200537,804, ranked 49th in North America.
#23Up is Down and Black is WhiteSeptember 200537,381, ranked 53rd in North America.
#24Up is Down and Black is WhiteOctober 20059.0 by one professional critic.37,019, ranked 65th in North America.
#25The SlaversNovember 200537,145, ranked 61st in North America.
#26The SlaversDecember 200536,427, ranked 50th in North America.
#27The SlaversJanuary 200636,072, ranked 48th in North America.
#28The SlaversFebruary 200635,535, ranked 55th in North America.
#29The SlaversMarch 200634,696, ranked 50th in North America.
#30The SlaversApril 20069.0 by one professional critic.34,281, ranked 57th in North America.
#31BarracudaMay 200634,500, ranked 68th in North America.
#32BarracudaJune 200634,076, ranked 60th in North America.
#33BarracudaJuly 200634,467, ranked 68th in North America.
#34BarracudaAugust 200634,162, ranked 65th in North America.
#35BarracudaSeptember 200634,111, ranked 69th in North America.
#36BarracudaOctober 200634,162, ranked 68th in North America.
#37Man of StoneNovember 200634,246, ranked 59th in North America.
#38Man of StoneNovember 200633,835, ranked 61st in North America.
#39Man of StoneDecember 200633,947, ranked 52nd in North America.
#40Man of StoneJanuary 200733,577, ranked 69th in North America.
#41Man of StoneJanuary 200733,161, ranked 72nd in North America.
#42Man of StoneFebruary 200733,001, ranked 63rd in North America.
#43WidowmakerMarch 20079.0 by one professional critic.33,022, ranked 55th in North America.
#44WidowmakerApril 20078.0 by one professional critic.32,945, ranked 61st in North America.
#45WidowmakerMay 20077.0 by one professional critic.33,243, ranked 64th in North America.
#46WidowmakerJune 20078.0 by one professional critic.33,393, ranked 65th in North America.
#47WidowmakerJuly 200710 by one professional critic.33,881, ranked 70th in North America.
#48WidowmakerAugust 20078.0 by one professional critic.33,783, ranked 62nd in North America.
#49WidowmakerSeptember 20078.0 by one professional critic.34,305, ranked 73rd in North America.
#50Long Cold DarkOctober 200710 by one professional critic.36,455, ranked 75th in North America.
#51Long Cold DarkDecember 20078.6 by two professional critics.33,735, ranked 72th in North America.
#52Long Cold DarkJanuary 20087.8 by one professional critic.32,897, ranked 65th in North America.
#53Long Cold DarkFebruary 200831,753, ranked 78th in North America.
#54Long Cold DarkMarch 20089.5 by two professional critics.31,628, ranked 68th in North America.
#55Valley Forge, Valley ForgeMay 20088.4 by two professional critics.31,627, ranked 60th in North America.
#56Valley Forge, Valley ForgeJune 20088.6 by two professional critics.30,789, ranked 65th in North America.
#57Valley Forge, Valley ForgeJuly 20088.4 by one professional critic.30,519, ranked 71st in North America.
#58Valley Forge, Valley ForgeAugust 20088.5 by one professional critic.29,791, ranked 70th in North America.
#59Valley Forge, Valley ForgeSeptember 20087.0 by one professional critic.30,058, ranked 82nd in North America.
#60Valley Forge, Valley ForgeOctober 20088.1 by three professional critics.30,667, ranked 79th in North America.
#61Girls in White DressesOctober 20086.2 by four professional critics.28,358, ranked 87th in North America.
#62Girls in White DressesNovember 20085.1 by two professional critics.26,898, ranked 91st in North America.
#63Girls in White DressesDecember 20086.3 by one professional critic.25,930, ranked 106th in North America.
#64Girls in White DressesJanuary 20096.1 by one professional critic.24,656, ranked 76th in North America.
#65Girls in White DressesFebruary 20096.8 by one professional critic.23,878, ranked 113th in North America.

As of issue #66, the series was officially re-titled Frank Castle: The Punisher.
No.Story arcCover dateEstimated sales
#66Six Hours to KillMarch 200922,799, ranked 81st in North America.
#67Six Hours to KillApril 200922,263, ranked 85th in North Americe.
#68Six Hours to KillMay 200922,252, ranked 85th in North America.
#69Six Hours to KillJune 200921,841, ranked 112th in North America.
#70Six Hours to KillJuly 200921,864, ranked 91st in North America.
#71Welcome to the BayouAugust 200921,311, ranked 107th in North America.
#72Welcome to the BayouSeptember 200921,035, ranked 100th in North America.
#73Welcome to the BayouOctober 200920,354, ranked 104th in North America.
#74Welcome to the BayouNovember 200920,242, ranked 121st in North America.
#75Dolls/''Gateway/Ghoul/Father's Day/Smallest Bit of This''December 200922,197, ranked 95th in North America.

