Essential Punisher Vol. 1

The Punisher is a character totally defined by the decade in which he was most popular, the roaring 80s. He's a me-decade cardboard stand-in for every put-upon creep with a sense of entitlement who ever thought, "Man, I wish I could shoot somebody who deserves it."

I guess that makes me one of the aforementioned creeps, cause I get right into it. The stories where Punisher first appears and plays with the Marvel Universe at large, in books like Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil, are okay for what they are. Yet by his fifth or sixth appearance, he was already occupying his own corner of the MU and appearing in his own unique brand of gritty pulp fiction.

A classic vintage Punisher story does NOT f**k around. Frank Castle talks to himself, he shoots bad guys, he pursues some larger target, and then he destroys them, often in an innovative way. In and out. End of story.

There's something comforting and satisfying about that simple template, and the variations available within it. It's not the kind of thing anyone should necessarily be proud to enjoy, but there's a place for it; the Punisher is really just a whacked-out version of John Wayne's character in umpteen cowboy movies over the years, and we've all felt powerless at the hands of crime or politics or the world at large, so there's probably nothing wrong with a little vicarious revenge.

Or maybe there is, and I'm a sick f**k. Who knows. The only thing that really disturbs me is just how much Frank Castle looks like Ronald Reagan.