The Punisher #229. World War Frank.

The Punisher #229 Review

Don’t let the new #1 fool you, The Punisher #229 is still following the story arc stemming way back from the Secret Empire. I wouldn’t worry too much though, it’s still a great jumping on point for the series. I would however, take the time to go back to The Punisher #218 and read the entire story containing a certain eye-patched S.H.I.E.L.D. director and armor appropriately named for a person like Frank Castle. I’m talking about Nick Fury and the War Machine armor if you weren’t catching what I was throwing down.

The previous 10 issues before this newest The Punisher #229 were pure mayhem, giving Frank the War Machine armor made him an unstoppable force like we’ve never seen before. This isn’t the first time he’s toyed with some of Tony Stark’s armor though, one of my favorite arcs is Greg Rucka’s The Punisher: War Zone where Frank takes on the Avengers and puts on some of his best displays of strategic combat I’ve ever seen.

Matt Rosenberg’s Punisher is brutal and continues the unrelenting warpath that Frank Castle has been on since Secret Empire. He’s gone past taking down common street thugs and gangsters and moved onto attempted and often successful assassination of high ranking government officials. Even without the War Machine armor, Frank is a force to be reckoned with.

With the help of Szymon Kudranski’s art, The Punisher #229 looks and feels like the 90’s War Zone. Frank is as big as a fridge and using every weapon in his arsenal (the iconic dual uzi’s are back!). Much like Rucka’s Punisher run, this Frank feels like the boogeyman, and I love it.

Another incentive to pick up the newest The Punisher #229 is the blank sketch cover. This is the first blank for The Punisher since 2014 and Cosmic Comics! has them for you. If not The Punisher you can also snag a few if you want a nifty sketch for the newest Cosmic Ghost Rider, which I also highly recommend. The last Ghost Rider blank was way back in 2011 so picking up a Punisher blank and having a burning Castle skull on it ain’t such a bad idea.

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