The Punisher by Greg Rucka vol. 1

Greg Rucka has written some good comics for Marvel and DC, and some great ones for Oni.  (Both volumes of “Whiteout” and “Queen and Country” for the latter if you’re wondering.)  Now, after a brief vacation from the industry — ended in part by “Atomic Robo,” go read the man’s introduction to vol. 6 if you don’t believe me — the man is back writing about the exploits of Marvel’s foremost villain killer Frank Castle.  Of course, in this post-Garth Ennis era, you really need a strong hook with the character if you’re going to make him work.  Jason Aaron has done this by having him interact with “mature readers” versions of familiar Marvel Universe villains in his run.  Rucka has taken a different tact, which is good, though I’m not sure if turning the title character into a supporting player in his own book is the right way to sustain a series.

For the first few issues, the Punisher comes off as a phantom.  This almost invisible avenger (pun intended) who suddenly pops into existence to deliver bloody vengeance onto those who have done wrong.  Initially, the bad guys are some thugs who crash a wedding and kill a whole lot of people, including the groom, but leave Rachel Cole, the bride with a bullet wound and enough bad memories to last a lifetime.  From there, we’re introduced to the supporting cast which includes lead detective Oscar, newly minted detective Walter, and Frontline reporter Norah.  All of whom have some connection to Mr. Castle.

I can see how people coming into this series expecting to see a focus on the new exploits of the title character may come away disappointed.  Though Rucka does feature him more as the story goes on, including a fight with the new Vulture, and an encounter with a child who has some absent parents, it never really feels that the story is about him.  You really get the feeling that this particular iteration of the title is meant to focus on the effects of the character on those around him.  This is most effectively shown in the back-up story to the first issue where we see how Walter got his detective badge — by being quietly managed by the Punisher into a situation that saved a class of fifth graders and took down some bad, bad drug dealers.  As a result, he’s now working willingly?/unwillingly? with the vigilante by supplying him with police info on current cases.

That’s a relationship that I’d like to see explored.  Especially after how Rucka frames the event as Walter reporting his version of the events to his superiors, while we’re shown what actually went down.  Same with Nora, who winds up accidentally rescuing Castle one evening and then finds herself as a reporter with a story that she can’t quite bring herself to report.  Rachel’s story isn’t quite laid out yet, but Rucka does a great job capturing her recovery from this traumatic event and were I betting man, I’d say he’s setting her up for a kind of “Does she have what it takes to be the Punisher?” plotline.  I’d read that story too.  It’s just that none of this is really about the main character.  Mike Carey proved that it’s possible to turn your main character into a kind of a supporting one in “Lucifer,” but he at least set up a really good central idea for that title with the fallen angel going into the God business for himself.  Here, there’s no real central idea about the main character beyond his actions as a catalyst for the actions of those around him.  That may develop into something worthwhile in the long run, but here it reads as more potential than actual quality.

Art is from Marco Checchetto with Max Fiumara handling the lead-in story from “Spider Island.”  Checcetto’s work is a lot cleaner here than I remember from him previously, and even though there seems to be an element of photo-referencing in his work, it doesn’t appear that he’s bound by it.  Which is a good thing.

So the bottom line is that this isn’t a bad collection by any means, but it does have a vaguely unsatisfying feel about it.  As someone who has been spoiled by Ennis’ run, I can appreciate the effort put into finding a different approach to take with the character.  I’m just not sure that any approach should involve relegating Mr. Castle to a supporting role.  My misgivings may turn out to be unfounded as things go on, but that’s where they are right now.