Let’s be Frank. The Punisher is a tired character. (See what I did there.)
Lower your pistols of revenge, my fellow geeks, and accept that truth. How many more Punisher stories can Marvel squeeze out before they step back and notice how badly they’ve beaten the dead horse? Don’t get me wrong, I am a Punisher fan, have been since his debut. The idea of a man so broken by his circumstances that he becomes a killing machine was instantly engaging. As the years wore on, the stories involving Punisher rose to great heights, and often crashed down to awful depths. Regardless of good or bad, the stories were all the same. Punisher mad. Punisher kill. Punisher almost dies. Punisher escapes.
Enter Trial of the Punisher, another mediocre story about a character who has long outlived his usefulness. This tale, penned by Marc Guggenheim, with art from Leinil Yu, has to do with Punisher walking into a police station with the tortured, murdered body of a district attorney. Castle is immediately arrested and handed over to a wanna-be tough guy cop who berates him. Cue the sexy defense lawyer, and then the trial. Something bigger is going on. Punisher has a plan. He’s out to get somebody, and this is just an elaborate ruse. Really, though… who cares?
It’s not just the lack of original material that kills Trial of the Punisher – the entire debut issue is a sloppy retread of old Punisher scenes, and one of the most egregious is when a shrink comes to visit Punisher in prison. The idea is to see if Frank is crazy. After running down a long list of absolute psychos that this doctor interviewed, including one who cut off his own eyelids and those of his eighteen month old baby, the doctor is so frazzled by Punisher’s stories that he pisses himself and checks into rehab. Really? It’s a little much.
The only recent Punisher story of any real validity, was the run from Greg Rucka. Rucka stripped away the Punisher and presented readers with a story about Frank Castle. Guggenheim has no interest in that. This is all Punisher in his brooding, dark, clichéd tough guy glory. Punisher pouts, talks tough, looks grizzled, and is completely boring. As the story rolls on, it’s hard to muster any feelings for the outcome, mostly because that outcome is pretty predictable. The supporting players are also standard one note characters. From the bloodthirsty DA looking to stick the death penalty on Punisher to the tough talking no nonsense defense lawyer, pretty much everyone involved here feel like failed SVU characters.
Yu’s art doesn’t help. The attempt, I believe, was something dark, moody, not noir, but more a feeling of urban decay. What Yu really communicates is his love of unnecessary shading and a desire to make each panel a frozen slice of artwork that never flows together. Whenever Yu pencils something, he always makes it look like characters have skin made of leather and metal. That doesn’t change here, and the overall effect is distracting.
As much as it pains me to say it, it’s time for Castle to go. Let those who have penned his best stories come together for a year-long story arc that culminates in his death. Let Punisher go gracefully, let him step out while he still has dignity.
(2 Art, 2 Story)
