Marvel’s Grittiest Anti-Hero Will Get Even Darker in September

[[{“value”:”

Fans of The Punisher rejoice. Marvel Comics just unveiled the first official solicitation for Punisher: Red Band #1, which confirms Frank Castle’s September return, complete with his classic skull logo. The comeback arrives on the heels of corporate attempts to bury and/or rebrand the character in response to controversial appropriations of his logo.

With the Benjamin Percy and Julius Ohta series promising “bullets will fly, blood will flow” through Marvel’s mature-reader Red Band format, this very well might be a return to Castle’s formidable form not seen since the Garth Ennis days. It’s also the publisher’s first try at responding to fan backlash over recent storylines that transformed the street-level vigilante into a supernatural antagonist. Castle will return as an amnesiac and with a familiar appetite for vengeance, the former providing convenient narrative confines that allow Percy and Ohta to ignore Jason Aaron’s polarizing run that saw Frank join the Hand and worship demons.

Marvel Reveals First Look at Punisher’s Return After Years in Corporate Exile

First Look Thrusts Frank Castle Back Into The Spotlight

FRANK IS BACK! Reread and reload, True Believers — Frank Castle is BACK. With no memories, a full clip and a thirst for wrathful vengeance, his violent search for answers could only be chronicled in a Red Band series! Bullets will fly, blood will flow, and the citizens and criminals of New York City alike will fear the name THE PUNISHER! From the superstar HELLVERINE creative team of Benjamin Percy and Julius Ohta, don’t miss a single pulse-pounding page of this explosive new series!

And Benjamin Percy and Julius Ohta are the Right Duo For The Job

Benjamin Percy boasts the exact resume Marvel needs for this reclamation project. His work on Ghost Rider and Hellverine in particular delivered the kind of uncompromising brutality and psychologically damaged characters that one can easily see applied to Frank Castle. Julius Ohta’s Hellverine artwork proved he can render visceral action and noir atmosphere, each essential to Punisher stories. Marvel’s decision to bill them as the “superstar HELLVERINE creative team” indicates genuine confidence in their proven collaboration. Should Ohta and Percy’s track record precede his work on The Punisher, readers can expect not just an exploration of violence, but its cost as well. One would imagine that’s just the sweet spot Marvel Comics is looking to take the character in.

The Red Band format helps, too. In essence, the label is a silent promise to Marvel’s readership—an admission that previous attempts to sanitize Frank Castle fundamentally misunderstood the character. The series will be restricted to adult buyers, pre-sealed to prevent browsing. That means, inside, creators can depict the graphic violence that made runs like Garth Ennis’s Punisher MAX run legendary without worrying about all-ages distribution requirements.

Despite the controversial track record, The Punisher: Red Band #1 is the first time a mainline Punisher series has received Marvel’s mature content designation. Fans hope that means the publisher finally recognizes that watered-down takes on The Punisher or, worse, uncompelling characters stepping into the mantle undermine everything fans appreciate about the original. While the polybagged distribution might make the character less accessible, it makes its depiction more authentic.

The Punisher: Red Band #1 hits shelves on September 10.

“}]] After years of rebrands and burials, the fan favorite Punisher is back with a vengeance in September solicits that promise a bloody return to form.  Read More