Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
PunisherMax #12
MAX Comics (Marvel Comics)
Aaron, Dillon & Hollingsworth
Prior to going on a five month hiatus this book was probably one of the top three books I picked up each month. The layoff soured me somewhat, but with a couple of issues back in the saddle and an issue for a new arc has me fully sold again. The arc titled "Frank" begins with another tremendous writing effort. Aaron finds a mix or narrative and dialogue while he also manages to tell a story set in the present that is rooted through flashbacks. The book is simply a terrific read that doesn't have a misstep at any point.
Frank is in prison. His fight with Bullseye has left him badly injured. The police haul him to jail where he is bed ridden. The question here would be: why is he in what seems to be a maximum security level prison without a trial? It doesn't matter because inmates no matter where Frank is held want him dead. Guards couldn't care less about Frank and would love to see him dead as well. This presents the problem where Frank is defenseless to the throngs of potential killers on their way to pay him a visit.
Frank isn't even sure he wants to defend himself. Frank is deep in thought about what Bullseye told him. Frank remembers back to when he was discharged from duty in Vietnam. Frank, again in a hospital, meets someone who finds the real fear in Frank isn't dying in some puddle of mud, but living. Frank is afraid to go home and face his family and be a husband and a father. Frank is too much about war. Bullseye seems to have jarred this memory loose in Frank and now he wants the inmates to have their way with him because he can't seem to live with this vision of his family. Frank would rather remember his family lying dead in a pool of blood than staring blankly at their distant loved one.
Dillon brings down the house with his art in this issue. There is virtually no action in the issue but he captures the emotions so well. For example, there is a two panel sequence where Frank ponders fighting and his fist goes from clenched to limp with such great detail and emotion. It's as if you can see the muscles relax on the page. Dillon's style may not be for everyone, but there are few artists that capture Frank Castle quite in this way and I find it to be brilliant.
I love the direction of this book. Frank is truly a loner. However, Frank is also doubting himself and his decisions about his family. Frank is literally hitting the bottom and he can't make up his mind if the fight is worth continuing or not. This book is brilliant and this arc looks to be no different.
5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
