Punisher MAX #9 - Insanely Awesome

The Punisher MAX series has never been known for it's subtlety. When it comes to grim, gritty, and uncensored you would be hard pressed to find anything so hardcore unless you're willing to visit a federal prison during sodomy Sundays. This comic has always been nasty with it's graphic blood, guts, and exposed breasts. But ever since it started incorporating other Marvel characters like Kingpin and Bullseye, the series has taken on new dimensions in awesome that would make Stephen Hawkings get up from his wheelchair and dance like Shakira on crystal meth.

It started off by introducing the Kingpin. The first arc brought Wilson Fisk into a story that showed how he rose to power with the kind of cut-throat ruthlessness that would require make Tony Soprano require even more therapy. The man let his own son die. That shows just how depraved this man is. But the second arc brought to the forefront someone who was even more off his meds than Wilson Fisk could ever be. The psychopath in question is Bullseye, who is crazy enough in the regular non-breast-showing 616 comics. But in the MAX series he takes his murderous insanity to whole new levels and it makes for some high-caliber awesome all around.

Punisher MAX 9 picks up with Bullseye's seemingly simple mission of killing the Punisher for the Kingpin. However, Kingpin is quickly finding out that Bullseye is no ordinary hired gun. The man is crazier than a brain damaged cheetah in the sense that it's not enough to just kill Frank Castle. He has to get into his head. To do so he spent much of the previous issue abducting families like Frank's and re-staging the grizzly scene that killed them and thus brought rise to the Punisher. By the time this issue picks up, he's killed four families. Even for a blood-thirsty assassin that's pretty extreme. Even Wilson Fisk is turned off buy it and after the monstrous shit he did in the first arc, that's saying something.

Fisk attempts to chew into Bullseye, but even with his power he can't do squat to intimate him. He might as well be trying to order a starving grizzly to not eat. Nothing is going to stop Bullseye. He continues his mission despite Fisk's wrath. He leads Fisks men right into one of the Punisher's den. Oh yeah, did I mention that? He already knows where the Punisher operates out of. He just hasn't made his move yet. It may seem like a shit head tactic, but there is purpose behind it. Unfortunately, part of that purpose involves leading Fisk's men to their maker by employing them as target practice for the Punisher's vast arsenal. While they help paint Castle's wall red, Bullseye slips away into a secluded area he modified.

From here, Bullseye's madness takes a plunge towards even deeper levels of depravity. While sitting behind some bullet proof glass, he watches Frank Castle kill the Kingpin's men. And he doesn't just watch them to observe. He watches them with the same fascination that a teenage boy has when he first discovers internet porn. His inner musings are disturbing even if they are somewhat poetic. He is genuinely in awe of what he sees. He describes it as watching a master artist work. It's the kind of musing that can only come from a mind that is far removed from some very heavy medications. He doesn't even flinch when Castle straps plastic explosives to the glass and detonates them. Bullseye escapes, of course, but he makes his point. He doesn't fear the Punisher. He practically obsesses over him in the same way Mark David Chapman obsessed over John Lennon.

While Bullseye's inner musings are a huge chunk of the awesome this comic has to offer, the title still reads Punisher so that means Frank Castle has to contribute as well. His plot isn't anywhere near as entertaining or deranged as Bullseye's though. In the previous issue he tortured and killed a dirty cop who was on Wilson Fisk's payroll. And by killed I mean he cut off his fingers, ear, and his dick (at least partially) before shooting him in the head. No really...that's what happened. Check out my previous review and see for yourself.

While the prick may have deserved it, the rest of the NYPD didn't much appreciate the Punisher killing one of their own. As a result, the cops are there to confront him when he tries to pursue Bullseye. They both look like they're ready to shit themselves. If they were normal thugs Castle would have put six bullets in their head, chest, and nuts by now. But they're not and the Punisher doesn't kill cops. So he does the next best thing. He shoots them in the leg. Yeah, that's not too subtle, but when dealing with the Kingpin and Bullseye the options are understandably limited.

