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    Punisher

    Character » Punisher appears in 2803 issues.

    When U.S. Marine veteran Frank Castle's family's was murdered for witnessing a mob hit, the man vowed to avenge their deaths and became a one-man army in his personal war against the criminal underworld. With a distinct death's head skull adorning his chest, Frank Castle became the vigilante known as the Punisher.

    so i would like to read some punisher..

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    bigtewell

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    ive only read 2 stories he was in one was his first appearence and the other was the one where he and daredevil were in jail with the kingpin. I really think I would love the character. So what are some essential punisher stories and which are considered his best and if you could give me a reading order I will give u a no-prize. I heard his latest run got cancelled tho

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    bionder

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    Well you should grab all Punisher from Ennis ( MAX and 616) and Rucka's run, the ongoing you mentioned that was cancelled. Great characterization, different take comparing to Ennis but really good. I have seen many non-Punisher fans grab this book and like it a lot.

    Many people say that Ennis is "THE" Punisher writer so you should pick it.

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    OmegaHans

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    #3  Edited By OmegaHans

    @bigtewell: Nononono Do NOT start off with MAX yet, you'll be lost on certain crucial things. Here's the best reading order you'd want.

    Start with the Punisher: War Journal books from '88 thru '95 (Lee & Daley era), that's your origin stuff plus has fights with Wolverine, Black Widow, Daredevil, Bullseye etc. Good stories with lots of tie-ins with Daredevil during this run. Frank still had the van, warehouse and Microchip, that whole deal.

    From there, you can go next to either Punisher: War Zone books which has a lot of his Vietnam stories or just go straight to Welcome Back, Frank era.

    Then read MAX, Marvel Knights, all the Garth Ennis stuff. Very mature themes, uncensored. Ennis is generally the all-around best of the writers, though even he wrote a few goofy Pun stories. Hurwitz's MAX is average, not as good, and the art gets iffy.

    Go next to Civil War event War Journal books, Cap gets shot and Franks puts on a costume as ode to him.

    After that, if you want to read the 70s, to early 80s catalog go ahead although those are a bit sillier and campy, lot of Spider-Man and whatnot in them. The 'Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe' stories are wacky not very believable, but still readable.

    Read then Punisher: Dark Reign which leads to Frank getting killed by Daken and which leads to...

    ...the Frankencastle books. Real silly, real campy but different and entertaining enough.

    Current Punisher is kinda lame imo, they are putting him in teams now, kissing Elektra and making less edgy chalk it up to bad writing but I guess you could read those but I'd recommend last.

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    deactivated-5a162dd41dd64

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    @bionder said:

    Well you should grab all Punisher from Ennis ( MAX and 616) and Rucka's run, the ongoing you mentioned that was cancelled. Great characterization, different take comparing to Ennis but really good. I have seen many non-Punisher fans grab this book and like it a lot.

    Many people say that Ennis is "THE" Punisher writer so you should pick it.

    This, right here. While I hate to say it, Ennis does write the Punisher very well. And while both writers depict Frank Castle in different ways, and though the stories are very different, they've both written fantastic material.

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    ghost_runner

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    Greg ruckas run was great and it doesnt require you to know anything about him, just pick it up and start reading

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    Billy Batson

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    Ennis' run.

    BB

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    bionder

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    I wouldn't suggest War Journal Civil War books, it's crappy writing and an awful take on the character thanks to Matt Fraction.

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    MadeinBangladesh

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    @bigtewell: Greg Rucka's Punisher that got cancelled. That's where I started and it was amazing!

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    Veshark

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    ive only read 2 stories he was in one was his first appearence and the other was the one where he and daredevil were in jail with the kingpin. I really think I would love the character. So what are some essential punisher stories and which are considered his best and if you could give me a reading order I will give u a no-prize. I heard his latest run got cancelled tho

    The Punisher MAX series by Garth Ennis. It's out-of-continuity, but it is the best, most definitive take on the character in my (and many others') opinion. It can get pretty graphic at times, but it's still some of the best crime/military comics ever produced by the genre. It starts with Punisher Vol. 1: In the Beginning, and goes on for ten trades, and some sixty issues.

    Also check out Punisher: Born, a great miniseries that details Frank Castle's time in the Vietnam War.

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    Hitmanspike

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    @bigtewell: Greg Rucka's Punisher that got cancelled. That's where I started and it was amazing!

    I reread that last week, truly amazing! Checchetto draw him flawlessly :( too bad it didn't last...

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    Tensta

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    @madeinbangladesh said:

    @bigtewell: Greg Rucka's Punisher that got cancelled. That's where I started and it was amazing!

    I reread that last week, truly amazing! Checchetto draw him flawlessly :( too bad it didn't last...

    Agreed, Checchetto is one of my favorite artists and too bad it didn´t last. At least there´s Superior Spider-Man Team Up #9 and #10. Featuring Daredevil & Punisher and Checchetto is doing the art. Pretty good read

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    Hitmanspike

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    @tensta said:

    @hitmanspike said:

    @madeinbangladesh said:

    @bigtewell: Greg Rucka's Punisher that got cancelled. That's where I started and it was amazing!

    I reread that last week, truly amazing! Checchetto draw him flawlessly :( too bad it didn't last...

    Agreed, Checchetto is one of my favorite artists and too bad it didn´t last. At least there´s Superior Spider-Man Team Up #9 and #10. Featuring Daredevil & Punisher and Checchetto is doing the art. Pretty good read

    Yeah I agree! Pretty much everything Checc did on team-up was amazing especially the one featuring Kaine that was just mind-blowing :O

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