I think Frank mentions this has been tried before, and never ends well for them: giving the Punisher drugs is just going to be a bad idea. Even super-high he'd probably be cleaning his guns and planning mayhem, so that's not really stopping him either...From 2009, Punisher War Journal Annual #1, "If I Die Before I Wake" Written by Si Spurrier, pencils by Werther Dell'Edera, inks by Antonio Fuso.

Searching for a kidnapped little girl, Frank crashes the club of drug guru Captain Pepper, who caters to superhero and villain wannabes and groupies alike. Having appeared fairly regularly in the main series, the Rhino makes a brief appearance, which catches him both the side-eye and a grenade from Frank! Pepper isn't concerned, though; as he had just dosed Frank with "the psychic suckings of a kiddie's brainbox," plunging him into a trip of a child's imagination. Trying to use his rage to focus, Frank also had his current tech-guy Stuart Clarke guiding him by drone from the club's bathroom, but he can't see the real little girl and gets tased by Pepper.

Every so often Marvel pushes "MGH," or Mutant Growth Hormone, as the drug of choice for disposable dealer-type bad guys, and sure enough that's here, although Captain Pepper might be trying to diversify as well. Pepper has some weird tattoo/curlicue design on the side of his head, which I'm pretty sure is so he doesn't look exactly like Grant Morrison; but he's got some even more weird little helpers, Misters Jingle and Jangle, who can suck thoughts and dreams from someone's mind, and Pepper sold whatever they didn't digest. There was apparently a market for Frank's "psychosis in a can," to "supersquares want(ing) to get hard in the head": if Punisher lasts more than six hours, consult a physician immediately. (A joke, but it's alarming to consider how many people might want that drug, to kill all mercy inside themselves...) Coming through an airduct, Stuart manages to rescue Frank, but then gets a faceful of Punisher-brain from Mr. Jingle, rendering him a drooling psychotic: the clientale of Pepper's is likewise dosed and fare about the same. Imagine having even a smidge of Frank's rage, making you so goddamn angry you couldn't even do anything about it except vibrate in undirected fury--wait, I'm sorry, that's my social media feed.

Frank gets Stuart and the little girl out, where the building is surrounded by cops: shrugging, Frank says he just did as the girl asked, and gave away some magic apples. Yeah, those were grenades and you know it, Frank. Escaping with Stuart in the commotion, Frank looks back and momentarily sees the little girl not with her own family, but with himself and Maria. It doesn't last, but it's a nice thought; while Stuart is not enjoying his Punisher-trip and probably puking his lungs out. Frank advises, you get used to it.

I don't always comment on the art, but this feels like it could've gone like 60-70% harder on the drug trip: the colors likewise don't pop enough; that portion should be a lot brighter. My favorite comic trips: the Brian Bolland cover and Brendan McCarthy art for Judge Dredd's "Report to the Chief Judge on the Accidental Death of a Citizen" or Kevin O'Neill's 'Legends of the Dark Mite' or Judge Death's Scarecrow trip in "Judgment on Gotham." The colors, Duke, the colors--er, I mean, just say no, kids! Read more!

Maybe Olivier will defend the trademark on that skull better than Marvel/Disney has. Maybe he won't...

OK, so I mentioned reading the first issue of this one, just over a year ago, and I'm just getting around to reading them all now? And I'm not 100% sure I haven't read it before--or maybe I've just read the first issue more than once. From 1999, the Punisher #4, "Purgatory, part 4: the Hour of Judgement" Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, pencils by Bernie Wrightson, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti.

The conclusion to the four-issue Marvel Knights 'Angel' Punisher mini, which begins with Frank and the angel Gadriel captured by the demon Olivier, who thinks Frank might know him better by his former human identity, Boss Costa. 'Costa' had been behind the killing in Central Park, a blood sacrifice that led to the deaths of Frank's family; but he was also a devil, forced out of Hell to live as a human, and playing the long game to get back in. He had orchestrated the creation of the Punisher, insuring every kill was a sacrifice to him, even his own: Frank murdering 'Costa' put Olivier back in Hell as his old self. Gadriel wasn't blameless in this, either: he had been demoted multiple times, finally to the position of Frank's "guardian angel," and we can all agree his job performance there wasn't sparkling. Worse, Gadriel hadn't been there when Olivier's demons forced Frank to kill himself, but had resurrected him, since he couldn't get back into Heaven unless Frank forgave him. Typing all that, it does feel like a lot to bolt onto a perfectly servicable origin: "They killed his family. Now he kills them." Simple! Although, Olivier is a clever bit of design, with the skull-motif on his face, to make it seem like it was, to misquote the Omen, "all for him!" (Yeah, tell all the cops and chuds co-opting the skull that it's a Satanist symbol; see what that does for anybody...)