While Castle makes more enemies with New York's finest, Vanessa Fisk is given the boot from Fisk Tower. After her creative little stunt in the previous issue where she got Wilson to fuck her and then she tried to fuck him over (by fuck I mean kill), she is kicked out. If she were anyone else she would not be in one piece, but Fisk is showing her some rare mercy and just giving her the boot. In no way should it be taken as an act of compassion because that train left for Fisk a long time ago. Even so, Vanessa is understandably pissed.

She still seems to share a few things in common with Fisk in that she's mean and vindictive. She seems more than inclined to take another shot at her former baby daddy, but then she meets up with Bullseye. It seems like a parking ticket on the same day when your home is blown up by a nuclear bomb, but what happens is yet another showcase of Bullseye's insanity. Rather than encourage Vanessa to kill Fisk or help her, he actually offers her some sane advice albeit in an insane way. He tells her to walk away and that killing leads to a very dark place, one that he's clearly run head first into with a rocket strapped to his back and shoved up his ass for good measure. It's hard to really tell if Bullseye is actually speaking from experience or if he's just rambling incoherently. It may be a bit of both. The most fucked up part is that Vanessa Fisk actually listens to the guy. She walks away while Bullseye continues to dance happily in this dark place he just warned about.

When he's done playing Dr. Phil, he visits an understandably pissed off Wilson Fisk. He still hasn't forgotten the shenanigans with the families and seems ready to give him the Godfather 3 treatment. Then Bullseye shows a bit of tact and gives Fisk a reason to keep him in once piece. He gives to him a map of all of Castle's hideouts. That's quite a gift to a guy whose trying to put him six feet under and in any number of unrecognizable pieces. Fisk, despite still having a very clear desire to wipe his hands of this psycho, decides to see this through and let Bullseye continue his job. However, now he can afford to be a bit proactive. He knows where Castle is operating out of and that means he can strike back.

Using his police connections, Fisk orders the NYPD to raid Castle's hideouts. It doesn't take a whole lot of bribes this time around. The cops are still more pissed at Castle than they are at the Kingpin, which is kind of fucked up because Fisk has probably killed more Cops on a weekend getaway than Castle has his entire life. But nobody is thinking that logically at this point. The NYPD and Kingpin get a glimpse at just how well-armed and well-stocked the Punisher is and if it doesn't make them nervous then their either on a shit ton of valium or just fucking stupid.

With his bases raided, Castle has to get his weapons another way. That means going out to arms dealers and getting what he needs. Unfortunately, the Kingpin controls arms dealers and the police are looking for him. Even guys who sell big ass guns get a little scared by that shit. The only way Frank is getting what he needs is if he kills the guy and takes his goods. Since arms dealers aren't known for being all that innocent, the Punisher has no problems with this. The Kingpin is more important than technicalities.

While Frank Castle is setting the stage for the endgame, Bullseye is doing the same. He's spent the last two issues trying to get into the mind of this man and he seems ready to make his move. It's not just a job for him. It's destiny. He makes it out to be a holy crusade while Frank Castle is almost solely occupied with the Kingpin. Something's gotta give. Someone has to blink. It sets he stage for a three-way battle that for once doesn't involve a shemale and two lesbians. If this sort of thing doesn't get you excited about the next issue, get a crow bar and beat yourself over the head with it because you don't deserve the luxury of higher thought.

There is very little about this comic that isn't grade-A awesome. It's the kind of grit you expect and crave from the MAX series. It's like taking elements of the Marvel Universe and throwing a little Charles Manson into the mix, making it more realistic while also making it utterly outrageous. Frank Castle always shines as being the ruthless vigilante that his is, but Bullseye steals the show here. He's not nearly as driven by his obsession with perfect aim as he is in 616. Here, he's a raving psycho in a way similar to the Joker in Batman. There is a complexity behind his madness and one that is so disturbing yet so intriguing. What Jason Aaron did for Fisk in the first arc, he does again for Bullseye and hits it out of the park.

There really are no major flaws in this book to speak of. There are some underdeveloped plots like the NYPD aspect and some of the deaths in this issue just aren't as gruesome and raw as they are in previous issues. But that's all just cherry picking from an otherwise fruitful bush of sheer awesome. As such I can give Punisher MAX no less than 5 out of 5. Jason Aaron is doing something very special with the MAX series. That's saying a lot after how high Garth Ennis set the bar. This series promises to reach that bar and set one of it's own for future writers of the MAX series. It's bloody, it's twisted, it's intriguing, and it's got boobs. Honestly, what more could you want in a comic? Nuff said!

