Marv’s Picks: “War of the Realms: The Punisher #1”

Title: War of the Realms: The Punisher #1

The Punisher is quite possibly one of my favorite comic book characters.

Classic runs by Garth Ennis and Jason Aaron reinforce the power of a character that was originally introduced as a Spider-Man foe. For someone followed by so much chaos, Frank Castle maintains he is a man on a mission. It is often debated that a character like the Punisher is more suited for “real world” stories as opposed to being a part of the Marvel Universe. So, how does the Punisher fare when frost giants, fire demons, battle angels, and the rest of Malekith’s armies invade Manhattan?

Well, without getting too spoiler-y, he continues his mission…albeit with some tweaks. There tend to be two types of tie-in books to huge comic events. Either they play a super huge part and are considered required reading (which can be an inconvenience) or they serve no particular purpose to the main event going on (which can also be an inconvenience).

Based on this first issue, this story falls on the latter, but I wouldn’t go so far to call it an inconvenience. Gerry Duggan is able to give us the street view of this War. I think if I want to compare it to anything, I’d compare it to the movie, “Cloverfield”. The protagonists have no clue what the monster is…they just want to survive.

I’m not familiar at all with Marcelo Ferreira. But I do have to say he handles the balance between the fantasy-based invaders and the civilian lives affected by the war very well. It didn’t feel “too fantasy nor “too street”. It just…balanced itself out, which is exactly what you need when you have the Punisher battling a frost giant in the middle of Manhattan.

I admit to being very cautious with tie-ins, mainly because for the most part they never deliver the same quality of storytelling as the event itself. However, this tie-in proved to be a fun one, and I’ll stick around for the rest of it!

Marvin Capistrano is a big fan of comics and provides occasional insights on choice comic book picks.
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