This is maybe to set up a new mission for Frank, more about redemption than vengeance. Yeah, that stuck even less than the angel stuff. Daimon Hellstrom and Dr. Strange both make brief appearances in the end, planning to keep an eye on the Punisher for their own purposes; and while Wrightson is great, neither looks quite right? It's kind of a minimalist Strange that makes him look like some kind of...opera pervert; while Hellstrom looks like a redheaded Fabio. Also, a devil or two escaped, presumably for use in future stories, but the 'Angel' Punisher only had one left, the Wolverine/Punisher: Revelation mini. I'm not sure, and kind of doubt, it wrapped up all the loose ends, but maybe. Read more!

Still another "The End" Week! Starting early this year, because...

It's once again about the last week of the year, where we traditionally get a big ol' pile of last issues for "The End" Week, but we're getting an early start, since this issue is actually set on Christmas Eve! From 2009, Punisher War Journal #26, written by Matt Fraction, art by Andy MacDonald. Cover by Ariel Olivetti.

What was this, the second volume of War Journal? We saw the conclusion of the original, with the other 80's Punisher titles, a few years back with "Countdown." This one is less high-stakes, as it's the night before Christmas, and Frank's outside a bar...the same bar he blew up in PWJ #4, now rebuilt. Frank knew some hardware had been stolen from the Tinkerer, and was waiting to see who had it. A collection of minor-league thugs are gathered in the bar, which one figures the Punisher would think nobody would be dumb enough to go back to. He had stolen a Stilt-Man suit, and thought they could form a new gang with it; except all of them want to be Stilt-Man. One, a cop-killer, pulls a gun on the others and nearly takes the suit; but is then outgunned by the bartender and kicked out of the bar, where he's immediately shot by Frank. No one notices.

While the gang decides on their new Stilt-Man, and Frank bides his time to kill them all, he is then interrupted by the Rhino, there to feed the Vulture's pigeons. Rhino had helped Frank in a previous issue, and was very much the idiot with a heart of gold; but more importantly was too big of a name for Frank to straight-up kill, so...Rhino thinks this is a Christmas miracle, that maybe Frank doesn't have to murder those guys: "You punish the guilty, Frank. Not the stupid." As the new-ish Stilt-Man lurches down the street (and he and the gang still don't notice the body outside the bar!) Frank grudgingly has to admit Rhino was right. (Would it have been hacky, if the new Stilt-Man then immediately, accidentally and repeatedly stepped on a busload of kids? Frank scowling at Rhino like "see?") 

Frank would get a relaunch, with a new Punisher series, tying into Dark Reign, as he tried to get past the Sentry, to murder Norman Osborn. C'mon, Frank, they wouldn't even let you kill the Rhino...

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I can't tell if this is a failing of current comic book media and hype and so forth, or if I was asleep at the wheel, or if Marvel just shoved this out the door; but tomorrow, new Frank Castle Punisher book! I'm sure I'll give Punisher: Red Band #1 a go, although I'm not entirely sure how "mature" those Red Band books are compared to, say, PunisherMAX. I'm thinking more blood, in a splattery way, but that could be because the only other Red Band book I think I've read so far was Blood Hunt, and I wasn't super-impressed with that one. This also probably means the Joe Garrison/new Punisher from last year is getting memory-holed, unless he's immediately gunned down in the first few pages of Punisher: Red Band #1, which feels like a dick move but I wouldn't put it past 'em. Anyway, I know I read the first issue of Joe's book, and got the next three from the cheap bins but I'm not sure I've sat down and read them yet. I remember thinking creating a new Punisher would be a thankless job, where you'd have to answer a multitude of masters and none of them would be happy with the end result; but we do have one of Joe's few guest-spots handy: from 2024, Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #2, written by Erica Schultz, art by Michael Dowling.

