Writer: Garth Ennis Artists: Steve Dillon (p), Jimmy Palmiotti (i)
Publisher: Marvel Knights
Plot: Frank Castle is back from the dead, and back to his old ways; Frank announces the return to his "war" by killing the entire Gnucci crime family. Wacky hi-jinks ensue.
This was a funny book. I mean, yeah, it was violent, what with the murders, burnings, decapitations, mutilations, and bear maulings and all, but it was also hilarious!
At the beginning of the book is an article by Ennis about how violent stories like the Punisher and Dirty Harry are pure fantasy, and should not be taken seriously. He certainly doesn't. The violence is so over the top and so well timed it's like slapstick comedy. Like when an elite team of soldiers tries to capture a criminal called The Russian. All we see is the same exterior shot of The Russian's house, while the sounds of violence fill the panel. The scene ends with one of the soldiers running for his life, naked, and crying for mommy. The entire sequence is a parody of the "elite soldier team" cliché one often finds in comics and movies. The joke, including the set-up, takes 5 pages. It's a textboot example of how to do a joke in a comic book.
The rest of the soldiers were killed, by the way. We see their mangled bodies on the following page.
Don't forget that this is an incredibly violent book. It's not quite as extreme or as twisted as Preacher, Ennis and Dillon's previous collaboration, but it's dammed close. The Punisher seen here is the very core of the character: He kills everyone he thinks is evil.
Not "bad", or "wrong", but evil. For Frank Castle, the world is filled with scum. This scum comes in the form of criminals who prey on the innocent. Castle divides the human race between predators and prey. And he's protecting the prey. As the Punisher, Frank Castle kills everybody and anybody he feels deserves to die. He gives his all in this "crusade". At one point, he steadily walks towards a crook who empties his gun into Castle's Kevlar covered chest. Castle snaps the crook's neck, then passes out from blood loss. Having already died, Castle has no fear of death. Having seen the angels, he has no fear of hell. This makes the Punisher one of the most intellectually, not to mention physically, frightening characters in comic books.
But you can't take it seriously. It's impossible. The action in this book crosses the line from plausible to ridiculous. You're not shocked by the violence because you know it's not real. You don't miss the people who get killed, because they're just drawings on paper. And what you do know about them is enough to make you not like them. By the time the story ends, you're happy that Ma Gnucci dies, (Oh, like you thought it could end any other way!)
Some of the characters, though, are worth caring about. The Punisher's neighbors are an odd but likeable group of people. There's Joan, the mousy young woman who's scared of everything. (Her dialogue is written slightly smaller than everyone else's. It's a subtle, yet effective way of giving her a soft, quiet voice.) There's Mr Bumpo, whose morbid obesity helps save the Punisher's life. And then there's Spacker Dave, a loud-mouthed punk who's in over his head and loving it. (I just love saying that name out loud. Try it! "Spacker Dave!")
In fact, this mini-series boasts a fairly large cast. In addition to the Gnucci family and Castle's neighbors, we have three vigilantes who want to join the Punisher, and two cops assigned to take them all down. Each of these people gets the time they deserve. We come to know them as completely as is necessary. By that, I mean we know enough about them to form an opinion, and have a feeling when we see their ultimate fate. It's the supporting characters that give this story such depth and emotion. Face it, the Punisher is a pretty one-dimensional character. He needs a large and quirky cast to play off of and react to him.
So, in brief: "Welcome Back Frank" is incredibly violent to the point of being funny. The supporting characters are what really make this book. Dillon does his usually fantastic art job, with no little help from Jim Palmiotti. Ennis has given fans back the "real" Punisher. And he's probably made a few new ones too.
