Punisher: Soviet

Wow I can't believe I've been so lax on posting here.  My apologies.  But with the current state of the world I thought it would be nice to catch up on all my various blogs and at least attempt to make a few posts.  Currently there are only a handful of current titles I'm buying. Mainly because of the price per issue and my limited budget, but also I'm pretty much been turned off by both Marvel and DC's continually restarting and reconstituting their main universe continuities. So I've been staying away from a lot of the main stream story lines and I likely will never go back.  That being said Garth Ennis, who if you've read a few of my posts, like my last one from way back in July, is one of my favorite writers, and mix with it that Ennis has penned another Punisher title and well I couldn't hand over my money fast enough.  The last issue comes out next week, so I have no idea if I'm going to get a copy anytime soon with the coronavirus shutting everything down, but here is the basic gist of the series with no major spoilers.

Someone is knocking of Russian mobsters.  Everyone assumes it's the Punisher, but it's not.  It's the Soviet. 

 One part Punisher mayhem, one part history lesson, Ennis weaves a tale that's up to par with just about anything else he's written and the Jacen Burrows art is fantastic. 

 There are a  few variant covers to chase if that's your thing, but the regular Paolo Rivera covers are very well done.

I can't wait to see how this one ends.  And next up for the Punisher is another mini series where he faces off against Barracuda again, although not written by Ennis.  Highly recommended, it does carry the Explict Content banner, and for good reason, so keep that in mind.

Punisher: The Platoon

 As I've matured, ahem alright let's say aged, I've found I follow artists less and writers more.  As a matter of fact I tend to follow the guys who are both artists and writers like Terry Moore, Sam Keith, and John Bryne.  But when Garth Ennis puts his name on a book there's a 100% chance I'm going to pick it up.  Ennis made his name on Preacher and quickly became a fan favorite.  He writes bold vivid stories and pulls no punches.  He's themes and scripts are not for the easily offended or the faint hearted.

When I heard he was putting out a new Punisher story it didn't matter what it was about I was all in.  I won't put any spoilers in the post. I will say if you love Ennis' storytelling it's worth picking up.  Issue 3 comes out today and marks the halfway point for the series.  You can already pre-order the collected edition if you want to go that route and wait. 

The story is a prequel to the 2003 Born series and almost a direct sequel to the Valley Forge, Valley Forge story line found in Punisher Vol. 7 issues 55-60.  That story arc would be Ennis' last on the Punisher. 

Platoon returns the team up of Ennis and Goran Parlov.  I absolutely love Parlov's art.  He has a great style for war comics and did a great job with Ennis on the Valley Forge and other Punisher story arcs.  I'm really hoping Parlov and Ennis team up on other works as well.  In my opinion Parlov is a natural successor to the late, great Steve Dillon.  So far I've really enjoyed the story and I'm sure I won't be disappointed in the end.  I'm getting a hankering to pull out some old Punisher and reread those old issues.