“He stands amid carnage, one man, rightly, wrongly — dedicated to the waging of a lonely, unending battle. One man who has set himself above all laws, all codes, but his own. One man… Stan Lee presents… The Punisher.”
Sheesh! If that isn’t enough to sent goose bumps down your spine, I just don’t know what will.

What can I say? I really, thoroughly enjoyed this book. At first I was a bit sceptical about having to read the 25 comics contained therein in boring black and white, but after the first book [The Amazing Spider-man #129, Feb1974, also the very first appearance of the Punisher - or Punny as Spider-man calls him] I quickly had to re asses that statement.

What you have here is a compilation of stand-alones and sets that ebbs and flows coherently in a 568 page Graphic Novel. It follows the introduction of the Punisher, taking on Spidey, through to him getting his own title, fighting and sometimes aligning to the likes of Spider-man, Captain America and The Daredevil. All the time handing out his own brand of justice to all kinds of underground scumbags with true Punisher finesse. It also depicts his stints in Rycker Island Prison, where he’s poisoned my a mind-altering chemical by Scarface and how he then goes on a drug-induced rampage, shooting at jaywalkers and litterbugs alike. His almost induction into the crime-fighting “The Trust”, his battles against The Kingpin, The Tarantula and many more adventures.

Front cover By: GIL KANE
Writers: GERRY CONWAY, ARCHIE GOODWIN, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, FRANK MILLER, BILL MANTLO, STEVEN GRANT, MIKE W. BARR.
Pencils: ROSS ANDRU, TONY DEZUNIGA, KEITH POLLARD, FRANK MILLER, AL MILGROM, GREG LAROCQUE, MIKE ZECK, FRANK SPRINGER

This book collects: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #129, #134-135, #161-162, #174-175, #201-202 and ANNUAL #15; GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN #4; MARVEL PREVIEW PRESENTS #2; MARVEL SUPER ACTION #1; CAPTAIN AMERICA #241; DAREDEVIL #182-184; SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #81-83; and PUNISHER #1-5.

My rating: 4/5
Pages: 568
Format: Black and White Trade paperback
Rating: Safe for teens and up

Oh, did I mention you can order this book and many more from gothamCentral.co.za ? -sorry joe, couln't resist.