A misstep
Ordinarily, I'm not a reader of the Punisher. My reason for picking up this mini-series is that Daimon Hellstrom, who makes a cameo in this issue, is a character whose appearances I collect. I don't dislike the Punisher, I'm just not a fan.
This started as an offbeat, but somewhat intriguing premise for the return of the Punisher. I like many comics with a supernatural bent, so I approached this book with curiosity as to how this would be merged with the Punisher's street-level nature.
By issue 3, however, it became apparent that this combo was just not going to work. The Punisher represents a cathartic release for many readers who get fed up and frustrated by the injustices they see in the world; in this fictional world, at least, the scum of the earth often get their just deserts, meted out by Frank Castle. There is a purity to the concept of the Punisher, and although throwing in the supernatural element seen in the "Purgatory" storyline wasn't necessarily a bad idea, tying it to his origin severely diluted that aspect of the character.
By the end of the series, the fundamental character of the Punisher has been altered unnecessarily, and his pointlessnessly ret-conned origin corrupted his raison d'etre.
And it just turned out to be a not-very-good story; misguided and forgettable. It was a paint-by-numbers plot and the characters were pretty flat. The fallen angels Castle encountered were dull, annoying whiners. The writing was adequate, but the art was really disappointing. I was looking forward to Bernie Wrightson's usually brilliant pencils with his patented creepy scenes and characters. Unfortunately, Wrightson's work was completely overwhelmed by Jimmy Palmioti's heavy inks, leaving the art looking average at best. And the demons were ridiculously comical looking, not frightening at all.
I'm aware that Marvel kept this nonsense with Castle up for at least one more mini-series, but wisely corrected course soon afterwards, leaving "Purgatory" largely ignored. That's for the best.
