Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
The Trial of the Punisher #2 of 2
Marvel Comics
Guggenheim, Suayan & Gho
Sometimes a random mini-series or one-shot ends up being an impressive hidden gem. This two-issue mini-series came very close to being a classic but narrowly misses that category. This issue primarily is testimony about Frank Castle and whether or not he's insane. While this is occurring, the reader is anxiously awaiting the reveal of the reason that Frank surrendered in the first place. The build up is good and the reveal is very good but the race to conclude the comic book leaves something to be desired. This was a near miss in greatness.
Frank watches as various criminals take the stand to offer their account of Frank acting as the executioner in so many situations. Frank begins to ask his lawyer questions about the trial's timeline. This leads to two interesting sets of testimony.
The first witness that is brought in to drag out the trial is Matt Murdock. This was a surprising and welcome addition to the comic book. Murdock gives his account of Frank, but from the Matt Murdock perspective while the artwork shows that its Daredevil doing the interfacing with The Punisher. Only at the end when the comic book ran out of space did I begin to wonder if these scenes were needed. They seemed to take up too much valuable real estate.
The second witness is that of Frank Castle. Frank runs out of patience quickly but he uses this opportunity to push forward his plan. This is where the comic book shines. The only problem is that the book wraps up way too quickly.
After the reader understands why Frank wanted to be arrested the book sparkles. However, all of the rationale behind his actions is never explained. The reader isn't clued in what all the writing was on his paper or how he was able to determine where things were in the courthouse. The book ends with a bang and that works with a lot of Punisher stories but not this one.
The artwork is good. The book has a darkness to it that works well for the story. The characters have good depictions that help to sell the dialogue and set the mood. The book and the story are greatly enhanced by the artwork.
The Trial of the Punisher is worth picking up. The story is a good one. There are some good characterizations and there is a nice trick at the end. The book just falls short of the "classic" label as the ending just doesn't tie all of the threads together well enough. Give it a shot.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles
