Sorry it took quite a while to get this one out, folks. There's been some stuff going on. Health stuff, family stuff, emergency house repair stuff, work stuff. . .LOTS of stuff. There's a bit of disarray and chaos. I haven't had as much spare time for comic reviewin' as I'd like lately.
ANYWAY. . .
Welcome to Longbox Junk, where the comics are cheap and the reviews are FREE!
Here we are, folks! It's the last batch of issues in my Longbox Junk look at every single issue of Marvel's Punisher: War Zone. It's been a pretty long road getting here, but it's been an interesting one for me.
War Zone is a bit of a black sheep when it comes to 90s Punisher comics. It had a solid three and a half year run (with 41 issues and 2 annuals), but for some reason it's not as well-regarded as the main Punisher title (probably to be expected) or the Punisher: War Journal spinoff.
From what I've seen, it's not a bad series. It has ups and downs, but generally-speaking more ups. To be fair, those high points aren't THAT high, making War Zone a series that's a decent read, but not great.
If you want to check out the other three entries in this Longbox Junk series review:
PART TWO: Issues 11 - 20 + Annual 1
PART THREE: Issues 21 - 30 + Annual 2
So, what awaits us in Part Four? War Zone has been a series RIGHT on the edge of going off the rails for basically its entire run. Just when you think it's finally going to go completely wrong, War Zone corrects course and just keeps on going. There's a lot that can still happen in ten issues.
Let's finish this up!
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE
- Part Four-
Issues 31 - 41
Marvel (1994 - 1995)
ISSUE THIRTY-ONE
River of Blood Part One: Scorched Earth
COVER: Joe Kubert
THE COVER:
I got this run mostly in one big chunk for a dollar each from a comic shop that was going out of business (RIP). I haven't read it before, so I've purposely not read ahead while doing this series review. Imagine my surprise when I found out there was a six issue story by Chuck Dixon and JOE FREAKIN' KUBERT!
In MY humble opinion, if there was a Mount Rushmore of comic artists, Joe Kubert would definitely be in the George Washington slot. He's my all-time favorite old-school comic artist! To be fair, this is 90s Kubert and not peak Kubert (like the earlier Buscema issues), but you would THINK this would at least be mentioned when reading the scant information to be found on this unloved Punisher series.
ANYWAY. . .
This is a great cover. I love the giant story title and the red at the bottom spotlighting the dark figure of the Punisher. It really catches the eye. I can't wait to get inside and see more! LET'S DO IT!
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Joe Kubert
INKS: Joe Kubert
While taking down some small-time drug runners, Punisher gains a nugget of information on a bigger fish who's recently set up shop in New York City, a Vietnamese named Randy Kwoc who's pushing heroin and setting up something big. Punisher decides Randy Kwoc is worth his attention.
Leaning on his mob contact, Mickey Fondozzi (Remember him?), Punisher learns that Randy Kwoc is setting up a big deal with the Russian Mafia to smuggle heroin into the U.S. through a Middle Eastern/ Asian pipeline. Punisher says no.
Punisher stakes out Kwoc's mansion, waiting for the meeting to take place. After two days of waiting, he finally spots the Russians. It's time to end the deal before it happens.
Punisher proceeeds to do what he does best. . .violent infiltration of mansions (seriously, Frank is constantly creeping on mansions). Punisher easily makes his way through the guards and into the mansion, where he overhears the deal being made between Kwoc and a Russian named Vikady.
Kwoc is a bit reluctant, but agrees to a trial run before getting into a full partnership. Punisher's heard enough at that point and decides to start the party.
But before he can start shooting, Frank is surprised when someone else starts blasting! While Vikady and Kwoc go at each other with accusations of a setup, Punisher decides to take advantage of the situation. While the unknown shooter hits the two gangs from the front, Frank takes down anybody running for it out the back.
The situation gets chaotic, with Punisher, the unknown shooter, the Russians, and the Vietnamese all shooting at each other. Finally, the gangs are thinned out enough that Punisher can try to find out who the unknown party is since neither Vikady or Kwoc are in sight. . .looks like they got away during the gunfight.
It seems the other guy had the same idea because suddenly, Punisher finds himself in a standoff with a giant man holding him at gunpoint and telling him not to move in a thick Russian accent. . .
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
A very nice start to the new story arc! Chuck Dixon provides the tight, gritty crime noir writing that I miss when he's not on War Zone. At this point, I'm pretty well convinced that Chuck Dixon and Garth Ennis are the only two writers who can reliably deliver good Punisher stories.
It's mostly setup until the gun battle at the end, but in Dixon's hands, even setup is a good read.
On the art side of things. Joe Kubert! I'm a fan of just about ANYTHING Kubert has done. Like I said in my look at the cover, he's my all-time favorite old-school comic artist. It's really cool to see a whole story done by Kubert instead of just a cover and he does a great job with Punisher!
Mind you, like the John Buscema issues, this is 90s Kubert and not peak Kubert. It's not his BEST work, but as far as I'M concerned, Kubert on a bad day is still better than a lot of artists at their absolute best.
Overall a great setup issue featuring page after page of art by a comic legend. What more could a comic fan ask for? I know. . .the next issue! LET'S GO!
ISSUE THIRTY-TWO
River of Blood Part Two: Comrades
COVER: Joe Kubert
THE COVER:
I love Joe Kubert's art, but I'm not sure I love this cover. It's not BAD, but when I think about all the awesome comic covers Kubert did over his long and prolific career, this one is a bit lacking.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Joe Kubert
INKS: Joe Kubert
We pick up the story from the cliffhanger last issue. Punisher and a mysterious Russian gunman in a standoff. The standoff ends when Randy Kwoc's men and the Russian mafia join forces and the gunfight starts again. Punisher and the Russian team up and Punisher learns his new "friend" is called Dragunov.
Vikady makes a run for it, and Dragunov pursues him, leaving Punisher to finish up Randy Kwoc's gunmen.
Even though Kwoc vanished during the carnage, Punisher is satisfied he's put a dent in the money side of the heroin deal. Unfortunately, he's not much closer to doing the same on the supply side with the Russians. He gets Micro on the job of trying to pin down an angle on the Russians, as well as trying to track down the mysterious Dragunov.
In the meantime, now that Kwock seems to be out of the picture, Vikady is trying to broker a new deal with the New York mafia.
Micro manages to find a slim lead on Vikady. Punisher decides to hit the streets and try to find more information on Dragunov while Micro tries to find him something a bit more solid.
Punisher ends up at a seedy Russian bar, but when he mentions the name Dragunov, the patrons become hostile. A brawl breaks out and Punisher is overwhelmed. He wakes up tied to a chair in the basement, getting ready to be interrogated by a Russian with a bag full of nasty-looking tools. Uh-Oh. . .
To Be Continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
Another good issue of setup, with Punisher hitting the streets to learn more about Dragunov while Vikady tries to make another deal. It's a pretty simple framework, but Chuck Dixon gives it the kind of dark and gritty writing that makes even setup a good read.
Joe Kubert is the perfect artist for this dirty little story. He matches Dixon's dark and gritty writing with the dark and gritty artwork this story needs. Even though this isn't peak Kubert, every page is worth lingering over for an extra moment. I never knew I wanted a Chuck Dixon/ Joe Kubert teamup, but now that I've seen it I want more!
NEXT!
ISSUE THIRTY-THREE
River of Blood Part Three: Capital Crimes
COVER: Joe Kubert
THE COVER:
Another Kubert cover that's actually a bit disappointing. Strangely-enough, it actually looks more like Buscema's work until you see the distinctive Kubert inking on it. Once again, it's not BAD by any means, but to a huge Kubert fan like myself I can't help but compare it to the MANY other great covers by this legendary artist. The art inside is actually better.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Joe Kubert
INKS: Joe Kubert
We start off exactly where the last issue ended, with Punisher tied to a chair in the basement of a Russian Mafia bar. A guy with a drill is about to go to work on his knee. And THAT'S when Punisher's mysterious new friend, Dragunov shows up and comes to the rescue!
After Punisher manages to escape and join the fight, the two of them interrogate the only survivor and learn about Vikady making a new deal with the New York mafia.
Punisher and Dragunov decide to make their little teamups an official temporary partnership while they hunt down Vikady and put an end to him. Punisher wants to stop the heroin deal, Dragunov is out for revenge.
Micro is on the job and finds Frank a solid lead on Vikady's new partners, the Lozaro crime family out of Queens. Punisher and Dragunov quickly head that way, hoping to catch Vikady before he leaves the country, now that the Russian knows both the Punisher and Dragunov are on his trail.
Following Micro's lead, Punisher and Dragunov assault a mob front laundromat. During the carnage, Vikady once again escapes, enraging Dragunov. Punisher decides he needs to see this one through to the end, even if it means following Vikady back to Russia. . .and that's exactly what he and Dragunov plan on doing.
To be continued. . .IN RUSSIA!
THE REVIEW:
What little information there is to be found on this series concentrates mainly on the first (and more rarely on the second) story arc. The only collected edition of this series is of the first six issues. And, to be fair, the first story arc IS a banger. That said, it's a shame that this Dixon/ Kubert arc seems to have been pretty much forgotten. It's a really solid Punisher story that seems like it SHOULD be a fan favorite.
So far, River of Blood has been a great read, with Dixon's dark, gritty writing and Kubert's equally gritty art coming together to tell an international crime story every bit as good as that initial Dixon/ Romita Jr. arc. I can't wait to get into the next issue. . .so let's do it!
NEXT!
