''PunisherMAX'' is the second

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

ongoing series In comics, an ongoing series is a series that runs indefinitely. This is in contrast to limited series (a series intended to end after a certain number of issues thus limited), a one shot (a comic book which is not a part of an ongoing series), ...

published under the

MAX Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

featuring

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

and

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

the

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

. The series was written by

Jason Aaron Jason Aaron (born January 28, 1973) is an American comic book writer, known for his creator-owned series '' Scalped'' and '' Southern Bastards'', as well as his work on Marvel series '' Ghost Rider'', ''Wolverine'', '' PunisherMAX'', ''Thor'', a ...

and drawn by

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher (comics), Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London i ...

. Unlike the concurrently running Marvel Universe-proper series featuring the Punisher, the MAX imprint allows the creators the freedom to write more realistic and hard-edged stories that cannot be seen in regular mainline Marvel Universe stories. Also unlike the previous MAX series, which focused mainly on Frank Castle/The Punisher's war against the mob, this series has him squaring off against MAX versions of popular Marvel super villains, such as Wilson Fisk/the Kingpin,

Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...

and

Elektra Electra, also spelt Elektra, was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Animals * ''Electra'' (bryozoan), a genus of aquatic invertebrates * ''Elektra'' (bug), a genus of insects in the ...

. The series came to a conclusion with issue #22. The series was a primary influence on

Marvel's Netflix television series Marvel's Netflix television series are a set of interconnected American television series created for the streaming service Netflix, based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Produced by Marvel Television and ABC Studios ...

'' Daredevil'' and the second season of its

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher mad ...

'', both set in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

(MCU), the former in terms of the characterisation of Vanessa Marianna-Fisk (portrayed by

Ayelet Zurer Ayelet Zurer (; born ) is an Israeli TV and film actress. She began her career on the Israeli teen drama '' Inyan Shel Zman'' and has starred in numerous Israeli TV and film roles. She received awards for Best Actress at the Israeli Academy Awa ...

), and the latter in the adaptation of the Mennonite, John Pilgrim (portrayed by

Josh Stewart Joshua Regnall Stewart (born February 6, 1977) is an American actor. He had his breakout with a main role as Officer Brendan Finney on the sixth and final season of the NBC crime drama television series ''Third Watch'' (2004–2005). Following ...

Story arcs

"Kingpin" (#1–5)

Interrogating a mobster, the Punisher discovers a meeting place where many of them will be in the same place. After the meeting with the mob bosses, the men determine that the mythic "Kingpin of Crime" should be fabricated by them in order to throw the Punisher off their trails. One of the bosses' bodyguards,

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...

, is apparently chosen as this new figurehead. When the Punisher crashes the meeting, Fisk gets the bosses to safety and has a chance to kill the Punisher, which he does not take. He goes home to his wife and sleeping child, when he receives the call that will seat him as the Kingpin. Smiling, hinting at an ulterior motive, he accepts.

"Bullseye" (#6–11)

Immediately after

becomes the "Kingpin of Crime", he cancels all of the former bosses' appointments. However, Fisk's secretary calls and informs him that one man refuses to have his appointment cancelled. The man is known only as

, the world's deadliest assassin. Bullseye never misses his target, and has set his sights on the Punisher.

"Frank" (#12–16)

After the cruel fight against Bullseye, Frank gets arrested and sent to a high-security prison with a thousand people who want nothing more than to see him dead. Frank reflects back on his time during the war and immediately after returning home, while struggling to understand his Punisher persona and refusing offers from crime bosses. He contemplates a life of peace versus continuing his violent methods.

"Homeless" (#17–21)

Frank escapes prison and goes into his final confrontation with Wilson Fisk a.k.a. the Kingpin of Crime, and his new bodyguard,

"War's End" (#22)

The series concludes with issue #22, which covers the death, funeral, and burial of Frank Castle. At the end of issue #22, the Punisher's death sparks a public uprising, with citizens purging New York's criminals.

Reception

The series holds an average rating of 8.6 by 85 professional critics on the

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website

Comic Book Roundup a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

Prints

Issues

''Special''s

Collected editions

References

External links

* {{Jason Aaron 2009 comics debuts 2012 comics endings Comics by Jason Aaron Comics set in New York City Marvel MAX titles Sequel comics