I've been onboard with Elektra as DD since she started that back in 2021, and stuck with her series even as I fell off of the regular Daredevil book again: I don't think Zdarsky stuck the landing there, and the inevitable relaunch seemed like rehashing plot points we've seen multiple times, not just in other comics, but in Daredevil! (Matt had lost his memory and come back...somehow...as a priest; so he had to get his DD-groove back, Bullseye was back, Matt drives multiple relationships into the ground, etc.) I just love that Elektra took that outfit, mostly with the intent of showing Matt something, but it ultimately became something redemptive for her. And also harder than she had thought: there's an issue where she has a fight with a big burly bouncer type, and is frustrated when it lasts more than three seconds. It was tougher when she couldn't just stab them in the lungs! This issue, Elektra was trying to find her missing...ward? Student? Sidekick? It's hard for me to imagine her having really strong maternal instincts, but she had been taking care of this girl Alice since the King in Black crossover: I think Alice was just taken somewhat forcibly by a concerned relative, and Elektra thought the Mafia Maggia got her, which leads to trailing Crossbones to Madripoor, fighting him on a train, and then the new Punisher showing up. He's there to kill Crossbones, but doesn't seem like killing Elektra would really break him up, either.

Elektra doesn't go into detail about her history with Frank, instead describing that as a point in her life where "killing was a pastime...something I did out of boredom." She can't give up Crossbones, since he might be the Maggia contact she was supposed to meet, so she's forced to fight the new Punisher. In a nine-panel grid, she hits him multiple times, seemingly ineffectively against his armor; but then a final shot with her trick sai pops his chest piece right off! Then the Maggia contact shows, and not unlike Frank, Joe has a remarkable ability to pull a gun seemingly out of nowhere. After a standoff, where Joe seems to think she was willingly working for the Maggia, he takes a shot at Elektra, but she dodges it easily and knocks him out. The Maggia contact was not as agile, and takes it in the neck! He dies gurgling blood, unable to tell Elektra anything; and the Punisher escapes. Elektra was now forced to find the Maggia in Madripoor, but plans to kill the new Punisher later...

It's not as readily apparent here, but I think in his own series Joe was a bit more sci-fi; his guns not as military-issue or store-bought as Frank's. The better to differentiate him from Frank, or from wanna-bes; there's maybe something to that idea. They are still guns, though: I'm not sure he ever got a Spider-Man crossover, and I could see that going badly. "So, you've got all this high-tech stuff, does that mean you're more nonlethal than Fr--nope, blew that guy's brains out. Never mind."  Also, if you remember Jason Aaron's Punisher series, which ended with Frank apparently "...no more" but really on Weirdworld; well, Frank won't, since he'll be back with no memory for like the sixth time. (And I was harshing on Daredevil for reusing plots!) I wonder if anything will come up from it later, or if the new book is just going to snowplow forward and call it good.

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A lot of times in the morning, I have the old western show Have Gun, Will Travel on, and one episode, "Full Circle," Paladin catches up with an old acquaintance, Quill, a shifty snake of a conman, who once sold him a bum mine, then skipped town in a dress to avoid gunmen, who then tried to kill Paladin. Years later, Quill needed Paladin, to verify his alibi for a murder he was actually innocent of, but Paladin's leaves him hanging, saying "you should've kept me alive, Quill." Of course Paladin gets sucked back into that one, and also has to settle with a old skunk and his two jerky kids who try to steal his stuff; Quill is later shot while again fleeing in a dress. It's immensely satisfying: everyone who gets shot in this one absolutely had it coming, and the old skunk laments his lost son, "who died for five dollars." I mention this, because you used to see this on old TV shows: a crook dressing up in drag to avoid the cops or something. It wasn't perhaps honorable, and certainly wasn't usual, but it wasn't considered pervy or anything. It's probably insensitive to the drag community, but then I kinda figure if that plot was tried today some viewers would make more of a stink about a dress than any crimes committed. Like a triple homicide, fine; but wearing a guy in women's clothing would corrupt the youth of the nation. Come to think of it, I think there's an old Power Records Batman story, where Bats sleuths out Catwoman disguised as a man, by her lack of Adam's apple. Which you don't usually notice in comics...