ISSUE THIRTY-FOUR
River of Blood Part Four: Dead Men's Eyes
COVER: Joe Kubert
THE COVER:
I love that we get 6 issues of Joe Kubert art. Unfortunately, it's not Kubert's BEST art. This is toward the end of the legendary artist's career and it shows. This is another cover that's just okay. I feel it's a bit unfair to compare this to Kubert's best work, but I can't help it. To be fair, once again, the art inside is quite a bit better.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Joe Kubert
INKS: Joe Kubert
We pick up the story with Punisher and Dragunov in the former Soviet State of Georgia. They've taken a long, convoluted route so they can bring their guns with them, but they've finally arrived and are ready to hunt down Vikady.
They meet with some of Dragunov's contacts, who agree to help them with a lead if they take down a local crime boss. Punisher begins to like this part of the world's idea of justice. The job is done quickly and easily.
The Georgians lead takes Punisher and Dragunov to a local detective, who has an informer inside Vikady's organization. Vikady hasn't been spotted lately, but the informant tells Punisher and Dragunov that Vikady is in Ukraine, meeting with a scientist named Bhukurov. . .something to do with a "physics package" and Kamtek Industries. None of it sounds good.
Punisher sets Micro on the job of tracking down information on Bhukurov and Kamtex while he and Dragunov start off for Ukraine.
IN THE MEANTIME. . .
In Ukraine, Vikady is already meeting with Bhukarov. He pays the scientist $100.000 dollars for some codes. Shortly afterward, Israeli agents assassinate Bhukarov.
Returning to Punisher and Dragunov as they make their way to Ukraine, Punisher digs for information on his new "friend" and discovers Dragunov is a former military man who has taken it upon himself to protect the people of Russia from the rampant organized crime that has arisen since the recent fall of the Soviet Union. It's a cause that Punisher can definitely get behind.
They finally meet up with Micro in Kursk, where he gives them the bad news. Bhukarov was a nuclear scientist for the former Soviet Union. Kamtek Industries is a facility where Ukraine's nuclear missiles are being disarmed as part of their agreement with Russia for Independence. And the "Physics Package" is an explosive device used to detonate nuclear bombs. NOT good. None of it. The stakes just got extremely high.
While Punisher, Dragunov, and Micro try to figure out what Vikady's next move is. . .does he want a nuke for himself? Does he want to sell it? To who? Vikady and an accomplice infiltrate the Kamtek facility in disguise, using the codes bought from Bhukarov.
By the time Punisher and Dragunov arrive at the Kamtek facility, Vikady is already long gone. Micro tells Punisher that there's chatter everywhere about something dangerous gone missing from Kamtek. Realizing they've lost their target AGAIN, Punisher and Dragunov retreat.
In the meantime, Vikady hasn't wasted any time. He's ALREADY at a meeting to sell the weapon to the highest bidder.
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
As you can see from the page scans above, there's not much action in this issue. It's mostly taken up with Punisher and Dragunov being one step behind Vikady after they find out the TRUE reason he was selling heroin in the United States.
Even so, it's a good, tight read. Chuck Dixon keeps a firm hand on the wheel as he moves pieces into place for what will surely be an explosive confrontation in the final issues of this story. Joe Kubert demonstrates WHY he's such a comic legend by giving us page after page of great art even though there's really not much action to be had. There's a LOT of talking head scenes in this issue. Even without the action, it's pretty great seeing a full story illustrated by Kubert.
Overall, this story has me hooked! Let's get into the next issue.
ISSUE THIRTY-FIVE
River of Blood Part Five: Open Wounds
COVER: Joe Kubert
THE COVER:
This one is a bit cluttered and all over the place. Once again, it's not BAD, and I really like getting some Kubert art in a surprising place like a 90s Punisher series, but compared to Kubert's MANY other great comic covers, it's just pretty disappointing. Once again, the art inside is actually quite a bit better.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Joe Kubert
INKS: Joe Kubert
Still one step behind Vikady, we join Punisher and Dragunov in the war-torn city of Sarajevo, in the shattered nation that was once Yugoslavia. Dragunov's Bosnian Muslim contacts have learned that Vikady and the weapon are in the city.
They team up to take down a Serb artillery position so they can interrogate a survivor. They learn that all the Serb units have orders to withdraw out of the city before midnight the next night. They have less than 24 hours to find Vikady and the bomb!
Meanwhile, we see that Vikady is transporting the bomb into the city on board a stolen U.N. supply truck. Punisher, Dragunov, and their Bosnian Muslim allies desperately search the city for any clue they can find as to where Vikady and the bomb may be.
FINALLY, their search pays off and they learn Vikady is staying at a former luxury hotel, now turned into a heavily-guarded U.N. base. Rushing to the hotel, Punisher and Dragunov are confronted by the Canadian U.N. forces guarding it. As they try to convince the U.N. troops that there is a dangerous international criminal staying there, Dragunov spots Vikady walking through the lobby!
