Project Basement gets vengeance with:
Punisher by Mikey Wood
A new contributor for PB v2!!! Enter the rage of Mikey Wood:
When it was brought to my attention that "Because he sucks," while accurate, was not explanatory enough for why the Punisher is my least favorite comic character, I was hard-pressed to come up with a better reason. But, in the interest of science, I'll give it a try:
He sucks.
That there is the seed from which my tree of hatred will grow. Dig the sapling:
Frank Castle, AKA "The Punisher," is a perfect example of what some in the business call a "one trick pony." His shtick is that he's angry. He's angry and he owns weaponry. Walk up to any schmuck on the street and say, "Hey, schmuck...Do you know who the Punisher is?" If they say NO, tell them they're better for it and send them on their way. if they say "Yes" then ask them to describe him. The answer will be as such:
"Blah blah blah ANGRY blah blah blah GUNS blah blah blah HAND GRENADES blah blah blah KNIVES blah blah blah SKULL"
And so forth.
Some will validate the Punisher and say "It's not THAT he kills people, it's HOW he kills people." Um... No it isn't. A kill is a kill is a kill. Using a shotgun or using a leaf shredder, it's still just the same old shtick repeated ad nauseum.
"But the mob killed his family! He's getting revenge for his MURDERED FAMILY!"
A star going super-nova killed SUPERMAN'S entire PLANET (depending upon which origin story you stick to). Does he fly throughout the galaxy destroying stars? NO (even though he COULD because he's Superman). The fact that the Punisher is no better than the scumbags who started this whole mess is clear. Take his guns away and he's a pretty decent hand-to-hand combatant because of his years in Vietnam (which would make him about, oh, 65 years old or so) but Batman could still kick his ass. WHY? Because Batman can control his anger. The Punisher is victim to his.
What it comes down to? The quick and dirty reason I can't stand the Punisher: Because he BORES me.
He WAS pretty cool when he was Frankenstein. I'll give him that.
Next week... Cable by Chris Maverick!
I also kind of dislike ol' Frank Castle. The Punisher is probably best parodied by Dave Sim in Cerebus and as "Big Shot" in The Tick cartoon. Much like Batman, Castle probably just needs a hug and a warm cup of cocoa.
I dig the crazy boots and proportioning in the sketch.
I have mixed feelings about the Punisher. I don't think he works in the traditional capes & tights Marvel Universe, but he does work very well in Marvel's MAX books.
i agree with danG i thinks he works well with the max books but in cape and tights
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It's funny, I know so many people who dislike Punisher but LOVE (or at least like) him as Frankencastle. I really wish they kept that going longer than they did, because a frankenstein monster riding on a dragon that's breathing fire on naz......i zombies while simultaneously using a WWII machine gun (with only one hand) to mow them down is pretty much the epitome of badass and really explains the "not THAT but HOW" argument pretty well. The appeal of The Punisher is definitely the creativity that's invested into the killing (like any good lone-soldier action movie.)
Drawing is A+ awesome though. I dig the style.
Frankencastlecast: http://www.audioshocker.com/2009/12/23/a-podcast-with-ross-and-nick-29-always-has-pie
holy crap, i really like this one!
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