Collected editions

;Trade paperbacks
Vol. #Vol. titleMaterial collectedWriterArtistPublication dateISBN
1In the BeginningThe Punisher #1–6Garth EnnisLewis Larosa2004
2Kitchen IrishThe Punisher #7–12Garth EnnisLeandro Fernández2004
3Mother RussiaThe Punisher #13–18Garth EnnisDougie Braithwaite2005
4Up is Down and Black is WhiteThe Punisher #19–24Garth EnnisLeandro Fernández2005
5The SlaversThe Punisher #25–30Garth EnnisLeandro Fernández2006
6BarracudaThe Punisher #31–36Garth EnnisGoran Parlov2006
7Man of StoneThe Punisher #37–42Garth EnnisLeandro Fernández2007
8WidowmakerThe Punisher #43–49Garth EnnisLan Medina2007
9Long Cold DarkThe Punisher #50–54Garth EnnisHoward Chaykin
Goran Parlov 		2008
10Valley Forge, Valley ForgeThe Punisher #55–60Garth EnnisGoran Parlov2008
11Girls in White DressesThe Punisher #61–65Gregg HurwitzLaurence Campbell2009
12Six Hours to KillFrank Castle: The Punisher MAX #66–70Duane SwierczynskiMichel Lacombe2009
13Welcome to the BayouFrank Castle: The Punisher MAX #71–74Victor GischlerGoran Parlov2009

;Hardcovers
TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Volume 1The Punisher #1–122005
Volume 2The Punisher #13–242006
Volume 3The Punisher #25–362007
Volume 4The Punisher #37–492007
Volume 5The Punisher #50–602009
Volume 6The Punisher #61–65
Frank Castle: The Punisher MAX #66–75		2011

;Marvel Ultimate Collection, [Complete Epic and Epic Collection lines|Complete Collections]
TitleVol. #Material collectedPublication dateISBN
The Punisher MAX: Complete Collection1Born #1–4
The Punisher #1–12		February 2016
The Punisher MAX: Complete Collection2The Punisher #13–30April 2016
The Punisher MAX: Complete Collection3The Punisher #31–49October 2016
The Punisher MAX: Complete Collection4The Punisher Presents: Barracuda MAX #1–5
The Punisher #50–60
Punisher: The Tyger #1
Punisher: The Cell #1
Punisher: The End #1		December 2016
The Punisher MAX: Complete Collection5Punisher MAX Annual #1
The Punisher: Force of Nature #1
Punisher MAX Special: Little Black Book #1
The Punisher #61–65
Frank Castle: The Punisher MAX #66–75		February 2017
The Punisher MAX: Complete Collection6Punisher MAX X-Mas Special #1
Punisher MAX: Naked Kill
Punisher MAX: Get Castle
Punisher MAX: Butterfly #1
Punisher MAX: Happy Ending #1
Punisher MAX: Hot Rods of Death
Punisher MAX: Tiny Ugly World #1
Untold Tales of Punisher MAX #1–5		August 2017

;Omnibus
TitleVol. #Material collectedPublication dateISBN
The Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis Omnibus1Born #1–4
The Punisher #1–30		May 2018
The Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis Omnibus2The Punisher #31–60
The Punisher Presents: Barracuda MAX #1–5
Punisher: The Tyger #1
Punisher: The Cell #1
Punisher: The End #1		August 2018

Reception

The series holds an average rating of 7.9 by 38 professional critics on the review aggregation website Comic Book Roundup.

In other media

Film

  • The 2008 movie Punisher: War Zone starring Ray Stevenson is inspired by Punisher MAX, most notably incorporating characters from that series such as Gaitano Cesare, Carmine "Pittsy" Gazzerra, Ink, Cristu Bulat, Tiberiu Bulat and Maginty. The scene where Frank Castle/The Punisher kills Gaitano Cesare and the other mobsters is also taken directly from the storyline "In the Beginning", albeit cutting the head off the former instead of a headshot.

Television