As Punisher and Dragunov pull their guns to take down Vikady, the Canadians surround them, demanding they drop their weapons so they can be detained and questioned. In the meantime, Vikady is getting away! Punisher's got no time for this nonsense!
To be Concluded. . .
THE REVIEW:
Once again, except for a scene or two, there's remarkably little action in this part of the story. Actually, this story in general has leaned into more of a gritty "Chase with time running out" direction, with only isolated bits of violence. It's an interesting direction for a Punisher story, and Chuck Dixon makes it a great read!
I think maybe at this point, Punisher had been getting a reputation as just being mindless violence. I wonder if this story was Chuck Dixon trying to refute that idea a bit. . .especially with using real-world conflicts like the war in Yugoslavia and the fracturing of the Soviet Union as the backdrop.
In any case, this story has been a good one. One of the best of this series. Let's see how it ends!
ISSUE THIRTY-SIX
River of Blood Part Six: Children of the Gun
COVER: Joe Kubert
THE COVER:
This is the last Joe Kubert issue for War Zone. Actually, this is a cover I like quite a bit. It's my second favorite of the six he did (First place goes to issue #31). The figure of the Punisher is really nice, and I like the contrast between the red on most of the cover and the dark circle featuring Punisher.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Joe Kubert
INKS: Joe Kubert
Held at gunpoint by Canadian U.N. forces, Punisher and Dragunov manage to make their escape thanks to their Bosnian Muslim allies, as well as an artillery attack by the Bosnian Serbs. During the chaos of the fighting at the hotel, Vikady once again escapes his hunters. . .but they now know he's driving a U.N. supply truck. Punisher and Dragunov quickly take up the chase again.
They split into two teams, Micro and a squad of Muslims head out in search of the truck while Punisher and Dragunov leave to cover the checkpoints. Vikady and his bodyguard discover that the bridge out of the city they were going to cross has been destroyed by artillery. Punisher and Dragunov arrive on the scene. . .FINALLY ready for a showdown with Vikady!
But as they move in, both Vikady and his bodyguard and Punisher and Dragunov are pinned down by sniper fire. Dragunov is hit and badly wounded.
In the meantime, Micro and his team have tracked the truck to a U.N. depot and have found the bomb. Unfortunately, it's set up for remote detonation and Micro has no idea how to disarm it.
Back at the destroyed river checkpoint, Punisher catches a lucky break when the sniper is taken down by another sniper. . .letting Frank run up on Vikady's position.
Vikady stops Punisher in his tracks by showing him the detonator and letting him know he's willing to blow the bomb if Punisher doesn't back off. As Vikady's bodyguard moves to disarm Punisher, the badly-wounded Dragunov uses the last of his energy to attack, killing himself and the bodyguard in the process.
In the chaos, Vikady is taken down by sniper fire! The detonator lies shattered, Vikady is dead. Dragunov is dead. Punisher sees the random sniper who saved Sarajevo from a nuclear bomb is just a young boy. He decides that maybe this isn't his kind of war after all and calls Micro to regroup and head back to New York. It's over.
The End.
THE REVIEW:
This was an interesting story. Not as much action as one would expect from a Punisher story, and set against the real-world conflicts rising from the fall of the Soviet Union. It's a gritty, dirty little story about a gritty, dirty war the Punisher learns he doesn't want any part of. The Chuck Dixon/ Joe Kubert team was everything I could have wanted from a fan of both creators.
The ending WAS a bit abrupt and anti-climactic, but I think maybe that was Dixon's point here. . .not every story has to have a good ending and sometimes nobody wins. Overall, I found River of Blood to be one of the best stories in this series, and truthfully, a great Punisher story in general. It's a bit of a shame that it seems like it's practically forgotten down in the bargain bins.
So, no more Joe Kubert. I'm sad to see him go because he did a great job with Punisher. But we've got one more War Zone story by Chuck Dixon. This time with some Mark Texeira art! Let's check it out. . .
ISSUE THIRTY-SEVEN
Something Like Love
COVER: Mark Texeira
THE COVER:
I like Mark Texeira's work a lot. But unfortunately, I'm not liking this cover a lot. The colors are great, but Punisher's face, ponytail and weird headband are just not hitting it for me. It's a bit disappointing that the covers by the superstar artists on this series (Romita Jr., Buscema, Kubert, Golden, Texeira) have been lacking.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Mark Texeira
INKS: Joe Mark Texeira
We follow Punisher as he blazes a bloody trail trying to track down a gang of strong-arm thieves who have been robbing small businesses in Brooklyn. This one is personal to Punisher. The gang has killed an old man Frank knew when he was just a kid.
At the same time, we see flashbacks in the life of an unnamed dog. Bought as a pup off the streets, raised in a cruel and brutal manner to make him mean, and then life as a guard dog in a pawn shop.
When the gang attacks and kills the pawn shop owner, the dog goes ballistic, they've taken away the only person who's ever taken good care of him. The dog chases the gang, relentlessly pursuing them.
