Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Review | Tagged: frank castle, Guiu Vilanova, HRL, Marvel Comics, Matthew Rosenberg, superheroes, The Punisher, war, war machine

The Punisher #220 Review: Hit the Breaks, Catch These Metal Hands

The Punisher discovers that Petrov is putting much of the Chernayan population into concentration camps, and Frank uses the War Machine armor to tear through the camps until Petrov responds.

Eventually, Petrov sends a response worthy of the Punisher.

Here, we get to see Frank Castle get creative with the War Machine armor at his disposal, and we also see that Matthew Rosenberg definitely understands the logos and ethos of the Punisher.

Without giving anything away, Frank Castle pulls off some very "Frank Castle" moves in this comic. The Punisher is ready to die at any moment; he just wants that death to count. Does it look like he's about to be killed? He will kill the nearest evil bastard. Is he being pursued by some of the other evil bastards? Turn around and use the emergency breaks to bash in someone's head.

That last details are also where he gets really creative with the armor. There is also an instance of Frank using pure G-force to kill one of Petrov's troops. He also uses it to the full extent that he can. Frank Castle truly goes on a full warpath in this comic — many of Petrov's men fall to the Punisher in this comic.

Rosenberg definitely understands how over-the-top this comic needs to be for its premise. We are far from the mean streets and abandoned warehouses that the Punisher usually prowls. We are in a vaguely Eastern European nation in a set of power armor; blow a bunch of stuff up, use the flamethrower, and chuck a tank at another tank. It's not a brilliant comic, but it is a lot of fun and definitely is a Punisher comic.

Guiu Vilanova's artwork continues to be gritty, and he displays the damage Frank deals out with the War Machine armor in its full glory. He also handles the gore with some creativity. Lee Loughridge's color art is dim and grimy enough to match the setting and plot. This definitely looks like a Punisher comic should.

Also, Frank Castle looks even more like Jon Bernthal in this issue.

Punisher #220 is another really fun entry in the saga of Frank Castle, and it makes full use of the War Machine in both potential and creative usage. The art team fires on all cylinders, too, and this comic comes recommended. Pick it up.

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