Punisher MAX #8 - Grusome Awesome

Before I type another sentence, allow me to post a fair warning in case anyone from the Religious Right or some other morality toting pussy gets some broken glass in their vagina. Punisher MAX is a mature and graphic comic. It in no way is meant for kids. In this book they do not censor swear words. When people say fuck they don't bleep it out with this f$%# shit. What they say is pure an unabated. In addition, it isn't tactful about hiding nudity. If there is a shot of tits in the panel, they show actual tits. There's none of that conveniently placed steam or random covering bullshit. It's all there for the eyes to see. If someone can't handle that, then they shouldn't read this comic and should find seek counseling to help them become less of a pussy.

If you can get around the graphic details, Punisher MAX is an awesome comic. For years Garth Ennis wrote the grimmer grittier version of the Punisher that in no way was connected to the 616 universe. It made for some of the best Punisher stories of the past decade. Then Jason Aaron took over and he took what Ennis did a step further. He didn't just restrict the MAX universe to the Punisher. He brought in other characters like the Kingpin and Bullseye. The last arc showed Wilson Fisk brutalizing his way towards becoming the crime lord he's so well known for being in the 616 universe. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty. The man actually let his own son get his throat slit and he didn't shed a tear doing it. That should offer a clue as to just how brutal this title is. But if what Fisk did was considered brutal, Aaron's portrayal of Bullseye one-ups him at least 1000 times over and throws in some deranged psychosis for good measure.


Most people know Bullseye from the 616 universe as a cocky, arrogant, highly skilled assassin. Well most of that still applies here. In the previous issue he took out a whole room of people with nothing but a small gun he had concealed in his ass. No, that's not a dirty joke. The man literally kept a gun in his ass and shit it out when he needed to do the job. If you're not too grossed out by that, you'll have a small understanding of just how deranged this guy is and it doesn't stop there.

Now Bullseye is on assignment from the Kingpin, who is still reeling from his first encounter with the Punisher. In order to do this assignment, Bullseye doesn't just want to find him and kill him. He wants to get into Frank Castle's head. It makes sense on the surface, but the way he carries it out is fucked up on at least a million different levels. It really doesn't make him like his 616 counterpart and that's both a good and bad thing. What he does here is he's trying to get into Castle's mind by re-enacting the way in which Castle lost his family. To do that he basically took a family hostage, killed the father, and started playing house in his own made-up world. It's pretty crazy and a bit on the corny side. But it makes for some entertaining moments. It helps lighten the mood on some of the other darker elements going on with Kingpin and the Punisher.


As stated earlier Fisk is still reeling from the last attack that left his son dead. While he seems to brush it off as simply as a man brushes off the death of a goldfish, the same cannot be said for his wife, Vanessa. In the Kingpin arc she was portrayed in a somewhat different manner. She seemed to love Fisk, but she was also under no illusion. She knew what Fisk was doing and she didn't care. She even encouraged him at times, asking that he kill those she was suspicious of. She's made a radical turn since the death of her son, which is also kind of strange because Fisk mentioned she didn't even want kids to begin with. Now she's a fucked up drunk who is pissed at everyone and everything for the loss of her son. Furthermore, Fisk doesn't seem to care. That's to be expected, but Vanessa's character had a lot of potential back in the first arc and it seems to be wasted somewhere here. Now she's already walking the same path her 616 version did, becoming disillusioned by what Fisk is doing. It's understandable, but if the point was to give these characters a MAX-like twist Aaron failed to do so here with Vanessa. However, he more than makes up for it in how he handles Frank Castle.


There's no inconsistency between Ennis and Aaron. Frank Castle is still a sadistic badass who will torture, maim, and disembowel anybody who gets in his way. Usually, he goes out of his way to avoid hurting cops or authority figures. Not so this time. He has with him a dirty cop who has information on getting to Fisk and to make him talk, Castle begins cutting off body parts and stapling them to the wall. It's the kind of torture that Jack Baur would smile at. You would think even a dirty cop wouldn't be stupid enough to taunt Castle, but this guy has the kind of weapons grade stupidity that North Korea would kill for. He doesn't say anything and Castle just keeps hacking away. It's the brutality anyone should expect of the Punisher.