Punisher hears the gunshots as the gang frantically tries to kill the dog. He knows he's found his target and joins the pursuit through abandoned buildings and onto the Brooklyn rooftops.
The chase becomes increasingly dangerous and finally, Punisher finds himself hanging from a ledge while the gang approaches to kill him. The dog intervenes and gets shot by the gang, but it gives Punisher the opening he needs to finish them off.
Punisher rushes the wounded dog back to his base of operations so that Micro can patch him up. He decides to keep the dog and name him Max. Max is a GOOD boy!
The End.
THE REVIEW:
So what we have here in this one shot story is the origin of Punisher's dog, Max. He made his debut in the main Punisher series (Punisher #54) and quickly became a fan-favorite. He was actually killed in Punisher #59, but backlash was so hot that Marvel was like, "Oops. . .not really." and Max stuck around long enough to even feature in the live action Netflix Punisher series.
As a stand-alone story, it's not bad. Not great, but a decent little action-packed chase story with a nice ending. Texeira's art is 90s-Tastic as it can be, but in a good way. It occasionally veers into XTREME 90s excess, but not often enough to end up on the bad side of things.
XTREME!!
Like I said in my look at the cover, I'm not really a fan of Punisher's weird headband and swinging ponytail, but you know what? At least it isn't a shiny suit of 90s makeover armor, right?
Overall, this was a pretty cool little story. Not a masterpiece, but a decent read.
NEXT!
ISSUE THIRTY-EIGHT
Dark Judgement Part One
COVER: John Hebert
THE COVER:
This one is pretty good. A nice character portrait with plenty of grim-n-gritty 90s style and detail. Punisher's hands ARE a little weird, but other than that, it's a decent cover. Not much more to say here.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Steven Grant
PENCILS: John Hebert
INKS: Fred Fredericks
Okay, folks. . .Last story arc of the series. LET'S GO!
While on the hunt in New York City, Punisher finds himself drawn into an ambush. But they don't want to kill him, they want to subdue him so that their employer, a mysterious Mr. Shockett, can talk to Punisher.
Shockett tells Punisher he has a job for him. Frank tells him he doesn't do "jobs". Shockett says Punisher will take this one. It's hunting down a serial killer. . .one who likes to target children.
Frank reluctantly agrees that this is something that needs his sort of "attention". But on his own terms, not working for anyone. Shockett agrees and lets Frank go, so he can get to work on it.
We're next introduced to a crime boss named Brazo. He wants to know what Shockett is up to with the Punisher and captures one of Shockett's men to find out. It seems nobody really knows for sure. Brazo is convinced that Shockett is using Punisher to muscle in on his territory.
Next we're introduced to a reporter named Katie, trying to break out of her back page stories and into the big time by cracking the serial killer case. Punisher investigates and we learn that the serial killer strikes 3 times per month. . .only on nights with a full moon. And it's a full moon that very night!
We're then introduced to Carson. A washed-up FBI agent who tried and failed to catch the serial killer before, and got suspended over his obsession with the case. He's got bad blood with Katie after he tried to force her to give him information on her own investigation.
Punisher breaks into Carson's apartment and discovers that he's still deep in the case he's supposedly been thrown off of. A confrontation between Carson and Punisher leads to a fight that attracts the attention of Brazo's men following Punisher. In the aftermath, they capture Carson and take him to Brazo, hoping to learn more about what Punisher is doing for Shockett.
In the meantime, it's the first night of the full moon. We follow the serial killer as he kills his first young victim of the month. . .
To be continued. . .
THE REVIEW:
Okay, not a bad start. Steven Grant gives this story a heavy crime noir feel, with the plucky reporter, the washed-up Fed, and two competing crime families. All with the mysterious man in black (The Punisher) at the center of it all, trying to track down a killer before it's too late.
The story itself is mostly setup, but it's a good read. The art is. . .okay. It's not really good OR bad. It has its moments here and there, but it mostly just sort of rides right down the center line of "okay".
So it's a pretty good start. Let's see where this goes next!
ISSUE THIRTY-NINE
Dark Judgement Part Two
COVER: John Hebert
THE COVER:
Oh . .oh no.
Hebert's previous cover was pretty good, but this one is just. . .well. . .there's a lot going on and most of it isn't good. I like the black frame and the "translucent" title, but other than that the Punisher looks very weird in just about every way.
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Steven Grant
PENCILS: John Hebert
INKS: Fred Fredericks
Punisher decided he needs more information. He breaks into Shockett's compound and interrogates him. Punisher learns that Shockett is using him to get at his competition, Brazo. He tells Punisher that Brazo is the Full Moon Killer. Punisher can tell he's lying, but at the same time, there's some truth in it. Punisher knows Brazo isn't the killer, but he suspects Brazo might know who it is.
It's time for the Punisher to visit Brazo.
