Punisher War Journal By Carl Potts & Jim Lee Paperback – September 13, 2016

Nothing beats Classic punisher, I’m not a biggest fan of the modern era punisher that was popularized by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillion. I respect them for giving this character a proper revival after marvel did probably the stupidest Punisher run in the late 90’s. I grew up with the classic lineup from the late 80’s and early 90’s with the anti-hero vigilante frank castle/punisher killing criminals 'Rambo'-style with his classic black suit, the big guns, the skull symble, white gloves and sometimes wears a jacket or a raincoat. what make this punihser also iconic is the grim tone, over-the-top violence and suggestive themes. marvel were really punishing the limits of the infamous 'comics code authority' restrictions at the time.maybe i perfer classic punisher, but i have my limits too. i think his very earlier appearances and most of his first run series are kinda meh and even boring at times due to Punisher being bland and appearing more as a guest character in other marvel super hero stories such as Spider-Man, Captain America and Daredevil. it wasn't until the mini-series "Circle of Blood" arc came in 1986 and finally made the punisher stand on it's own kick-off his own first series in 1987 (which like a said before is a very mixed-bag when it comes to quality of the writing and artwork). in this collection “Punisher: War Journal” is the second-run series of comics for the punisher from 1988, unlike the first run, "War Journal" has better artwork, better writing, more grittier, mature content and focus more on frank castle/punisher then the other marvel characters. The only drawback it has it only collected the first 19 issues of ‘War Journal’ with few extras. I don’t really mind since this collection is more celebrating the collaboration of Carl Potts (who was the editor of marvel at the time) and Jim Lee (a very talented artist and one of his earliest work at marvel). The series itself has total of 80 issues. But from what I read and remember this series later issues are not very good, since it jumps from different writer, artist, inker on daily basis, it’s common with long running series to drop in quality and eventually lose direction with the crazy outlandish storylines. I know there's another punisher collection called “Suicide Run” which collects War Journal #61-64 on another story on the fake punisher. Overall "Punisher: War Journal by Carl Potts & Jim Lee" is a great collection for fans of classic punisher. highly recommended!!! I also recommend from the classic line-up is the Punisher: “Circle of Blood”, “Year One” and “War Zone” (original 1992 mini-series).

I read these when they came out so I have great fondness for these stories. The writing isn't quite as good as Garth Ennis or Jason Aaron's Punisher but still very entertaining and true to the character. A little too much emphasis on weapons and military-related plots for my tastes but not too bad. And of course Frank does have a background in the Marine Corps so it's only natural some of the plots would incorporate this.Punisher's characterization here is a bit more well-adjusted and verbal than other grittier versions but it works really well. It's similar to how Batman is portrayed in some of his best stories written by Denny O'Neil, Paul Dini or Grant Morrison.The art, however, is the true draw to this book. Jim Lee was a budding superstar at this time and quickly became a sensation. In my opinion he draws the absolute best version of The Punisher ever. Just look at that cover! He also drew custom shots of Punisher for the corner boxes every issue and they're all perfect. The writer, Carl Potts, also does layouts on a few of the issues and he does a great job as well.All in all, I think this is more than worth it for true fans of The Punisher. I really hope Marvel releases this in a deluxe hardcover or omnibus at some point.

Rated R Punisher at his best.... Kingpin Origin and the development and ensuing mayhem are top notch.I bought mine used in "Good" condition. I was very pleased the the condition upon arrival, the dust jacket was not torn or mangled. The only thing that I could see that would rate it as "good" versus "like new" is one corner of the hardcover was bent slightly as though the book was dropped on it. I am very pleased as I didn't buy it to collect so much as to read. The Omnibus is what you've come to expect from Marvel... The binding is great, the paper and color quality is top notch. A great buy at $60 when "like new" is running $150 or more now.

I'm a sucker for Frank Castle's adventures on his morally dubious but emotionally satisfying quest. The book is well illustrated and takes me back to my childhood when I read these for the very first time.

This is great that Marvel is making collections of Punisher comic books! The MAX completes are PHENOMENAL. I will be buying every single one of them. Figured I'd try out this one as well considering it was from 1988 and had Frank clashing with many other heroes/villains in a variety of ways... It has the same suspense, tactical badass-dom, and witty techniques Frank is always pulling. He has his pal Microchip helping him out too. Alot of his gadgets are a bit over the top in my opinion, but it is funny at times. The artwork is different and feels a little lighter, but the addition of superheroes/villains makes it interesting and it definitely has the punishment we crave! It's awesome to see them reprinting old comics as well, that way the new generation of readers can experience a whole new era of their favorite heroes.

Trusted seller!!!

Good collection of the punisher

Nicely assembled compilations of the early Punisher work and extra material. Really cool to see the old “art for repro” posters and original art from the auction house. Was intrigued to see the themes that made it from these comics to the great Netflix show of modern times.