Hey first off I just want to say I absolutely adore your analysis on the punisher comics! Round of applause all around for those, they are brilliant! This does lead to a question though I assure you. I'm picking punisher back up and it's been a long time since I've read from it I'm looking for some good stories in his line. Any recommendations?
Hello and thank you! Youāre very flattering. This will be a short reply because I am going to be working on a full, proper recommended reading page once I have more free time. This is a very clipped version, for which I apologize, but I promise to have a full list with issue numbers/etc soon!
For the time being, thereās both 616 and MAX. For MAX recs, I will point you here! For 616 it gets more complicated.
If you want 616 runs that are similar to MAX, the best way to go is Greg Rucka or Garth Ennisā early Punisher work (beginning with Welcome Back, Frank). Other 616 runs get very difficult to recommend, in my opinion, because certain people donāt like an added silliness that comes from Frank being part of the whole Marvel Universe, and other people do! Also, a lot of the more recent-ish stories are not the sort Iād suggest, so it means clawing way back into older issues which arenāt perfect simply due to not aging well.
Personally, while itās not perfect, I enjoy Rick Remenderās run on the character. This leads into Franken-Castle, which many people balk at, but I always found it to be very self-aware in how it was having fun and doing something unique.
If you want to go way back, early Punisher by Steven Grant (Circle of Blood), Mike Baron (volume one), Chuck Dixon (War Zone) and Carl Potts (Punisher War Journal) are enjoyable! Keep in mind these are older comics, and tend to go towards the overdramatic. However, they do lay a lot of groundwork for things Ennis and modern writers reused. Most of these long, early series go up and down in quality as creative teams shift around and I intend to break apart ideal arcs when I make a proper page. Marvel Knights also by Chuck Dixon is also an entertaining team book featuring Frank and other Marvel characters; itās a bit silly too, and a much better version of Frank on a/versus a team. On that noteā¦
Things I donāt recommend are the current Punisher run by Nathan Edmondson, Frankās recent appearance on the Thunderbolts teams, or Matt Fractionās War Journal. The latter has some all right moments, but generally the run is a bit odd for reasons that will take awhile to get into!
Teams-ups/books focusing on Frank and other Marvel characters that I suggest are: Marvel Knights, Powerless, Frankās appearances in Moon Knight, his appearances in Daredevil (however the actual book Punisher vs Daredevil is rather lacking), and Captain America: Blood & Glory, specifically.
Hope that helps in the meantime! Thanks again!