In the meantime, Brazo and his men are torturing former FBI Agent Carson, thinking he's one of Shockett's men. They learn that he's a Fed (former Fed, really) and start panicking. They're in the process of dragging him into a car to kill him somewhere in the woods when the Punisher shows up!
A firefight breaks out between Punisher and Brazo's men. Punisher rescues the badly-wounded Carson and they are both rescued when Katie the reporter shows up and becomes an impromptu getaway driver.
They get Carson back to Katie's apartment, and after Punisher patches the former Fed up as best he can, Katie makes her case for her and Punisher to work together. He takes down a killer, she gets the big story she's been after. Surprisingly, Punisher agrees. . .as long as she does what she's told to do.
Punisher hits the streets, putting pressure on Brazo's men, trying to find Brazo and learn what he knows about the Full Moon Killer. While he's on a rampage through Brazo's businesses, Brazo himself is convinced that Shockett is using Punisher for a hit man and puts a fat bounty on Shockett's head.
While all THAT is going on, Shockett has gone into hiding. He's a bit shaken up by Punisher's little visit, as well as learning about Brazo's bounty. Unfortunately, he doesn't hide well enough and he's found pretty quickly by Brazo and his men.
During the fight, Shockett shoots Brazo, and then makes his escape. . .narrowly avoiding the Punisher when he arrives to find a dying Brazo. He questions the crime boss before he dies. He doesn't learn who the Full Moon Killer is, but finds out that Brazo was working with him to protect him from the police.
In the meantime, working with Carson, Reporter Katie has found some information for Punisher. . .a pattern they had missed. Punisher thinks he knows where the killer will strike that night! He heads out to take care of business and Carson gets cold feet. He phones the police and tells them where Punisher is going. Dirty Rat!
It turns out Punisher's guess was a good one. He confronts the Full Moon Killer and prevents him from killing a girl! The police arrive on the scene and they take Punisher into custody. They don't do anything about the killer.
Punisher discovers WHY the police ignored the killer the next day when he goes in front of a judge for his first hearing. The Judge on his case IS the Full Moon Killer! DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNN!!
To be concluded. . .
THE REVIEW:
Okay, not a bad story. Gritty crime noir moving along at a snappy pace. . .pieces of the puzzle coming together, and then a twist ending. I don't have a single complaint about this story so far. It's a pretty good read. The art is a little iffy. . .there's good moments and then there's places where it looks rough and sketchy. Personally, I think the artist makes Punisher a little TOO bulky. Good taken with bad, the art still rides right down the center line of being overall "okay".
Last issue of the story coming up next. Let's see where this goes!
ISSUE FORTY
Dark Judgement: The Conclusion
COVER: John Hebert
THE COVER:
This one is better than Hebert's cover for #39, but it's still not really a great cover. I do like the way the artist used negative space here, and the popping bright red of the title is a really cool contrast, but Punisher looks like he could use a little more fiber in his diet. Eat your vegetables, Frank!
THE STORY:
SCRIPT: Steven Grant
PENCILS: John Hebert
INKS: Fred Fredericks
We start off with Punisher in a bad place. . .sitting in a holding cell and waiting to be transferred to Federal Prison to serve the remainder of his life sentence he got the LAST time he was taken into custody.
Former FBI Agent Carson shows up to walk Frank to the transport. He wants to make a deal. He knows Punisher knows who the Full Moon Killer is. He's willing to let Punisher "escape" in exchange for the information.
Unfortunately for Carson, one of Shockett's hit men starts sniping them from a nearby rooftop. Since Shockett killed Brazo last issue, he's been given Brazo's assets by the mob council. Those assets include Judge DuPrey (who is the Full Moon Killer). So NOW Shockett has to terminate his contract with Punisher the hard way. Too bad for him that Frank likes things the hard way. . .
Punisher makes his escape during the chaos and heads right back into the courthouse, looking for Judge DuPrey, who is nowhere to be found. He leaves and goes on the hunt.
In the meantime, plucky reporter Katie learns that Punisher is hunting DuPrey. She puts two and two together and realizes her big story is RIGHT there! She heads out to try and find Punisher.
Speaking of DuPrey, he left when he heard the Punisher escaped and is meeting with his new "handler", Shockett. He gets a little upset when Shockett tries to blackmail him and stabs Shockett to death.
When DuPrey returns, Katie spots him and starts grilling him about his connection to the Punisher. DuPrey doesn't feel like answering stupid questions, so he takes Katie prisoner, intending to kill her that night when the full moon comes up.
Carson comes on the scene and attempts to rescue Katie, but he's no match for DuPrey. Leaving the badly-wounded FBI agent to die, DuPrey hustles Katie to the roof of the building where a helicopter waits to get him out of town and away from the Punisher.
Unfortunately for DuPrey, Punisher shows up before he can make his escape. Punisher confronts the killer and a fight breaks out! DuPrey is a skilled knife fighter and he ALMOST gets the better of Punisher, but eventually Frank gets the upper hand.