But in a ways his actions take a backseat to what's going on with the Kingpin. He's being warned left and right about hiring Bullseye and he's not listening. Add to that, Vanessa Fisk is being an irrational bitch. Even a guy as powerful as a crime lord cannot take everything going at him at once.


Now this is where the issue takes yet another turn for the bizarre. The plot with Bullseye is already fucked up enough. The man is clearly two globs of shit short of a cow pie, but Vanessa Fisk is ready to give him a run for his money. She comes out screaming at Wilson, crying at how he's the one that killed their son. That's a little unfair (as if anything can be fair from a guy as cruel as Fisk) because Fisk didn't technically execute their son. It was a rival crime lord who basically held a knife to his throat and cut it. Yet for some reason Vanessa says he's the one that killed him? At this point the reader may wonder if they've taken a hit of LSD because it doesn't stop there. Vanessa's yelling eventually subsides and out of nowhere, she asks Fisk to fuck her. And yes, those are her exact words. It's a MAX comic, remember? They don't use pussy ass euphemisms when it comes to bumping uglies.


From here, the LSD trip wears off and things get back to normal. And by normal I mean Frank Castle has since cut off two more fingers and an ear from the dirty cop he's interrogating. It's a pretty bloody scene and Castle isn't batting an eye. In this sense he and Fisk are kind of similar. They have no problem exacting unspeakable cruelty on people. Their expressions remain eerily similar every step of the way. I'm not sure if this is just the artist being lazy or if it's meant to be an over-arching theme in the book. Whatever the case, it's pretty damn gruesome.


What's even more outrageous is the man still hasn't talked yet. He isn't telling Castle how to get to the Kingpin. At some point he knows he's going to run out of digits and he's just making it harder on himself. In a ways it feels like Aaron is just trying to stretch this scene out, but the brutality only escalates. Since losing fingers and an ear isn't enough for this guy, he goes for the home run. He goes to a digit no man can stand losing and even the ballsiest of henchmen crack under the strain. Anyone who has ever seen torture on shows like 24 might often thing "If they want to really torture the guy, why not just go for his dick or balls or something? Wouldn't that work better?" Well in Punisher MAX, look no further. That's exactly what Castle does and squeamish men will feel an unpleasant clench at the mere sight of it.


The man finally does talk. He reveals that Fisk has become really paranoid since their last encounter is and keeping his movements secret so as to avoid detection. It also explains why he's willing to hire someone as crazy as Bullseye to take care of him. To Frank Castle, that means he's applying the right kind of pressure and that's going to work to his advantage. Since Fisk seems to be getting so powerful, it's nice to see a little crack in his armor. That was one of the shortcomings of the previous arc and it seems to be shifting gears here.

This plot with Castle as well as the plots with Fisk and Bullseye all coincide near the end in a beautiful coming together of bloody and brutal awesome. Bullseye finishes his reenactment of Castle's family and Vanessa Fisk makes her move while she's fucking Wilson. In one page, the hostage family is executed, Vanessa tries to shoot Wilson, and Castle kills the dirty cop with a bullet to the head. It's by far the strongest part of the issue. There's no loose ends or beating around the bush. There's just pure, brutal Punisher MAX style awesome.

The end result, however, is somewhat ironic. Bullseye is strangely unsatisfied by having an innocent family murdered in front of him. He says he feels nothing. Either he's a lousy actor or he's more fucked up than than previously hinted at because he tells the Kingpin's henchmen they have to do it again. As if that wasn't screwed up beyond all recognition, Vanessa's attempt to kill Wilson fails and in spectacularly lame fashion. She just shoots him in the shoulder and he doesn't seem to wince. I know it's a comic book and all and Fisk is a tough guy, but this is seriously pushing it. There are major veins in the arm and even a tough guy should at least flinch a little. But for Fisk it's like being bitten by a mosquito. There's nothing else to it and he doesn't even react that violently with Vanessa. It just seems like a real whimper when there should have been a bang. But there is an underlying message to it all. Vanessa makes the point that even for everything Fisk has gained, his paranoia and brutality will ultimately leave him with nothing. It's a powerful message that doesn't seem to phase him, but does set the tone for just how messed up his world is becoming as the Kingpin of crime.


