Is Punisher Crazy?
This review was originally posted on my website Imagination Centre (here).
I really enjoyed the first issue of this series as it was nice to see Punisher back in a solo series, and the news since that issue that Punisher will be getting his own ongoing series again made me very happy. Till then however I have been looking forward to seeing the end of this short story.
Plot
The trial of the Punisher continues with Daredevil (Matt Murdock) getting pulled in to help determine whether the Punisher is mentally sane or not.
Review
This was a brilliant issue, as although not quite as good as the first it was still very enjoyable. Marc Guggenheim did a fantastic job with the trial sequences in this issue, once again using his past experiences as a lawyer to great advantage. I did however feel that this issue didn't have quite the same level of tone, as although the trial had a very realistic nature to it, I would have loved the dark, sombre tone that we got in the first issue. Another thing that hindered this issue was the fact that the story should have been at least one issue longer, as although it's a good thing that Guggenheim is keeping it fairly short, the ending felt a bit too sudden to me, whereas one extra issue would have fixed that.
The artwork on this issue was also amazing, as although it wasn't quite as good as Leinil Francis Yu's art from the first issue, it was still outstanding, and Mico Suayan did a fantastic job. What I liked most about Suayan taking over in this issue was the fact that he has a very similar style to Yu, as although it's easy to tell the two apart, it makes it more natural flowing between both issues. Sunny Gho's colours would also help with this as well, keeping the same tone that made the first issue so intense. I also really enjoyed the amazing layouts from Suayan, as although the characters facial expressions were slightly awkward at times, the layouts would add a lot of depth to the issue, making it more dramatic.
The main argument during the trial would be whether or not the Punisher crazy or sane. Now although I personally feel that Punisher knows exactly what he's doing, it's a good idea to question whether he's mentally healthy or not, as although he may know exactly what he is doing, has he deluded himself into thinking that this is acceptable? Again I personally doubt that, but it is a good arguing point, and I enjoyed how Guggenheim utilised this in this story, with the defence for and against Punisher being sane or not being very interesting.
This issue would also see Matt Murdock make an appearance. Now I said during my review for the first issue that I was happy that Guggenheim didn't make Murdock Punisher's lawyer, as that would be rather obvious. I did however enjoy his appearance in this issue, as although it wasn't necessary it was handled in a very interesting way, showing some of amazing flashback sequences involving Daredevil and Punisher. I also enjoyed seeing a battle of lawyer wit when it came to whether Murdock would be testifying or not, and although I still feel that this story could have happened without old horn head, it was still a nice appearance.
The main question that I have been asking throughout this short story has been what is Punisher's real motives, as it's obvious that he has a plan, with this issue showing that even more. Now I won't go into any details as to avoid spoilers, but we would get to see Punisher's modus operandi during this issue, and although it wasn't quite as intriguing as I hoped it would be, it would add some excitement to the end of the issue. I do however feel that it would have been better to have made this reveal at the end of the issue, with an extra issue showing how the Punisher capitalised on this.
Final Verdict
This was a fantastic issue, as although it didn't quite live up to the opening issue, it would be a very entertaining issue, having some interesting monologue and dialogue, also having an exciting conclusion. I do however feel that the story could have done with an extra issue, as despite the exciting nature of the ending it was rather sudden. I would however highly recommend this issue as well as the first and can't wait for the new ongoing series from Nathan Edmondson to come out.
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