By now, everybody and their mother knows what happened between Punisher and Daken the first time they had their fight, as depicted in Dark Reign: The List - Punisher. To call it one of the most brutal executions ever witnessed in a comic book medium is nothing short of an understatement. And its immediate consequence regarding Punisher was easily visible, by being turned into a Frankenstein version of himself. Now it's time for Franken-Castle to get some much needed revenge on his part. Join me, as I review what could very well be, the closing saga in the current Dark Wolverine volume, by going through Issue #88.
The Good
Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu start off with another day in the life of Daken wanting to seek the Muramasa Blade in order to kill his father, Wolverine. Aside from his trademark seduction tactics and gory display of killing anyone who gets on his bad side, it has a somewhat mellow intro, until he jumps into the elevator. That's when the story picks up the pace, similar to the frenzy that's found in the Franken-Castle series. And it maintains the momentum, with an impressive display of fighting made possible by Stephen Segovia. The verbal jabs between Daken and Castle are another highlight of the story, almost to the point that it becomes a role reversal, with Castle being the hunter, and Daken being a cornered, dangerous prey. For a 4-part story, this issue has a great starting point.
The Bad
The fight was too short, on the premise that Franken-Castle had to heal from his wound, as well as the story in the issue itself. But it's nothing to antagonize this issue.
The Verdict
This cross-over has jumped out of the gate with a very solid introduction issue, and it has improved the quality of story-telling in Dark Wolverine's book before it comes to a close. In a way, this feels like the final issues of Robin, but this book is under 100 issues. In a nutshell, you want a good appetizer to the bloodshed that will be the Dark Wolverine/Franken-Castle crossover, give this issue a read.
4/5 SOLID BUY