Follow

    Punisher

    Character » Punisher appears in 2803 issues.

    When U.S. Marine veteran Frank Castle's family's was murdered for witnessing a mob hit, the man vowed to avenge their deaths and became a one-man army in his personal war against the criminal underworld. With a distinct death's head skull adorning his chest, Frank Castle became the vigilante known as the Punisher.

    Franken-Castle #21 (Sept 2010) - end of FrankenCastle era?

    Avatar image for jamesewelch
    jamesewelch

    677

    Forum Posts

    19073

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 12

    User Lists: 3

    #1  Edited By jamesewelch

    From Marvel September solicitation: ( link)  
     
    FRANKEN-CASTLE #21




    COVER BY: Dan Brereton
    WRITER: RICK REMENDER
    PENCILS: Dan Brereton
    LETTERED BY: NEUROTIC CARTOONIST, INC

    THE STORY:


    The shocking conclusion of the FrankenCastle era! After his brutal struggle to kill Daken in Tokyo, the Punisher is in rough shape. In order to restore his health, hacker comrade Henry Russo sends Frank to the nearest remote place he can find -- Monster Island. However, as his body heals, Frank’s mind begins to fade into madness. Someone needs to take him down. Someone named Elsa Bloodstone. Parental Advisory …$3.99

    PRICE:

    3.99
    IN STORES: September 22, 2010
     
     
    Does this mean the title will end at issue 21 after Frank is restored to his former body? Or will the title revert back to normal Punisher and continue?
     
    The Bloodstone is the plot device that will restore Frank's body - that was set up in earlier issues of Punisher/Frankencastle.  

    I read an article with Rick Remender saying the FrankenCastle story would continue well into 2011 and he had about 2 years worth of stuff ready. It seems like the FrankenCastle concept is being cut short. 
     
    I generated a sales chart a few months ago and posted it here. Below is an updated sales chart that includes up to April. The May stats doesn't have FrankenCastle title within the top 100 comics, so I don't know if we'll see stats for that issue or not.
     

    No Caption Provided
     
    Source Data:  http://www.comichron.com
     
    My personal opinion:
    I know there were many long time Punisher fans, like me, that didn't buy/follow the Frankencastle arc, but the sales when compared to other titles seemed to be doing fairly well.  When I asked my LCS guy about the sales, he mentioned that non-Punisher subscribers were picking up the slack from the former-Punisher subscribers, so his sales were basically even before/after the FrankenCastle arc began. That's also what I've been reading about on various comic related web sites. There's been lots of good and bad reviews of the story arc and I'm sure this arc will go down in infamy alongside other Punisher incarnations. 
     
    My personal feelings on the Frankencastle story is that it was well written and the artwork worked well. I enjoyed the earlier issues of Punisher pre-FrankenCastle. However, it's the FrankenCastle arc isn't something that I'd like to see within the 616 continuity. If it was a mini-series/limited series based in an alternate universe or "what if", then I might have picked it up in addition to a normal Punisher 616 title and PunisherMax. I get/understand the story and how Frank is a monster on the inside and now he's a monster on the outside and the whole concept that Remender was trying to get across. But there's just so many comics, you can reasonably buy nowadays as the prices are increasing and this arc was bumped off my pull-list.
     
    Rick Remender is also becoming the writer for X-Force, so maybe the Punisher/Frankencastle title will just end at #21 and he'll be given X-Force to work on. I haven't heard that anyone will be replacing him for issue #22, so he may stay on and write a few more Punisher issues.
    Avatar image for mr__dead_pool
    Mr. Dead Pool

    3026

    Forum Posts

    393

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 11

    #2  Edited By Mr. Dead Pool
    @jamesewelch:
    Of course his main book is going down in sales Frankecastle sucks.
    Avatar image for gylan_thomas
    Gylan Thomas

    2755

    Forum Posts

    1595

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 7

    User Lists: 8

    #3  Edited By Gylan Thomas
    @Mr. Dead Pool said:
    " @jamesewelch: Of course his main book is going down in sales Frankecastle sucks. "
    You mean FrankenCastle, right?
    Avatar image for mr__dead_pool
    Mr. Dead Pool

    3026

    Forum Posts

    393

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 11

    #4  Edited By Mr. Dead Pool
    @Gylan Thomas:
    Of course I mean that 1!!!!

    This edit will also create new pages on Comic Vine for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Comic Vine users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.