With DuPrey dangling over the edge of the building, Carson is demanding Frank not kill the Judge and to let him do this the right way. Katie also wants the Judge alive, so she can get her big story. But the Punisher isn't about saving careers or selling newspapers. He punishes. So he lets DuPrey fall to his death.
Frank steals DuPrey's helicopter and flies into the night. He's still got work to do.
The End.
THE REVIEW:
A good ending for a decent little story! Dark Judgement isn't exactly a masterpiece of comic writing, but I thought it was actually one of the better stories of the run. A dark and gritty crime noir tale with the kind of messy "no real winners" ending that makes for a good crime noir story.
The art is still a little iffy, but shows improvement over the previous two issues. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and it's a great ending for the series. Not as good as Dixon's stories in the series, but still a solid read.
Wait. What's that? There's still another issue? Okay, then. Let's check it out!
ISSUE FORTY-ONE
Countdown 2: Dead and Deader
COVER: Jae Lee
THE COVER:
Last issue of the series, folks! I'm a fan of Jae Lee. He has a very distinctive style that's either love it or hate it without many fans being in between. Even though I'm on the love it side of Jae Lee's art, this isn't his best work. It's just okay.
THE STORY:
*** So, in 1995 Marvel decided to end all three of Punisher's ongoing titles. The way they ended them was with another triple crossover with Punisher, War Zone, and War Journal. What we have here is the third part of the five chapter crossover.
Unfortunately, the only two parts of this crossover (called "Countdown" ) I have are this one and the final issue. So I don't have too much context for anything happening in this issue.
I TRIED to find some sort of breakdown of the plot online, but for some reason, information on this particular crossover event is VERY sparse. . .as in, almost non-existent.
It seems Punisher was at a point of oversaturation and at a low point in popularity because of it, so not many people paid much attention to this story that ended Punisher's days as a triple ongoing title headliner. That lack of interest in this story seems to have persisted to the present time.
SO. . .on the good side, we've got Chuck Dixon closing the door on War Zone. On the bad side, I have very little idea of what's going on, story-wise three deep into a five part crossover that there's really no information on.
But I ain't a quitter, son! LET'S DO THIS!
SCRIPT: Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Rod Whigham
INKS: Mike Witherby
As Punisher prepares to attack a Bolivian drug-runner named Borosco, he's ambushed by Carlos Cruz. . .an ex-Navy SEAL that was working with Micro as the "New" Punisher after Micro imprisoned Frank Castle when he became mentally unstable and unpredictable (presumably in a previous chapter of this crossover). Cruz blames Castle for Micro's death (!) without knowing that it was actually a mercenary named Stone Cold who killed Micro when he went after Frank.
A brutal fight between the two Punishers ensues. Cruz holds his own, but Castle eventually gets the upper hand.
IN THE MEANTIME. . .
We get a rundown of the situation on the streets via one of Wilson Fisk's (AKA Kingpin) assistants giving him a report. The city is in chaos. Weapons have flooded the streets. Punisher is on the loose again. Micro is dead. Rosalie Carbone (Remember her from the first two arcs?) is making her move. She's hired the assassin Bullseye to do hits on the opposition, and he's been doing some deadly work.
Fisk decides that it's time for him to make his own move while everything is in turmoil.
Shifting scenes, we follow Mickey Fondozzi (Remember him from the first couple of arcs? Punisher's mob stoolie?) as he ransacks one of Punisher's former safehouses for some money he stashed a while back when he was working with him.
He's confronted by an armored man. It's Phalanx! (Remember him? From Annual #1?) But the figure removes his helmet and it's revealed to be Bullseye! He's there to take care of Fondozzi for Rosalie Carbone after finding out he's been working with the Punisher. Tough luck for Mickey. . .the only new recurring supporting character that came out of this series.
What's that? Why is Bullseye wearing the Phalanx armor? Where's Mather, the inventor who went his own way to be a hero? Who knows. I guess it's in another part of this crossover.
MEANWHILE. . .
The Bolivians join the fight between the two Punishers and it quickly devolves into chaos. The battle moves into nearby Central Park, where Cruz and Castle are separated during the shooting. The Mercenary Stone Cold shows up on the scene, gunning for Castle. . .but instead he finds an exhausted Cruz. He decides one Punisher is as good as another and that's all she wrote for Carlos Cruz. Final comic appearance for him right here.
In another part of the park, Castle runs toward the sound of the gunfire (coming from Stone Cold machine-gunning Carlos Cruz to death) and reflexively fires at a group of enemies.
But when the smoke clears from the "ambush" Punisher is horrified to see that he's gunned down a family, not gunmen! A husband, wife, and two children lay dead with his bullets in them! He's become the same monster he's vowed to bring justice to! A killer of innocents!