From 1989, the Punisher #20, "Bad Tip" Written by Mike Baron, pencils by Shea Anton Pensa, inks by Gerry Talaoc. Omigod, this dates back to when people could smoke indoors! And in comics! Frank is in Las Vegas, trying to stop the assassin only known as Belzer (Not that one! Probably...) from whacking a key witness in a mob trial. Frank did not have a lot to go on: Belzer maybe liked to gamble, and that was about it. A private investigator tries to take Frank with a blackjack later, thinking he was Belzer, which is a solid two-page fight sequence that just annoys Frank.

Spoilers for a 36-year-old comic after the break!

Frank sees where Belzer planted a bomb, and figures he would've wanted to be somewhere he could see it go off, like a nearby casino. Frank busts into the lounge, calling out Belzer's name; and he sees the woman that chatted him up earlier! The way she held 'her' cigarettes would've obscured her Adam's apple, and 'she' had a high-collar number on here. It was Belzer in drag...maybe. It's definitely a guy in a dress, but maybe wasn't even Belzer? With Frank wearing people-clothes, 'Belzer' has got no idea it's the Punisher, and is just as confused as Frank. Also, traditionally you can't put a silencer on a revolver, which I remember from a Batman issue with Jason Todd.

This was, as we've mentioned before, back when Frank could put on a suit and pass as a normal human being; as opposed to the Garth Ennis/MAX era, where a grizzly bear with a hat on would look less like a serial killer than Frank. (Having a regular haircut instead of a buzzcut/military one helps a ton.) It grated eventually, but I have an immense fondness for this stretch of low-continuity stories where Frank fought a wider variety of crime than just nondescript gangsters or gangbangers; even if I mock it occasionally for almost reading like it was generated with a plot wheel. "Today, in...Akron? The Punisher fights...videotape pirates...with a .50 Desert Eagle and a corkscrew." Read more!

Having fun in unfun times:

Not even specifically at a wake, but that's what we have today: from 2007, Punisher War Journal #4, "Small Wake for a Tall Man" Written by Matt Fraction, art by Mike Deodato.

I had to go back through the blog, and I've read other stuff from Fraction I've liked better; even other issues of this series. But, I maybe see what he was trying to do here, and I might be hindered by continuity; which was kind of only a suggestion at Marvel at the time, even if Fraction maybe uses some correctly here. At a crummy, smelly bar in New York City, it's the wake for Wilbur Day, a.k.a. Stilt-Man. I want to say I feel like I've seen him die like three times already, but I mainly remember in Bendis's Daredevil, Wilbur (or some other Stilt-Man?) angrily giving Matt Murdock his stilt-suit when Matt was outed as DD. Armadillo and the Masked Marauder are the first to show--I know I've seen the Maruader kick the bucket before--and there's a Doombot in attendance, set up to impress Wilbur's widow.

More villains show up, as well as some I wouldn't label as such: Prowler, Will o'the Wisp, the Gibbon, Dragon Man. Dragon Man's a big, angry robot; why would you bring him to this? In a crowd shot, we see guys like the Absorbing Man, the Answer, Puma, and Ringer; pretty sure at least two of them had been dead for a stretch too. Also, older magic-guy Xandu from Marvel Team-Up #21/Marvel Treasury Edition #22 is there! That's one of the first Marvel comics I can remember reading; and there's not much logical reason for him to be there aside from crowd-filler. 

The "Widow Day" makes a striking entrance: it's Princess Python! She hisses with a forked tongue, when the Cat Burglar tries to lay down his game at her; that was new. The Prowler explains why he was there: when he had been just a window-washer, Stilt-Man nearly killed him trying to get away from Daredevil. DD saved him, but being pissed at Stilt-Man still inspired Prowler to put his own gadgets to work and costume up, briefly as a villain. Everyone's drinking and remembering better times, when super fights were just shenanigans; at least until the Rhino picks a fight with Armadillo and the bar goes nuts. It's mostly fun and games, no one really getting hurt.

The fight stops dead when Spider-Man arrives, with a stern "at his wake, guys?" He also scolds Prowler out of there, while Princess Python throws up at him. This was post-Civil War, for the like 20 minutes that his identity was known, so she drunkenly calls him "Peedershpidermun." Spidey tells everyone, be careful: "The world's not...it's not so fun anymore, you know?"

