Punisher Max - Volume 1

Garth Ennis's work with the Punisher easily merits comparison with Frank Miller's "Sin City" series. It's bloody, remorseless noir fiction at its finest, and moreso than Miller, Ennis manages to work in a bit of levity here and there to make the mayhem that much easier to stomach. The stories aren't just about the Punisher, which is part of what makes them so appealing. Ennis fills his dark world with fascinating, often bizarre characters, and the Punisher in a way serves as both a narrator and a malicious force of nature driving these irredeemable souls to their inevitable, blood-drenched doom. If you're an Ennis fan, a Punisher fan, or even a Frank Miller fan, then I'd highly recommend this series for you, and this first volume especially.

The Punisher Max series written by Garth Ennis(Preacher) is the best run on the character. I recommend any of these collected volumes to anyone and especially those who were disappointed in the movie because the movie is G-rated compared to this.

It's a fantastic book, which includes one of the best Punisher stoy arcs ever (In The Begining), but i thought that i'd let eveyone know that the post apocalyptic one shot The Punisher: The End is not in this book. But you can find it in the book From First To Last if you're trying to read it. Punisher MAX: From First to Last

Wow! This book will blow your head off - figuratively speaking (No, I am not a criminal, Frank, and in no need of being punished). It is an AWESOME collection of two Punisher tales that forced me to read it in one sitting, neglecting my lunch, dinner, and loved ones. Essentially it combines the first two Marvel Punisher MAX trade paperbacks into one. The first story arc "In the Beginning" is my favorite, but the twist at the end of "Kitchen Irish" is so good that I tend to revise my opinion whenever I re-read this book. In the first few issues we are introduced to new villain Nicky Cavella, a twisted mobster with even more twisted henchmen, Ink and Putsy, to match. After multiple horrid deaths, and the general blood and destruction that is inevitable once you pair the Punisher with writer Garth Ennis, I came to realise that it was actually the stories that sold me on the book, and not the overall gore content and explicit over-the-top scenarios I usually like about Ennis' writing. Frank Castle's final farewell to his old partner Micro is also one of the best scenes in the series, as well as a bloody shootout on the deck of the Intrepid. One of the most gruesome explosions ever to be drawn in comics occur in these pages, and the resultant carnage that follows as the Punisher hunts down those responsible allows the reader to almost identify with the character. This collection is a must for any fan of Ennis, and for those who are hardcore Punisher fans, prepare to be BLOWN AWAY.

In 2004, not long before the release of the Punisher film with Tom Jane in the title role, Marvel re-launched the Punisher series under it's mature audiences imprint MAX, and Preacher creator Garth Ennis was once again at the helm of Marvel's most infamous vigilante. This handsome hardcover collects the first twelve issues (two storyarc's) of Ennis' bloody run, as well as his fantastic one-shot, Punisher: The End. The first storyarc, appropriately titled "In the Beginning", re-tells the tragic massacre of Frank Castle's family as he sets his sights on the mob. Soon enough, Frank is captured and finds his long thought dead partner Micro trying to convince him to be a sanctioned assassin for the government, all the while the mob and others are closing in for the kill. The art in this arc by Lewis Larosa is brutal and bloody, and the story by Ennis will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page. The second arc, entitled "Kitchen Irish", finds Frank in Hell's Kitchen (but don't look for any appearances from Daredevil) as one Irish mobster's legacy causes rival gangs to make their moves, and Frank is smack in the middle of it all. The art is solid here as well, but its Ennis' story that packs a punch with enough Irish political intrigue and twists that keep the story more than enjoyable. As great as both arcs are, it's the one shot included here that's the real gem. Punisher: The End, featuring some great art from the legendary Richard Corben, finds an old Frank in a dead world in the future, and he has only one thing to do: kill. All in all, the MAX re-launch of the Punisher has been a long time coming, and it's the way the character was always meant to be. If you missed the single issues or the one shot, definitely consider picking this hardcover up, because it's the beginning of the best Punisher stories ever told.