There's a lot to love about this comic. There's a lot to love about any comic that thumbs it's nose at the censors and lets all the blood, guts, and tits hang free for everyone to see. But it isn't just gratuitous for the sake of being gratuitous. There's a real story here, one that doesn't just follow Frank Castle. It's an eerie insight into the fucked up minds of a ruthless crime lord and a bat-shit insane assassin. Their plots along with Castle's make for a very compelling story and all the blood and brutality just adds to the overall awesome.

Yet there's still some room for improvement. The characterization of Vanessa Fisk has been wildly inconsistent from the previous arc to this arc without much substance in between and Bullseye's insanity is being a bit overplayed. But it's not so detrimental that it brings down the whole series. There's enough awesome to compensate and taken all together, Punisher MAX #8 gets a 4 out of 5. It's the only comic where readers can get a raw, uncensored view of the awesome that is the Marvel universe. If only they would adopt this style to others. Punisher MAX is it's own special world and it should stay that way, hopefully bringing in as many other Marvel heavyweights to share in the awesome along the way.

Punisher MAX #6 - Hardcore Awesome

In a market crowded with super-powered heroes and super-powered evil-doers it often goes unnoticed when those with no powers who fight those with no powers but plenty of evil and make it over-the-top violent in the process. The Punisher is one of the few who exists in a realm where costumed heroics are a joke and the only battle is between two frail human beings who bleed and die like everyone else in the real world. While the Punisher has his own role in the current Marvel universe, that has quickly turned into another farce with the whole Fraken-Castle story. If you're wondering what that is, it's exactly what it sounds like. The mainline universe turned Frank Castle into a Frankenstein-like man who still conducts his war, but with Frankenstein style tactics. It's a fun gimmick, but a total misrepresentation of who the Punisher is.

Thankfully, Marvel has not resorted to those same tactics with the Punisher MAX series. Ever since this series began under the pen of Garth Ennis, it has quickly become one of the most defining stories for the Punisher. The MAX series is not like the 616 continuity in that there is more blood, more violence, more cruelty, no censoring of breasts or body parts, and no super powers. It's the perfect world for the Punisher to operate, but for years he operated it on his own. Now a recent series written by Jason Aaron has taken Punisher MAX to a new level, adding other Marvel names to the world of MAX and making it awesome as hell in the process.

It started with the Kingpin arc. This story brought the MAX version of the Kingpin into the Punisher's world. It told the rare story of how Wilson Fisk fought his way to the top of the criminal hierarchy and was damn cruel and sadistic in the process. He did things in MAX that he could NEVER get away with doing on panel in 616. There's no beating around the bush to offend squeamish Spider-Man fans. Fisk tortures, maims, and kills without compunction. With the success of that series, Aaron has taken the next step and brought Bullseye into the mix.

Punisher MAX #6 picks up right where the Kingpin arc left off. Frank Castle is still recovering from the beating he took. This issue makes a point to show that he's not a young man. He's getting up there in years and it's affecting him, something few readers get from other superheroes who seem to be perpetually in their twenties. It also makes a point to take Bullseye and strip away the super powered background and just make him a badass assassin with an even more badass attitude. At times it seems a bit too much like the regular 616 continuity, but at others it feels completely unique. Bullseye comes off just as Frank Castle does, someone who is human but highly talented in what he does. He makes it a point to show this off in the first few pages when he takes out a whole hoard of thugs with nothing but a small gun he had lodged in his rectum (seriously, that's something that can only happen in MAX).

This comic set the stage for a new challenge for Frank Castle. He's getting old and he's wearing down. At the same time he has to face someone who is no casual thug. He's someone who can take him down and unlike the regular 616 universe, there will be no magic or Frankenstein style retcon to save him. It's the kind of grim and gritty story that fulfills all the dark desires of comic fans who think there's too much child-appeal. This is one of those dark stories that doesn't skimp on the awesome and further demonstrates how the Punisher is the most badass character in the entire Marvel universe. It's not because of the powers he has. It's what he's able to accomplish with no special abilities than his monster sized set of stones and unlimited supply of badassery.