The Eel calls Spidey a class act, but is shouted down by the Masked Marauder, who can't believe a bar full of villains just let him lecture them and then go. They could be great again, he argues: they just have to want it. Which is about when people start puking. Not because they couldn't hold their liquor, but because they'd been poisoned, and the Marauder sees a cocktail napkin with a Punisher-skull on it, before things start exploding. The Marauder may have been the narrator for part of the story, but it switches back to Frank in the end: "I don't know about you, but I celebrate loss every day. But some days I get to celebrate it with fireworks."

...how often do we see Frank poison anybody? I know he's a "work smarter" kind of guy, and going against villains with powers would need an edge, but still. And there's a bunch of guys there, that maybe don't deserve to be murdered? Although I'm sure Frank would say, "lay down with dogs..." I have a soft-spot for Princess Python, from her disasterous stint in the Serpent Society: she quickly realized, she was equipped for theft and light-to-medium grifting, not fighting things like MODOK. Gibbon is a sad sack in a funny gorilla suit, who seemingly dies tragically every other appearance: he just wanted attention. Puma and Armadillo get roped into a lot of nonsense, but I don't think either was a bad guy. This felt a lot like some late 80's Flash comics, where Barry's old Rogues' Gallery was portrayed as wacky crooks with a competitive streak, not murdering monsters: of course, most of them were transitioned into murdering monsters eventually.

Also, the back cover of this one is a Nissan ad, suggesting "You could pretty much live in it," which, um. Not aged well. 

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We saw the second volume some time back; I'm not sure if this is the third. Definitely isn't the 20th volume, though. From 2019, Marvel Knights 20th #2, written by Matthew Rosenberg and Donny Cates, art by Nico Henrichon.

This was about the same time as War of the Realms, and I managed to fish this whole series from the same dollar bins! Somehow, the timeline or the world has changed, and no one remembers super-heroes, nor do they remember themselves. But a few are starting to, like Bruce Banner, who then tells Frank Castle: this is an unusual story for the Punisher, but it works. Frank didn't have his wife and kids in the altered reality, but had a girlfriend and was reasonably happy...except he knew something was missing, and the sight of a scribbled note with his skull symbol makes him realize he used to have a very different life. (Banner keeps getting weird little notes, mostly with names on them: I thought it was the Hulk writing them when Banner was asleep, but nope!)

While Matt Murdock was starting to remember after a botched visit from Frank, he also now has what might be the ghost of Karen Page keeping him company; as Frank and Banner try to contact another of the names: Elektra Natchios. She beats the stuffing out of Frank, admitting she knew there was something going on, but she didn't want to go back to a life where she hurt people...and was hurt back in turn. Frank refuses to quit, but gets distracted by Banner Hulking out in the back of his cop car. Elektra nearly stabs him in the back, but is stopped by Daredevil. He proposes they work together, but is surprised to realize, they can see Karen Page too...

This was collected as Marvel Knights: Make the World Go Away, which is a better title! It's a fun read, and no spoilers; but the answer for the reality shift wasn't Purple Man this time like I'd guessed, but it does tie-in to the Marvel Knights theme. I don't think I had read the Marvel Knights: Hulk book; I want to say that was from a stretch where they gave anybody an MK-labelled mini-series. Read more!

Well, we've mentioned this one more than once, and I thought I had read it before, but this issue was new to me today: from 1998, The Punisher #1, "Puratory, part 1: the Harvest" Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, pencils by Bernie Wrightson, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti.

This is the first issue of the infamous "angel" Punisher, as Frank is now a more supernatural agent of vengeance, with a mysterious sigil on his forehead and pulling guns seemingly out of nowhere. As he guns his way through a drug factory, he also has visions of what appears to be his suicide. Meanwhile, some fallen angels are killed by another who fell harder, Cousin Oliver. Okay, the bad angel's name is Olivier. After the fall, the other devils punished him further by reincarnating him as a human, in a dead baby. Olivier definitely talks like he's lived on earth, declaring an angel "tastes like chicken."

