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Title: Punisher: Vol. 4: Full Auto by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Darick Robertson ISBN: 0-7851-1149-2 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: August, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (5 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: decent feature story, poor back-up
Comment: I had come to hope for the best from Garth Ennis, who many have said is the definitive Punisher writer. For the most part I have enjoyed his other Punisher stuff (including Born and Welcome Back Frank), unfortunately this one falls short of the mark. This trade starts off pretty well with a standard story about corrupt cops and how Frank should handle it. Not bad, but nothing I havent seen before. The next one around is about a mob enforcer who is obsessed with finding a giant squid, he looks for it off the East River or something. It was pretty strange, but I liked the change of pace. The third story was terrible, it revolves around bums from the tunnels of New York kidnapping people for some strange purpose. How many times does this lame plot have to be rehashed? Everyone from Neil Gaiman in his novel Neverwhere to Todd McFarlane have done this story to death. It also takes a turn for the pointlessly grotesque when it is revealed that the leader of the bums was trapped for days under his enormously fat mother after she had a heart attack. It may sound interesting but the story just ends up being disgusting. Big dissapointment there. Not the best of efforts from Ennis, who can be provacative but here trades his edginess for standard plotting and stupid gross outs.
Rating: 3
Summary: "Filled muh pants for Jesus, Captain!"
Comment: Although I've enjoyed the latest Punisher comic series for the most part, I feel that writer Garth Ennis-- known far and wide for penning some of the most bizarre and sickeningly funny stories in the four-color realm-- is tryin' TOO hard to be bizarre with each new issue that comes out, and it just isn't working like it used to. I also think he might be suffering from a bit of burnout and/or is slightly miffed with Marvel placing certain limitations on what he can do in the book, and thus isn't making as great an effort to really cut loose like he usually does. Which shouldn't be too much of a problem anymore, as the Punisher and Ennis move on to the gore-splattered, obscenity-laden, and nudieful Max line next month (as of this writing)...
Oddly enough, this collection starts out with a rather normal and surprisingly down-to-earth story arc. It's a "cops-on-the-take-vying-for-redemption" tale that plays out and ends in pretty much the same way as most "cops-on-the-take-vying-for-redemption" tales do. For the most part, the titular anti-hero is an observer and pot-stirrer of the events as they unfold, although he does get a few kills in to keep in shape.
Following the police corruption story is a one-shot featuring a mobster with a strange hobby who is haunted by the ghosts of colleagues recently taken out by the Punisher. The spirits eventually harangue the guy into taking revenge on their killer, and he almost succeeds in carrying out his vengeance. That's when the Ennis-trademark "bizarre" element comes into play to seal his fate. Which wasn't quite as bizarre or as amusing as one would usually expect from the writer...
Winding things up is the main man running through the NYC subway tunnels followed by a soup kitchen attendant, searching for the "man down below" who is recruiting street bums to... well, you'll hafta see it to believe it. The "bizarre" element here is the origin of the "man down below" shown in flashbacks to his childhood and a mother who makes Rosie O'Donnell look like an Ethiopian. Speakin' of mothers: half the dialogue the "man down below" utters are loud shouts of "MOMMMEEEE!" Which most likely is Ennis' response to the fans who were gettin' a bit sick 'n' tired of previous Punisher characters-- mostly mobsters and allegedly macho men--uttering "mommy" just before they get waxed in some unusual fashion. Or it could be a culmination of the scribe's frustration with Marvel over the somewhat watered-down dialogue he was allowed to write for the pre-Max books. Of course, I could just be looking a bit too deeply into the whole affair... but I doubt it.
'Late
Rating: 4
Summary: Never quite kicks into full gear
Comment: Volume 4 of the Punisher TPB series; Full Auto collects three stories that are alright but never quite kick into high gear. The first story concerns our favorite vigilante on the trail of two cops that may be dirty, the second tale focuses on a mobster obsessed with what may be an urban legend, and the final story finds Frank going toe to toes with a horde of homeless people underground. The first story is worth the price of admission alone, but the second story is disappointing to say the least. The final story manages to be effectively creepy and reminiscent of Garth Ennis' Preacher series. The art in all the tales is solid, but this TPB collection actually manages to show Ennis at his best and near worst as a writer. All in all, this isn't the overall worst Punisher collection of Ennis' current run, and is worth a look for Punisher fans.
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Title: Punisher: Streets of Laredo (Punisher) by Garth Ennis, Cam Kennedy, Tom Mandrake, Steve Dillon, Avalon Studios, Cory Petit, Dave Sharpe, Rs, Wes Abbott, Tim Bradstreet ISBN: 0785110968 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: December, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.99 |
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Title: The Punisher: Army of One by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Jimmy Palmiotti ISBN: 0785108394 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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Title: The Punisher: Born (Punisher) by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Tom Palmer ISBN: 0785112316 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: February, 2004 List Price(USD): $17.99 |
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Title: The Punisher by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon ISBN: 0785107835 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Punisher, Vol. 2 by Garth Ennis, Steve Dillon, Darick Robertson ISBN: 0785111700 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.99 |
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