PUNISHER STORYTIME
This year I'll be storytiming Punisher comics at least once per week, with a primary focus on pre-Ennis stories, and maybe the occasional Ennis story or even post-Ennis story.
I've been covering the late 80s era so far, and have gotten up to about when the spin-off title War Journal started, but haven't covered any actual issues of that book yet, so this week we're gonna read the first few issues of it.
The writer on this ongoing was originally Carl Potts, who had been the editor on the early Punisher comics, and wrote about half of the Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint (the rest were written by Chuck Dixon, who would later go on to write the second best Punisher run ever).
But the series is mostly famous for giving Jim Lee his "big break" in comics. And it's not hard to see why: Even if you don't normally like Jim Lee's art, this is almost undoubtedly his best work, due to the fact that he actually only did finishes, which kept his more extreme "XTREME!" qualities in check, with the actual breakdowns and layouts being done by writer/editor Carl Potts himself.
As a series, The Punisher War Journal differentiated itself from The Punisher mostly through a less "grounded" focus. The main book mostly stuck to stories about Frank fighting murderers, thieves, and the mafia, and rarely had crossovers/team-ups with other Marvel characters. By comparison, War Journal had team-ups with other superheroes usually multiple times per year, and consequently the tone of the series arguably felt very slightly less realistic and more over-the-top overall as a result. So expect to see some other superheroes appear in these issues.
Enough talk; more action! This is...
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #1-7
STORYTIME
>>90057656
PREVIOUS STORYTIMES HERE:
Circle of Blood
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/88815455/
Return to Big Nothing
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/88890646/
Marvel Preview #2 / Marvel Super Action #1
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/89163408/
Punisher #1-10
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/89314601/
Daredevil #257
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/89328851/
Assassin's Guild (Marvel Graphic Novel #40)
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/89514921/
Punisher #11-20
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/89630150/
Intruder (Marvel Graphic Novel #51)
http://desuarchive.org/co/thread/89872272/
>>90057669
IF YOU'RE READING THEN KEEP THE THREAD BUMPED BECAUSE IF I HAVE TO BREAK EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE TO BUMP THE THREAD THEN THIS'LL TAKE FOREVER
>>90057692
>>90057722
>>90057656
>this is almost undoubtedly his best work
His best work was ASBAR, pleb.
>>90057760
>>90057785
>>90057812
This arc was pretty weird for me as someone who backtracked from Ennis. The primary antagonist wasn't a flat out monster, and the storytelling was rather dense in regards to words. I enjoyed it overall, and Daredevil always makes for solid dialogue.
>>90057842
>>90057867
>>90057846
Carl Potts' run wasn't as awesome as Dixon's, or even Mike Baron's, but it was still pretty entertaining.
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ISSUE #2
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>>90057692
will do
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>>90059238
The very first ever Punisher Armory page, originally called "Punisher War Journal Equipment Page".
>>90059315
ISSUE #3
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>>90059788
Mr. Bumpo
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>>90059892
Another "Punisher War Journal Equipment Page".
>>90057656
>STORYTIME
It's Punishment time!
>>90059910
ISSUE #4
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>>90057722
>thought bubble
Nice
Punisher is for gay faggots
>>90060506
Yet another "Punisher War Journal Equipment Page".
>>90060541
ISSUE #5
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>>90061097
More of "Punisher War Journal Equipment Page".
>>90061126
ISSUE #6
>>90061156
>>90057842
Reaction face right there
>>90061185
>>90061205
>>90061200
I think I might have cropped that already. I'll take care of it either way after the storytime.
>>90061225
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>>90058930
Watch that mouth Raymond!
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>>90061620
ISSUE #7
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>>90061932
Sorry about the delay. Had to resize this page.
>>90062090
>>90062112
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>>90062229
>>90062247
>>90062281
"Punisher War Journal Equipment Page"
>>90062315
This appears to be the first time that the "Punisher Armory" pages were renamed from "Punisher War Journal Equipment Page" to "Punisher's Arsenal".
>>90062350
And we end the issue (and the storytime) with yet another page bearing the "Punisher's Arsenal" title.
>>90061439
What the hell is wrong with his hair?