Things are further complicated, when Frank stops a fat slob from beating his wife, and he realizes he knows her, a friend's sister. Frank remembers her from "a time before the Punisher," which seems like the least believable thing in this comic: he's idolized that time, but I don't think he really remembers it. (EDIT: Also, Frank's identity was not a secret, but would've been highly publicized--there probably would've been 48 hours of 48 Hours about him; Lucy should know this.)  But, Frank does think he had died, and then sees his wife and kids. They lead him up a fire escape to a roof, then disappear, a trick from a dying angel, a Grigori. He sends Frank to another, a fallen angel who confesses, he had brought Frank back, in an attempt to make amends, since he had been the guardian angel for Frank's wife and kids...and failed there. Frank has a gun in his face immediately, but honestly, that's his answer to everything. 

 God, this made me just want to read Ennis/Dillon's Punisher #1 immediately. I'm not mad at anybody involved; I'm pretty sure they were told to try something new, but that wasn't it. I'm pretty sure I have another issue of Starlin and Wrightson's Punisher P.O.V. around here somewhere: I hadn't realized that was originally going to be a sequel to Batman: the Cult. Which is another one we should take a look at (even if it won't fit in the scanner!) but P.O.V. makes better use of Wrightson's monsters. Anyhow, I got all four issues of this from my local shop's dollar bin, so I'll read the rest later.

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You've just rented a snowmobile to the Punisher. Kiss that--wait, that's not how that goes!

Something like 30 years ago, I had a girlfriend that took me snowmobiling: sorry to disappoint her, but I hated it ever so much. Because it wasn't something I'd ever done before (or ever wanted to do) I didn't have proper fancy gear, but even with borrowed equipment, I was still freezing my face off; and my choices were go faster and freeze more, or sit there and freeze. If snowmobiles are your bag, enjoy; but hard pass. I'll be inside...reading comics with snowmobiling. Sonuva...From 1991, the Punisher #49, "Death Below Zero" Written by Chuck Dixon, art by Ron Wagner.

Like the majority of Punisher comics at the time, this is a self-contained story this issue, but a much tighter one than usual. Frank's working the case of a kidnapped retail heiress, in western Pennsylvania: it's cold in the woods as he stakes out a cabin. The kidnappers had asked for $2 million, and while Frank thinks the family shouldn't pay on principle, he also admits he would have paid anything to save his family. When three of the kidnappers go to pick up the ransom, Frank figures he can kick down the door and take out the others easily. This leads to a rare tactical error, that Frank blames on a recession: he had been expecting five guys, maybe six tops, with three now gone. These guys were splitting $2 million nine ways. (I feel like there almost certainly was going to be backstabbing and betrayal in the kidnappers' future, even if everything had gone perfectly; but I also wonder if one or two of them weren't tagalongs, or included to keep them quiet, somebody's little brother their mom made them include, that sort of thing.)

In the ensuing shootout, Frank tells the heiress to go for his car, and she does: to the next county, leaving him high and dry--or rather, out in the cold. Frank's a good sport about it, honestly: do what you gotta do, lady. Although he had been winged, Frank is then able to double back around and steal the kidnappers' jeep, with the ransom, but the head kidnapper isn't concerned: it was out of gas, and the engine, brakes, and road all quit on Frank. Even in 1991, I don't know if completely out of gas, that would have done in the brakes! They probably should've had at least a little stopping power, but weather conditions and speed probably didn't help. (Looking it up, no, the brakes maybe might've worked a little, once.) Also, the head kidnapper is all smug, like he planned that: you planned on running out of gas in the woods?

Frank is able to get to cover, and still had the money. The kidnappers were down to five, but that meant a bigger share for each. Frank leaves a trap in a drainage culvert that gets one, but is not doing great as the temperature drops. The head kidnapper is not about to give up, since he figured if Frank died, nobody would find that money until spring; but they might find less of it, as Frank uses about fifty grand in a fire!

One of the kidnappers is killed by a wire Frank strings between trees, which decapitates him: hopefully, somebody clears that wire before civilians show up! Another snowmobile safety tip: maybe don't try to cross a frozen river on one; they don't freeze that solid. Frank has to dig deep to get the last two, on an ice floe in the river, but he sacrifices the money to do so: in Punisher stories of the time, Frank was always raking in fat stacks of cash from criminals, but it seemed like a cash-intensive enterprise. This issue reminded me, in the best way, of the best pulpy crime novels. Also, from another perspective, this is just another story of a serial killer attacking victims in a secluded cabin: it would be interesting to see this one from the other side! Grab this one if you see it, whether you enjoy snowmobiling or if you're normal. Read more!

