The Punisher (Red Band) #3 – Lost and Found

The Punisher (Red Band) #3:

The Punisher might be back, but Frank Castle is fighting back without something truly important – his memories.

After washing up in New York, Frank can’t remember what he was doing on a drug-smuggling ship or basically anything else for that matter.

All he has are his instincts and his rage – that will never go away. Oh and whatever device Kingpin is using to control him.

Creative Team:

WRITER: Benjamin Percy

Artist: Julius Ohta

Color Artists: Yen Nitro

Letters: VC’s Cory Petit

Publisher: MARVEL COMICS

The Art:

Matt: Red Band indeed! This issue shows Frank at his absolute gnarliest as he is fighting to regain his memories and doing whatever it takes in order to regain himself. The moment this issue kicks off, Ohta and Nitro showcase in gruesome detail the brutality this comic promised. From scenes of heads being exploded to Frank digging inside his own mind, this issue is not for the squeamish. Amongst the intense action, the duo does an incredible job making Frank feel larger than life at the same time. The way they feature him in the various panels as someone who is rivaling Kingpin in stature is setting us up for something huge on the horizon.

Michael: From the very first page, you get why this is a Red Band issue and why an uncensored Punisher comic is the best thing since sliced bread.

I repeat – this is NOT. a book for the weak hearted. My god, the violence, the gore, the … PUNISHER.

The art supports the action and the writing like no other. Ohta has this amazing ability to not only be gritty but create these bloody splash pages that should be hanging on the walls at some twisted version of the Louvre.

The close-ups on Frank’s twisted yet tormented face and the actions he takes here could not be conveyed to the reader without incredible work from Ohta!

The Writing:

Matt: Percy continues to lay out an incredibly well fleshed out and layered story. There are four key players in this run, and all get their time to shine. He does it in a way in which you feel the weight of the stakes at play, and it never gets confusing. Kingpin, Tombstone, Frank, and the cops are all headed toward an intersection in which Benjamin is making a play out as though we are watching a slow-moving car crash.

Michael: The inter-layered stories of Kingpin, Punisher and Tombstone are some of the best and most compelling i’ve read in some time.

Percy is penning a masterpiece that knows when to lay into the dialogue and when to let the art do the talking – which it does quite a bit here.

The backstory of how we got to this twisted point in Frank’s life is also as compelling as one can get. This issue is simply everything a Punisher fan could ever dream of.

Overall Grade: 10/10

Matt: 10/10- Punisher Red Band is putting Frank’s brutality and the gruesome world of Marvel on full display. The art is shining incredibly bright, and Percy has woven these intersecting plot lines so intelligently together that you cannot look away at all.

Michael: 10/10 – As far as Punisher books go, this is as close to perfection as I believe I’ll ever see in my lifetime. The art shines and the writing and torment are something truly amazing and absolutely felt by the reader from start to finish.