Frank makes his escape and returns to his safehouse, where reports of the senseless killing of a tourist family during a gang shootout is all over the news. He contemplates suicide, but decides to end it another way instead.
The series ends with Frank walking into a police station to turn himself in.
The End.
THE REVIEW:
Although this wasn't a BAD read, I don't really like that the end of this series was part of a crossover I only have the third and fifth chapters of. Without context, it reads more as a series of vignettes tying up loose ends from the various Punisher titles. Once again, that's not to say Dixon doesn't deliver a good story. The final few pages were EXTREMELY dark, with Punisher accidentally gunning down an innocent family in the park after his "replacement" is brutally machine-gunned. I mean, it doesn't GET much darker than that.
I wish that this story had been collected, because it seems to be pretty interesting. I know how it ultimately ends, thanks to my having the "Zero" issue of Countdown. SPOILER ALERT - Frank Castle in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody as an unresponsive, catatonic shell of the man he once was. But I'd like to read the whole thing.
So that's it for Punisher: War Zone. Let's finish this up!
CONCLUSION
Overall, Punisher: War Zone has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. The stories swing wildly from excellence to mediocre , but to be fair, there's more good stories here than bad. . .mostly thanks to Chuck Dixon. If ANYTHING, War Zone has convinced me that the only two writers who can consistently put out good Punisher stories are Chuck Dixon and Garth Ennis.
The art was a lot swingier than the stories, there's some REAL 90s crap art in these pages. But then again, there's great stuff by John Romita Jr., John Buscema, and Joe Kubert to be found.
Good taken with bad, if I had to describe this series in ONE word, it would be: Inconsistent.
The constant change of mood, pace, art style, and general quality makes War Zone a bit of a strange read. The stories feel disconnected from each other. Sometimes Micro is there, other times he's nowhere to be found. Characters that are given a lot of setup in their particular stories aren't heard from again. There's not really a driving force or singular thread (beyond Punisher himself) that keeps this series together.
A bit of research I did about halfway through this series review gave me the answer I was looking for. Marvel intended this series to be an anthology. . .with stories from all different parts of Punisher's career, sort of like DC's popular "Legend of the Dark Knight" Batman anthology series (which is one of my favorite comic series of all time, but I digress!)
Unfortunately, Marvel at no point while this series was on the stands made it clear that it WAS an anthology and the stories aren't MEANT to be in any sort of sequence. It must have been extremely confusing to readers in the 90s without access to the internet, because even though this was supposed to be an out of continuity anthology series, it still crossed over into regular continuity from time to time.
Of the three regular ongoing Punisher titles during the 90s, War Zone is probably the least talked about, the least "valuable" for collectors, and the one with the least information to be found. This Longbox Junk series review is the one and ONLY full retrospective of the series I know of (there might be some video reviews on Youtube).
At the beginning of this series of reviews, I asked the question of WHY is War Zone the unloved Punisher child? I think by now, I have my answer. It's not a BAD series. There's plenty of good stuff to be found here. Good stories, good art (To be fair, also bad stories and bad art), so it's not that it's just bad. It's actually pretty good.
I think that the reason why this series never really shone is because of the anthology style. If Marvel had TOLD readers this was an anthology, I think it would have been more popular. Instead, it comes off as pretty good, but confusing. In their zeal to get as much Punisher as possible on the shelves while the character was smoking red hot, they left out what COULD have been a good selling point. . .Punisher stories you don't have to be invested in continuity to enjoy!
It seems to me like a pretty big mistake on Marvel's part. . .especially since over at DC, Legends of the Dark Knight took the anthology concept and ran with it to the effect of ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY NINE issues, plus Annuals, mini-series, and Specials. If Marvel had sold War Zone right, it probably wouldn't be the kind of series that people only remember the first few issues of.
But all things considered, I feel confident in recommending War Zone. Maybe not to the point of giving it a Longbox Junk Gold Seal of Approval, but it's definitely worth checking out. Only the first six issues have been collected in trade, so you'll have to hunt down the individual issues. I wouldn't suggest trying to find ALL of them, but the stories with Romita Jr., Buscema, and Kubert art are definite winners. Well worth trying to find.
So that's it for Punisher: War Zone. What's next?
It's been a LONG ride trying to get his last entry finished. Like I said at the beginning, things have been very chaotic in and around my life recently and I just haven't had the time to devote to a multi-part comic series review. So I think with that in mind, going forward (for now), I'll put the full series reviews on hold for a while, even though they're part of what makes Longbox Junk its own special thing.
I think I'll stick with single-issue reviews for now until things calm down a bit. I can't be going 2 or 3 months trying to do a multi-part review. It's not fair to myself or anyone wanting a good dose of Longbox Junk on a regular basis.
So, once again my apologies for taking so long with this one. I'll be doing single-issue reviews for a while, and will return to some long form stuff when the time is right. Until next time, always remember that comics are worth more than money!