I have to wonder how many Punisher fans stuck around after this issue, if any.

It's a little weird for that lot, I think. From 1993, Quasar #42, "The White Room" Written by Mark Gruenwald, pencils by Andy Smith, inks by Ralph Cabrera.

Quasar was still dead, after Infinity War, and Thanos had released a copy of Marvel Boy--now calling himself Blue Marvel to serve as a pawn. (I don't know that Gruenwald had a great handle on Thanos; and I'm not 100% sure what Thanos allegedly even wanted Blue Marvel to do. In fact, that maybe was the Magus's duplicate Thanos.) Blue Marvel had quantum bands like Quasar, but was childish, petulant, and just an all-around jerk. I'm not sure I've ever read old Marvel Boy comics--there weren't a lot of them--but I wonder, was he a jerk in those? I know he'd eventually be updated into "the Uranian," and be more alien and weird than just a brat. Anyway, Blue Marvel had fought Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) and here fights Hercules, Black Knight, and the Eric Masterson Thor. He does manage to get a shot in on Thor, knocking his helmet crooked so he couldn't see out of it, predating the classic Black Canary twists the Flash's mask from JLA: Year One. He then nearly gets choked out by Captain Marvel, and has to quantum-jump away.

Meanwhile, Quasar himself was in the White Room, seated at a long table, with various other Protectors of the Universe from the past. The other Protectors did not seem to have a concensus on what exactly the White Room was: heaven? A trophy room? Purgatory? Storage? Not particularly spirtually inclined, Quasar believes this to be "a crazy hallucination in the dimension of manifestations," which he had visited in an earlier issue, and was where abstract beings took shapes to appear in this universe. The other Protectors think, there might have been somebody else in that seat before him...

Then, we get to our big guest-star, the Punisher, gunning down some nobodies. He is approached by Blue Marvel, who's impressed that he kills people, without powers, and wants to learn from him. Frank isn't interested, so Blue Marvel tries a more battle-ready 90's look, with a helmet and guns. And in another subplot, on the planet Scadam--from the computer game tie-in Questprobe--Kayla Ballantine, Quasar's girlfriend, destroys the malevolent Black Fleet with the Star Brand. 

Back in the White Room, Quasar is arguing against reincarnation, claiming it didn't make sense from an administrative viewpoint: it would take too much energy to figure out what souls should be brought back as what. He's then approached by the spirit of his original mentor, Eon; who wants Quasar to kill him, saying that would free him...and lessen his own guilt. Quasar doesn't seem to be buying it, and wants to free himself without killing. Next, he's visited by the "Angel of Vengeance," who appears as a more-chiseled version of himself; Quasar's pretty sure that's still Eon, and isn't into vengeance anyway.

On earth, the Punisher finds himself surrounded by a SWAT team--either they had staked out the nobodies he killed, or Blue Marvel delayed him too long, but Frank was kicking himself. Blue Marvel opts to prove himself to the Punisher, by using his bands to just wreck the cops, in about three panels. Frank isn't impressed, and tells him if any cops were killed, he'd be coming for him next. He turns his back on him, and Blue Marvel considers killing him, but is interrupted by Thanos, who tells him someone was trying to free Quasar: stop that. Teleported to the White Room, Blue Marvel blasts the "Angel of Vengeance" apart, then turns his gun on Quasar...to be continued?

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This also isn't strictly a horror comic, but maybe close.

From 1994, Punisher War Zone Annual #2, "Hurt So Good" Written by Chuck Dixon, pencils by Dale Eaglesham, inks by Al Williamson. 

