Punisher Max Complete Collection Vol. 1 (The Punisher: Max Comics)

The volume contains all 4 issues of the Punisher prequel miniseries "Born" and the first 12 issues of The Punisher both by Garth Ennis. Ennis's legendary yet tortured portrayal of The Punisher is truly dark, gritty and visceral, Ennis ventures into the deepest darkest depths of human nature, exploring the primal base violence inherent in humanity, through The Punisher's twisted war he conveys the coldness of the world, the destructive dark side of humans. The Punisher is no longer fighting for vengeance nor justice, he is fighting because only in the violence of war does he feel "alive", the story conveys this downwards spiral masterfully at first showing us a younger bloodthirsty yet not completely consumed Frank Castle, in "Born", during his tour in Vietnam on a doomed military base, the moody artwork conveys the sense of dread, loathing and horror, of men trying their hardest to grasp onto the last vestiges of their humanity before it begins to erode away eventually leading to a horrific battle which forever changes Frank Castle, creating a monster who feeds on perpetual war. The following 12 issues are blood soaked masterpieces, set nearly 40 years after "Born" it portrays the Punisher in New York City still waging his long bloody war against crime, a demented, inhuman man who hunts because that is all he knows, Ennis's writing truly creates a bleak tragedy of a man who has succumbed to destruction, a man who is possessed by war. The artwork by various artists is overall very good it captures in sublime detail the gritty ruined world of The Punisher. The artwork veers on the graphic and ultra-violent side with piles of blood drenched mobsters and murderers, yet does not glamourise it, rather it conveys the true brutal horror of violence. Overall the Comic is a masterpiece, arguably the greatest run on The Punisher and one of Marvel MAX's greatest titles. It is a dark exploration of violence, and to an extent crime, Ennis creates a morbid cynical world where humanity is plunging into the abyss, the visceral artwork combined with this paints a tortured, doomed world, a world gone wrong, and shows us this world through the eyes of a tortured doomed man, a man consumed, not by revenge, but war.

I love Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore and the Preacher by G. Ennis, so did not know what to expect from Punisher Max as the arc of story is very different from what I like reading. But just WOW, The first part is set in Vietnam and is cruelly brilliant. Seeing Frank Castle (the Punisher) breaking and transforming into what he is known for (merciless, cold, violently articulated yet human... barely) in his rounds in the War is impressive. The writing here surpass the Preacher series in my view. Perhaps an unnecessary comparison, but the visceral, laconic language utilised by Ennis with the drawings are a very very powerful combination. Like the first story of the second Max Complete edition (set in Russia) these tales last forever in the imagination, really human stories of horror that immerse you in the twisted soul of the punisher/Frank. Somehow it separates him from the super hero or anti-hero category, to some kind of super human tragedy. I highly recommend this for any fan of adult graphic novel. Literary, horrific and a beautiful nightmare of human imagination.

I'd give this 4.5 stars if I could. Is not as 5 star worthy as all of the other volumes of the classic 60 issue run from the early 2000s, but is still well worth getting. Starts with Born, showing Frank's final Vietnam mission which moulded him into the Punisher. Is an interesting device, suggesting that Death/Satan/? has given him dark powers of survival, but may explain his superhuman levels of endurance in later stories. Is a nice bookend for the whole series with the final story, "Valley Forge, Valley Forge" which ends the 60 issue run, to be published in a future collected volume. The Beginning is the first story of the 60 issue run, getting rid of an old character and really setting up this version of the Punisher as markedly more violent than his previous run. The CIA wants Frank to be their private assassin and seek to capture him. Complicating matters is a psycho gangster who thinks he can take Frank down, and has the smarts and ruthlessness to do it. Kitchen Irish sees some of Garth Ennis' anarchic spirit show through, with some great laugh out loud moments. Also includes a disturbing scene where a corpse disposal expert is forced to dissect somebody who is still very much alive. So not all fun and games. The plot is a treasure hunt where 4 rival Irish gangs fight over millions of dollars left by an old Irish mob boss. Frank gets involved after innocent people die in the crossfire. Is a great starting volume introducing some new allies, one of whom will really change Frank's life in The Long Cold Dark, the 9th story of the series and a new villain, who sets himself up as a decent foil for Frank.

Kindle version: Garth Ennis's version of The Punisher is dark, gritty and violent. Definitely not your comic book version. Volume 1 of The Punisher Max series contains three stories: Born, In The Beginning, and Kitchen Irish. Different artists ('pencilers') for each story, but all three are excellent. The first story, Born, gives insight to how The Punisher came to be, well before the loss of his family. The second story, In The Beginning, has The Punisher brings back an old character and introduces a few who will follow on to other Punisher stories. The final story has The Punisher mete out justice when local gangs fight over a fortune and accidentally involve Castle. Top quality stories, excellent artwork. A must-read for adult Punisher fans. An interesting feature of the Kindle version, at least on my iPad, is that double-tapping the full-page graphics panel will pull up the individual panel with a black background. This makes it easier to read, especially on a smaller-screened device. And by 'double-tapping' I mean with your finger, not your .45.

This is my first dip in the pond when it comes to punisher titles since the early 90s and I was not at all disappointed. This book sure set the bar high.

Garth Ennis' finest work. Definitive Punisher run. It just works. This is how you treat a vigilante story. The collected volume is amazing. Good print.

Garth Ennis ist für mich einer der besten Comic-Buch Autoten überhaupt. Besonders seine Punisher Geschichten sind großartig. So wie diese hier. Entstehung und Alttag des Punishers stehen hier auf dem Programm. Düster, brutal und spannend. Die hervorragenden Zeichnungen sind die "Cherry on the top".

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