>>90057722
>CANADIAN SUPER-TEAM DISBANDS
Is that referring to Alpha Flight?
>>90057722
>MOKELE - MBEMBE SIGHTED AGAIN
Is this referring to something or is it just a random made up headline?
>>90060516
Yeah, that's a powerful scene.
>>90057785
Wait, he just leaves the Punisher Battlevan there?
>>90057842
>>90061200
>>90061225
>>90063038
>>90057842
>>90061200
>>90061225
And here's the version I made from the scan a while back.
>>90058080
>TURK WAS HERE
Nice Daredevil reference.
>>90057812
His line to the old guy is kind of weird.
>>90058475
That is such a powerful ending.
>>90058364
>science says you lie
top kek
>>90061268
>hours to mend the wound
Did it get ramped up over the decades, or is this comic selling it short?
>>90058475
Who's that spying on him?
>>90063843
Wolverine's healing powers have expanded to absurd degrees over time. It all happened slowly over decades.
>>90063067
Thanks!!
>>90057760
This came out in 88?
The Goncz-9 was only available for a very short time before they banned the fuck out of it. They made only a few hundred ever.
>>90058684
>We were on a picnic. Walked into a nightmare.
>Still waiting to wake up.
FUCK
>>90057760
>>90065155
>>90058797
What's so special about it?
>>90058930
>Daredevil on the roof
I'm betting Frank noticed him and just didn't let on.
>>90058930
>Your momma sews socks that smell.
ICE FUCKING BURN!
>>90058954
OH SHI-
>>90059146
>bass-ackwards
lol
>>90059355
>Who's bad?
lol the fuck?
>>90059540
>>90059562
>>90059581
>>90059602
That's a really unexpectedly fleshed out backstory for a minor character.
>>90059646
That dog is going to fuck his shit up.
>>90059721
>>90059739
This guy's plight is actually sympathetic.
>>90059788
Well that sucks.
>>90066707
First, it's as obscure as fuck real gun. Second, they would have had to have put it in the comic right as it was coming out.
Third, it's sort of a meme gun, like the tec-9. Hard to holster. Hard to use. Not very accurate. Never seen one in the wild.
Fourth, it's very visually distinctive.
Pic related.
>>90059817
ahh fuck
I actually feel sorry for that dude
>>90059867
>Punisher staring down cars
lol
>>90059680
Why did DD let him go?
>>90059474
Aww, does Frank have a friend? I think he does!
>>90057842
oh man... wtf was the colorist thinking with the shirt in the hydrant panel...
>>90060159
I wanna say that's supposed to be a Double Dragon arcade cabinet with a modified logo to avoid copyright issues, but I dunno.
Was there any other arcade game with a twisting dragon logo like that on the side?
thank you OP
>>90072971
Looks like a printing error.
>>90060324
>James Bond gadgets
lol
>>90060541
>khomeini
>qadhafi
oh wow
>>90060541
>that one guy who eats babies for lunch
>that one guy who humps camels
lol
>>90060579
That is a REALLY nicely designed page.
>>90060729
Well that's the end of him.
>>90060815
One of the most iconic Jim Lee pages.
>>90060840
That's some G.I. Joe shit.
>>90060890
This is so over the top that it's awesome.
>>90060860
>>90060976
He is really getting fucked up here.
>>90061097
So he actually gets away?
It seems like maybe they were trying to build this guy up as a major Punisher villain. Did they ever use him again?
>>90076421
Yeah, several times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper_(comics)
>>90061126
Nice.
>>90060561
Interesting that they changed the background of the title logo here and then completely did away with it here: >>90061156
>>90061205
Is that a reference to that shitty Spider-Man story?
>>90061245
Remember when Wolverine was cool?
>>90061225
Since when did anybody think Wolverine was dead?
>>90057842
>>90072971
>>90074367
It's a digital printing error. Here's what the originally published version looked like.
>>90057842
>>90078491
They also took the graffiti off the wall. What the fuck?
>>90061564
Unquestionably one of the best pages ever.
>>90061582
>2nd to last panel
>MUST NOT FAP!.jpg
>>90061604
>YOU'LL GET SQUAT!
