Brash And Bloody: Reviewing Marvel Knights ‘Punisher’ #1 By Jimmy Palmiotti And Dan Panosian

Jesus. That was a lot to pack into one issue. I knew Marvel Knights’ Punisher #1 would be a grim, gritty and gruesome take on an already gnarly guy, and I wasn’t disappointed. This debut issue delivers a Punisher who is the embodiment of fear, attempting to wreak violent retribution down on the worst of New York’s crime lords, one Armando Molerro. But it also gives us so much plot, pace and action, you’ll be left very satisfied. If we did comic books of the week, this would definitely be in the running. 

Writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Dan Panosian give us a fearless Frank Castle driven not by justice or peace, but by a burning desire – fuelled by his personal tragedy – to rid the world of the rot. Straight out of the gates, we get Punisher happy to hurt. We open on him gripping a Molerro goon by the ankle in a dramatic mid-shot before the full-page reveal of a junk yard, with a very elaborate crusher dominating the page. A crusher oozing blood. In these two pages alone, the whole tone of this book is established. Now that’s good, economic storytelling. 

To say The Punisher goes through the mill in this first issue would be an understatement. He’s put to the test, and then some. And Panosian’s gritty art style is the perfect match to this story, complementing Palmiotti’s hardcore crime-soaked script. Furthermore, his character designs only further enhance an already great script. He infuses just enough sleaze in Molerro, who gives off the vibes of an Al Pacino and Joe Pesci lovechild in one particular close-up splash page. But maybe that’s just me. 

Panosian also coloured his own art, and his approach to this also helps establish a menacing New York. Muddy puddles of earthy browns, Cool, grey-blue skies juxtaposed with the scarlet soup splattering that comes whenever Frank Castle is around. It all builds a mise-en-scene of a New York full of the rich but here also full of deprivation and squalor.

With sleazy set-ups, a hungry FBI (Oh, did I not mention them? Yeah, them too) and a truly Herculean situation The Punisher finds himself in, The Punisher #1 is a pedal-to-the-metal, Scorsese-esque crime-thriller and a brash and bloody debut.

The Punisher #1 is out now from Marvel.