A. Rivera reviewed Punisher Noir by Frank Tieri
Review of 'Punisher Noir' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This was indeed a very good treatment for the Punisher character. Marvel has this new (well, new to me) series of alternate settings for their Marvel characters in a noir era, the 1920s to 1930s or so. This Punisher volume is my first foray into it, and it was very good. The Punisher is just made for a time when mobsters ruled the land. After all, Frank Castle's quest is his war against organized crime, and this era was sort of a Golden Age for the mob. The dark gritty art complements the story very nicely. In this setting, Frank Castelione is a veteran of the Great War trying to hold on to his small family business, a grocery store that is barely staying afloat. To make things worse, his wife has terminal cancer, and he may be losing his son to the local gangs. And if things were not …
This was indeed a very good treatment for the Punisher character. Marvel has this new (well, new to me) series of alternate settings for their Marvel characters in a noir era, the 1920s to 1930s or so. This Punisher volume is my first foray into it, and it was very good. The Punisher is just made for a time when mobsters ruled the land. After all, Frank Castle's quest is his war against organized crime, and this era was sort of a Golden Age for the mob. The dark gritty art complements the story very nicely. In this setting, Frank Castelione is a veteran of the Great War trying to hold on to his small family business, a grocery store that is barely staying afloat. To make things worse, his wife has terminal cancer, and he may be losing his son to the local gangs. And if things were not bad enough Dutch Schultz wants him to pay "protection" money. What is a man like Frank to do? He takes justice into his own hands of course. Fans of the series will be happy to see familiar villains like Jigsaw and Barracuda in a new light, and there is even a twist or two to make this a very good revenge tale. Only sad thing for me is that it was only four issues (this volume brings the four issues together). I did find myself wishing there was more coming. In the meantime, I may look up other volumes in the series. If you enjoy The Punisher, or you are a Marvel fan, you need to read this. Fans of noir fiction and revenge tales may appreciate this even if they are not comic book fans. It definitely maintains that noir essence.
As another note, in terms of appeal factors, readers who enjoyed graphic novels like Road to Perdition, or even A History of Violence might enjoy this volume as well.