Why is this so fucking funny?
>>90061641
One of Jim Lee's most iconic covers.
>>90061662
He's fucked now.
>>90061687
>Punisher fighting a crocodile barehanded
I... I don't even know what to say.
>>90062090
Something this awesome really puts into perspective just how bad modern comics are.
>>90061687
This is a REALLY nice looking page.
I dont get it, Jim Lee did the art or just finished it? So its not actually his drawning?
>>90062691
>>90061205
>>90062691
It's cool how this actually gets referenced later.
>>90080327
Carl Potts did like basic outlines of the art. Like rudimentary sketches to show poses and layouts and panel composition, etc. Then Jim Lee finished it. "Collaborative art teams" like that used to be more common. You rarely see them nowadays.
>>90062281
Nice page.
>>90062315
Nice. LOVE these pages.
>>90057760
>clips
>>90062350
This is fucking awesome.
>>90057867
>You know we can not do anything to reveal our true nature.
This is some serious foreshadowing. This'll be relevant in a big way in the next few issues of both this series and the main series that were coming out around the same time. They appear a few times in the issues after their debut in the first issue, but you don't really find out what they are until the next issue after the Wolverine arc.
>>90062247
Nice setup.
>>90062384
Loving this page.
>>90063978
No problem.
>>90070997
Love when they use "exotic" machinery like that. Thanks for the info.
>>90074348
No problem.
>>90060541
LETTERS PAGE
>>90061620
LETTERS PAGE
>>90062384
LETTERS PAGE
>>90063038
>>90063067
MORE REACTION IMAGES!
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>>90084772
Original version of that.
>>90085227
>>90085253
>>90085198
Old version that I cropped from the scan.
Bump for Frank
I've come to like the Punisher thanks to these storytimes, but I'm a lazy fuck and hate keeping track of whether he has a comic or not this month. Are there any sites or whatever that focus on Punisher comics/news?
>>90089235
He has a current series, but it sucks. There are 100s of Punisher comics from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s that are worth reading though.
bumping for others
>>90084433
>>90084461
>>90084495
I looked for the other letters pages and these appear to be the only ones that got scanned out of the first 7 issues.
>>90062431
Who's hair?
>>90076421
>>90096284
>FRANK TANK
This is awesome.
Punisher War Journal Vol. 1 - Civil War (2007) (digital) (Minutemen-Slayer)
http://www85.zippyshare.com/v/hDbBFpg6/file.html
Punisher War Journal Vol. 2 - Goin' Out West (2008) (digital) (Minutemen-Slayer)
http://www85.zippyshare.com/v/ygOJs2ak/file.html
Punisher War Journal Vol. 3 - Hunter-Hunted (2008) (digital TPB) (Minutemen-Slayer)
https://www.sendspace.com/file/cscezn
Punisher War Journal Vol. 4 - Jigsaw (2008) (digital TPB) (Minutemen-Slayer)
http://www.mediafire.com/download/alvq61sp1f1c1az/
Punisher War Journal Vol. 5 - Secret Invasion (2009) (digital TPB) (Minutemen-Slayer)
https://www.sendspace.com/file/qa7udp
>>90057656
thnx
>>90057669
>>90057692
,,, okey man, just don't hit me
>>90098222
No problem.
>>90097854
That's a completely different series and it sucks to boot.
>>90057656
Thank you.
>>90084433
Can anyone from /k/ confirm Skip Kirkpatrick's letter?
>>90105506
No problem.
>>90084495
Anyone know if the gun related technical info here is accurate?
>>90084461
Always like reading old letters pages.
What's everybody's favorite Punisher artist?
>>90119492
Klaus Janson, JRJR, and Goran Parlov
>>90058364
>>90058401
Listening to the song they're hearing on the radio while reading this makes it all that much better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGbciCh1LfI
>>90121483
Nice going posting this. I always wonder about the songs characters are listening to in comics.
>>90060815
That's a nice Frank.
>>90057656
>I: 214
I don't even like punpun but bump for effort
>>90126926
It's (pleasantly) surprising how many people still do long storytimes in spite of the longer cooldown.