With Jigsaw out of the way, Punisher is moving onto its second story arc. Benjamin Percy has not held back with the bloody violence in his reset of Frank Castle, who is still regaining his composure after being mind-controlled. As if killing criminals might put him back on track, he’s backed by Micro and ready to enact justice. More of a force of nature than a man with a gun, Punisher #6 introduces a new deadly villain and sharp art from Farid Karami.
If you’ve been following along, Percy’s run on Punisher continues to draw from past issues, including the Red Band miniseries. That’s a welcome sight, as Punisher #6 opens with Detective Pluto chasing a car and taking fire. With panels slicing across the page diagonally, the chaos of the moment is felt, especially when Plut finds the car aflame and all the perps dead. Percy and Karami make it abundantly clear that Punisher is playing for keeps and will kill on sight. The cold open also puts Pluto at odds with Punisher, which should be a fun cat-and-mouse game as the story arc unfolds.
From there, Percy sets up a new reader-friendly experience, with Micro catching us up on their exploits and Pluto checking in with her commanding officer. Intercut with these moments is a new kind of threat: A bullet that strikes from out of nowhere at incredible speed and precision. A nine-panel page shows us glimpses of this half-man, half-machine enemy, with intervening panels depicting his dirty work. Might he be even more efficient at enacting justice than Punisher?
No mercy!
Credit: Marvel
Once again, Punisher is fairly tight-lipped in this issue. He does smile a bit when wielding a big knife at one point, but mostly he’s robotic by design. I’m not sure how sustainable this is over time, but a deeper connection to the main character is going to be needed to keep your interest up. If you’re looking for that deeper connection, maybe come back later, as he’s the silent type when it comes to Micro and his detective work.
Karami is the perfect artist for a book like this, continuing the previous arc’s great attention to detail in backgrounds and characters. A showstopper second-to-last page features a bird’s-eye view of the city with panels laid over buildings to convey the direction of a bullet that’s quite cool. It’s a bit like the motorbikes in Tron, with the final panel showing a bullet bursting from a panel in an exciting way. Gore and blood are less graphic here, but the kills themselves are shocking, largely due to Karami’s depiction of the bullet exiting these characters.
Punisher #6 succeeds by embracing the idea of Frank Castle as an elemental force rather than a traditional protagonist. Percy keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, tying together threads from previous issues while introducing compelling new threats and tensions. Karami’s artwork is a standout, delivering inventive layouts, cinematic action, and brutal violence with remarkable precision. While Frank’s emotional distance may become a challenge over time, this issue excels as a tense, stylish setup for what could be a memorable showdown.
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