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April 2008
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Matt Fraction, Ariel Olivetti, et
al., Punisher: War
Journal (Marvel,
2007- ), $2.99
by James Moore
Contrary to a certain guttergeek's
weak-kneed pleading
on its behalf, Marvel
Comics’ Civil
War miniseries
was overrated, inane, nigh-incomprehensible--so bad, in
fact, that a redialoged parody floating around the internet has more
coherence and dramatic heft. Nonetheless, the resulting
manure left some fertile storytelling ground. One such
flower from this muck was the return of skull-chested
vigilante Frank Castle, a.k.a. The Punisher to the
Marvel Universe, after an exile to the pages of Garth
Ennis’ adults only series, in Matt Fraction’s biting
satire Punisher
War Journal.
The series functions as an almost Venture Bros.-esque take on the Marvel Universe.
Fraction writes Punisher War Journal
with tongue firmly planted in
cheek. It treats the likes of Stilt Man with all the
respect they deserve, which is a missile to the crotch.
Fraction take is actually more nuanced than that, while he
does rub the new grim n’ bureaucratic status quo in the
faces of the also-rans that pass through the book he
clearly has compassion for those characters doomed to be
trampled over and forgotten in Iron Mans New World Order.
Fraction’s Punisher is in many ways such a character. If he
had his druthers he would be waging his war on crime
unmolested by guys in animal costumes and cops in spandex,
but instead finds himself neck deep in pervert suit antics,
dealing with it the only way he knows how; extreme
violence. The book gets a lot of mileage just mapping the
Punisher's place in the Marvel Universe. He’s an invisible
terror to D-list criminals, a footnote to the epics, and
possessed of an almost pathological awe for Captain America
while wrestling with the hard truth that he can never live
up to his hero despite all they have in common. Fraction
takes what could be a weakness, this entrenchment in a
wider universe, and instead builds his stories scaffolding
from it. Aside from the wrestling with what Captain America
symbolizes, Fraction uses Spider-Man as an almost Jiminy
Crickett figure for Castle, old Champions (snicker) villain
Rampage as his gadget generating sidekick, and G.W. Bridge,
as Fraction puts it, the Coyote to the Punisher’s
Roadrunner.
It is also a book about Castles effect on that same
universe, as well as the consequences of his actions.
Fractions’ Punisher is every bit the symbol that Captain
America is. He represents a line in the sand for the
heroes, and a boogeyman for super villains. At the same
time, Fraction accounts for the wreckage his protagonist
leaves in his wake from the death of his sidekicks
girlfriend, to a super-villain support group for those who
survive the Punisher’s wrath, to psychopathic imitators.
While PWJ does have thematic depth for the casual
reader, there is lots of the old kick/’splode and a sizable
dollop of snark. It wallows in the absurd from wacky
gadgets like a gun that shoots swords, to gags about the
Gibbon crumping. It is a fun book that revels in its quirky milieu,
with a refreshingly skewed perspective.
Multiple artists have illustrated War Journal who despite their differences in style
have kept the art quality at a consistent level. The
primary artist for War Journal has been Ariel Olivertti who used a
painterly approach that looks like it could have come from
venerable comics magazine, Heavy Metal. His slightly exaggerated style, and
rich color textures convey both the humor and the gravitas
necessary to carry the books tone. Mike Deodoto makes the
largest impression amongst the fill-in artists, showing a
surprising capacity for comedy (he already had grit down)
in the sublimely tragicomic funeral of Stilt-Man.
War Journal,
while perhaps a little mired in continuity, is nicely
black-humored read that easily transcends its roots as a
crossover spin-off.
