Punisher #3

Story by

Greg Rucka

 

Art by

Marco Checchetto

 

Colors by

Matt Hollingsworth

 

Letters by

Joe Caramagna

 

Cover by

Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, Paul Mounts

 

Publisher

Marvel Comics

I figure I should take a break from the New 52 and head over to the competition, today we have The Punisher vs The Vulture in Punisher issue #3.  Punisher is one of those characters I have had a love hate relationship with, as a villain and complication to a story featuring Daredevil or Spider-man he is fantastic, his ongoing solo stories though have had some issues over the years.  Don't get me wrong I have read some good solo Punisher stories, the Garth Ennis years in particular were pretty good for the most part.

The Plot

This issue is basically a long aerial fight scene with the new Vulture with some scenes of Sgt Alves recovering in the hospital, Detectives Clemons and Bolt continue tracking leads on the shooting they were investigating, and a woman named Norah who is surprised to see that good old Frank is still alive.

What Was Right

The story really moved, I was slightly surprised hitting the last page of it so quick, this combined with the art was quite good.  Handling an aerial fight and making it look good is not an easy task from what I can tell and Marco hit it spot on.  Unfortunately I am not familiar with the recent history of the Punisher so I am unsure who some of the supporting characters are but I am sure I will get an idea of who Norah is for instance in the next issue.

What Was Wrong

My big problem was the coloring of the aerial fight, I couldn't quite tell what was coming out of the Vulture's mouth at first, I thought he just bled weird or spewed smoke.  Then I realized he was spewing acid like an Alien.  This is also my first encounter with the New Vulture so I wasn't suspecting the acid.  That was really my only gripe with the book.

End of Line

Punisher to me is the perfect fit for a gritty over the top crime comic and as long as it seems to stay that way I will stick with it.  So the Punisher makes the cut and hits my Pull List for now.  I just hope they stick more to dealing with characters with the Exchange and keep the super-powered villains to a minimum as not to spoil it when they do appear.