''The Punisher'' is a

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

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series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

featuring the character Frank Castle, also known as the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

, written by

Greg Rucka Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well a ...

. This series of ''The Punisher'' continues the tradition of

Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', ''Uncanny ...

's '' War Journal'' series and

Rick Remender Rick Remender (born February 6, 1973) is an American animator, comic book writer and television producer who resides in Los Angeles, California. As a comic book creator, he is best known for his work on ''Uncanny X-Force'', ''Venom'', ''Captain A ...

's previous ''

'' series and places the character firmly in the ongoings of the larger

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

, interacting with other superheroes like

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

, the

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, and

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

more frequently than before. Although the series' first issue was released at the time of the '' Fear Itself'' event, Rucka stated his intent to focus the series solely on the Punisher's exploits without having larger Marvel U events interfere with the flow of the series, but if need be, could interact with other heroes when the story called for it.

Story

The series, although being a self-titled ''Punisher'' ongoing, does not have many internal monologues, nor does Castle speak often throughout the series. It's instead focused on the impact that the Punisher's actions have on those around him, and the repercussions those actions create for other characters involved in the story. In the first arc, Castle is committed to taking down a criminal organization known as "The Exchange," and is later joined by a former Marine whose husband was murdered on the couple's wedding day. The grief-stricken wife, Rachel Cole, seeks the Punisher out and the two create a bond due to their mutual time in the United States Marine Corps. Cole (who insists on being addressed by her married name of Alves) serves under Castle's command, and the two treat each target they seek to kill as a two-man military operation with Castle maintaining a command structure. Midway through the series, Cole and the Punisher become involved in one of

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...

's exploits, who is holding a device called the "Omega Drive" containing damning information on all the major crime organizations in the Marvel Universe. The Punisher wants the device for obvious reasons, as it would give him a multitude of new targets to neutralize.

also becomes involved, and the story is told in one issue of ''Avenging Spider-Man'', one issue of ''Daredevil'', and one issue of ''The Punisher''.

Follow-up

The series concluded with issue #16, at which point Rucka and Checcetto moved on to a 5-issue mini-series entitled '' Punisher: War Zone'' to finish their story. The ''War Zone'' series involves the Punisher's operations in the final issues of the ongoing series attracting the attention of the

. This was Rucka's final story with the Punisher as of 2017.

Collected editions

* ''Punisher by Greg Rucka'' Vol. 1 (collects ''The Punisher'' vol. 9, #1-5), February 2012 * ''Punisher by Greg Rucka'' Vol. 2 (collects ''The Punisher'' vol. 9, #6-10, ''Avenging Spider-Man'' #6, and ''Daredevil'' vol. 3 #11), September 2012 * ''Punisher by Greg Rucka'' Vol. 3 (collects ''The Punisher'' vol. 9, #11-16), March 2013

References

Sources

External links