Comically Challenged: Punisher #14

Rick Remender. I try so hard to like that guy. I read his work and it continually falls short for me. Tried Fear Agent but I couldn’t get on board; lacked any semblance of substance. XXX Zombies was going to be “the one”. I figured you pair up zombies and porn, you don’t need substance, you’re bound to have a lot of laughs. Nope. Didn’t like that one either. Unraveled so much towards the end that it didn’t even make the story worth telling. So, going on with my quest, I started reading Remender’s run on Punisher.

First things first, the guy is funny. He just is. There are a lot of quirky one-liners and off beat moments in his writing that make you go, “Ah, you big lug. You’re a pip.” Maybe not those words exactly, I think I just wanted to use the word “pip”. He also understands the beauty of pure testosterone-packed action. (Who doesn’t want to see things blow up from time to time?) My problem with Rick Remender is that once you give the guy a big enough sandbox, he loses focus and just plays. Am I mad at the guy for enjoying his work? Certainly not. And he obviously does enjoy it. I just think there needs to be someone, anyone, to keep him on course.

The first story arc of Punisher was really great. I enjoyed it a lot. This was my maiden voyage with the character and it didn’t disappoint. We were shooting Norman Osborn, fighting the Sentry, hanging out with Jigsaw’s kid, getting attacked by the Hood. It was great! And then…there came a one-shot. Daken killed Frank. Chopped him up into bits. And thus the fury of a thousand screaming fanboys was unleashed upon Rick Remender. Why were they so angry? Because Punisher died? No. Because he came back. As Frankencastle.

See? See what he does! He must have so much creativity that it’s just bursting to get out onto paper. And it happens resulting in one hot mess of “What the hell are you doing, Rick?”

Let me give you the low-down on ol’ re-animated Frank. When he was sliced up, his body parts were taken away by monsters. Monsters. Turns out there’s this underground metropolis comprised solely of things that go bump in the night. A vampire named Morbius saves him with healthcare ala Frankenstein’s monster. Turns out, there’s a guy leading a Japanese force with the intention of destroying all monsters. They’d like Frank to help save their lives.

If I was reading a story that was separate of any character, I might be a little more accepting of this arc’s merits. But Punisher, really? I’m pretty sure this was just a story that was thrown together once the name “Frankencastle” came about in a conversation one day. The good thing is, Tony Moore’s art is pretty cool. His fine line approach definitely makes for detail-oriented panels. You can tell he’s enjoying drawing all the different species and creatures. Issue 14 had some really nice painted pages by Dan Brereton. In retelling a story from the past, they didn’t need to change the artist-but it was a nice touch. His style works especially well when dealing with a horror themed book, and if I had to guess-that’s probably why he’s done so many.

I can’t in good faith tell you to buy this story arc. I can’t. Especially when Remender started off so strong along Jerome Opena. Let’s try to wait this one out. I know Punisher has gone through some pretty terrible writing in his day, but I’ve seen what this guy can do. This particular story just is too much novelty for me. I feel like that one time Punisher came to Riverdale and met up with Archie and the gang. That blew over, this will too.