I had to look part of this up, since it's been forever since I've read the first few issues of Punisher War Zone, although you can probably picture that cover there! Mickey Fandozzi and "Johnny Tower" were supposed to "take care of" Carbone family second-in-command Sal, but lost him: Sal tried to escape across a frozen river but fell in, and Mickey and "Johnny" figured he was done for. (Johnny was of course really the Punisher, infiltrating the crime family.) Sal survived but maybe wasn't living his best life: he managed to get out of the ice, but lost his memory from oxygen starvation. He remembered the faces of the guys that brought him to that, but not a ton else. This issue opens with the amnesiac "Thorn" interrupting a gun deal, killing everyone there and helping himself to their stuff and ride, as he makes his way to this place he vaguely recalls, "New York." Which kind of seems like it would be a nightmare to deal with, in his condition? A lot going on and moving fast, while Thorn seemed to move like a zombie with frostbite. 

Seemingly by instinct, Thorn drives around the streets that no longer mean anything to him, until he happens to hear Mickey's voice talking to a worker. Before he can circle back to get him, he gets accosted by the gunrunner's crew, and coolly guns them down. The shooting should have given Mickey a head's up, but he's like yeah, I know, tough neighborhood, whatever; until Thorn starts shooting up his place. Mickey barely escapes, but that's all part of Thorn's plan: he could follow him, to the other one, "the one with the face of stone." Sure enough, Mickey runs crying to Frank; and a long shootout ensues: the gunrunners try to take Thorn in the middle of it, and get chewed up by both sides. Frank plays dead at one point, which leaves Thorn wondering, what was left for him? While he's mulling that over, Frank throws his ass off of an overpass, but Thorn lands on the roof of a semi, virtually unscathed; but he sees Frank looking down on him again, like before beneath the ice. Thorn ends up on the streets of Newark, seemingly without much left in the tank. 

Also this issue: some two-fisted action in "Second Chance," as Frank faces an old foe, Roc, again. Their fight had been interrupted before, but Frank thinks he can take him hand-to-hand: eventually, sure, but it wasn't a picnic. (Written by Ralph Macchio, pencils by David Ross, inks by Tim Dzon.) Then, in "Domino Theory" a gangster's girl plots to take over, and it goes really well! Right up to the point where Frank shoots her. (Written by Steven Grant, art by Alberto Saichann.)

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I was waiting for my Death's Head to show up from Fed Ex, so we dug this one up, which I think I picked up twice lately but wasn't sure I had read? From 1992, Death's Head II #4, "2020 Vision!" Written by Dan Abnett, pencils by Liam Sharp, inks by Andy Lanning and Liam Sharp.

The 2020 of Earth-9939 is probably worse than that of either here or the traditional 616 Marvel universe, as Baron Strucker V has taken over the body of Death's Head and become Charnel. I may have forgotten how that boiled down, as Death's Head's personality ended up one of like 104 in the "Minion" and took it over to become Death's Head II; and his old sidekick Spratt might have been deceived and later killed by Strucker. Punisher leads a suicide run against Charnel; to steal his time-travel doohickey, so Captain America and the remaining heroes can try to go back to 1992 and stop Charnel. Meanwhile, in 1992, Death's Head II, Tuck, and Dr. Necker are at an abandoned mall purchased by A.I.M; awaiting the menace from the future. They have a brief scuffle with Wolverine--breaking one of his claws!--before Cap settles everyone down, since he knows DH II wasn't the big threat.

Charnel arrives, in a body still half-resembling the original Death's Head; and plans on setting up shop there to create the crap future the other heroes had just come from. DH II doesn't really understand why they'd commit suicide like that: either Charnel kills them, or they wipe out their timeline by killing him. Still, he admires Wolverine's fighting spirit; but things go south when Charnel drains the Scarlet Witch's power, and shreds Wolvie. DH II has a last-gasp plan: using two time-jumpers and a Scarlet Witch hex, he sends Charnel to the past and the future, splitting him in two. (He'd be back!) The heroes disappear, as their timeline ends; and Death's Head II gives Dr. Necker an earful: her actions had led to nothing but death, and he wasn't her "Minion" anymore. (As typical for a lot of these I've read, Tuck and Dr. Necker are drawn entirely too similar! Also, a coloring plate seems to have shifted on the second-to-last page, leaving everything in a magenta tone.)

DH II and Tuck split in a stolen semi, while a scowling Dr. Necker sees the Avengers from the present arrive, and leaves rather than talk to Cap. The Fantastic Four and Avengers both take off after Death's Head II and Tuck, as the miniseries ends. A regular series was forthcoming, but they would guest in Warheads first. Read more!