Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Punishermax #7Punishermax #7
MAX (Marvel Comics)
Aaron, Dillon & Hollingsworth

The Punisher and Bullseye don’t actually fight in this issue as it seemed like they might at the end of the previous issue. Instead, Bullseye begins to live as Frank has to get a feel for the man behind the Punisher. While this is going on it seems like Frank is in a dark and vulnerable place. It’s a good issue but I was a little thrown off by the characterizations in it and how the pieces fit together.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsFrank escaped from the attempted hit by Bullseye last issue and visits his doctor friend. Frank finds more compassion in this go-round as opposed to the tough love and argument the pair had in the previous issue. Frank is presented as a man that is still on a mission but one that sees him trading his soul more and more everyday. His constant need to push himself now has him barely sleeping. You would think with all of the physical and mental torrent he is bringing onto himself that he would be very easy to track down and take down. However, this is not the case.

Bullseye is having trouble killing Frank. Sure, he has only attempted one hit on him but he admits to Fisk that he must resort to living as Frank now to put him into the full mindset of his opponent. I found this very odd because of the weakened condition that Frank is in and because of the level of expertise that Bullseye commands as an assassin. It would seem that Bullseye wouldn’t need to go to these great lengths to find and kill Frank.

Bullseye begins wearing Frank’s clothes, sleeping in his abandoned safe houses, visiting the grounds where Frank has killed people and even sleeping next to Frank’s family’s tombstones. Bullseye has a strange personality in this issue. Sure he acts a little insane for most of the issue but there are parts where he is so deliberate and methodical that he couldn’t possible be out of his mind. I found this back and forth to be strange.

Dillon’s art is awesome. Whether it was a good idea or not to flip-flop Bullseye’s personality, Dillon pulls this off very well. The facial expressions between the crazy, flippant or deadly serious variations are conveyed very well. This is an excellent companion to the story.

This is another great piece to the larger story. There isn’t a lot of the Punisher acting like the Punisher but the story has put him in a position where it looks like he can be easily taken down and that makes for some good drama. I’m looking forward to the Punisher-Bullseye confrontation.
4 out of 5 Geek Goggles