the dying years

drive-by readings

Punisher: Noir #2 (Marvel) "Punisher & Son" Frank Tieri Paul Azaceta Nick Filardi Joe Sabino Tim Bradstreet (cover) Dennis Calero (variant cover)

the Noir flavor of Marvel is getting a good push, and its probably a good thing not to overload the market with Noir titles just to capitalize on sales numbers (if ever) - but you never know with these marketing geniuses. Punisher is the perfect candidate for the Noir treatment, and let's hope they keep delivering interesting yarns.

last issue was the setup - Frank Castelione doesn't want to pay protection money so he gets on the bad side of legendary mobster Dutch Schultz. Schultz' men either get killed by the Punisher or get their fingers chopped off by Schultz. hmmmmm, not much choice there. so he calls in the big guys (gleefully, its Barracuda and Jigsaw), and ends up with a dead Frank Castle on the floor. oh, wait, i know what's gonna happen next - he'll be resurrected by angels and appointed a demon killer. no? really??

Frank Tieri packs a lot of stuff in here, although its not wholly original as Detective Soap makes an appearance - a slight changeup with him being able to figure out Castle immediately - and the Russian. the latter is not as funny as Garth Ennis' creation, and i was thinking he'd appear as in Coney Island later down the line. but apparently he's also dead at this point. bummer.

drive-by readings: Daredevil #500

Daredevil #500 (Marvel) "The Return of the King: Conclusion" Ed Brubaker Ann Nocenti Michael Lark Stefano Gaudiano David Aja Klaus Janson Chris Samnee Paul Azaceta Matt Hollingsworth Chris Eliopulos Marko Djurdjevic/Geof Darrow/Gabriel Dell'Otto/Alex Ross/Patrick Zircher (covers)

and we all thought this Brubaker character couldn't top what Brian Michael Bendis did for our favorite blind lawyer. he also won a what - an Eisner, you say? geddouddaheah!

just kidding. super big fan of Bru, from Sleeper to X-Men to Criminal to Captain America, and to this emphatic conclusion of his Daredevil run. for the first time in a long time, Matt takes a long hard look at his life, and finally makes a decision that has been hinted before but everyone just seemed to go "no, he won't do it ... would he??" and when it happens, they all go "well, yeah ... its about time."

this issue also delves into the long-awaited origin of living-la-vida-loca martial arts sensei Master Izo - who apparently, is a much greater figure than Stick (who's uh, dead for years now, right? - or has he been reincarnated as a blind Asian delivery guy?). the Daredevil/Izo team up is like Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, only a gazillion times cooler and much more badass. i want Master Izo to be my granddaddy!! he's crude, cunning, devious and insolent and he'll beat up all the bullies in my class!

and Kingpin ... Kingpin ... name me a great DD storyline that didn't have Wilson Fisk's fat (now svelte) ass in it. he may not be as have as much weight (pun intended) as years back when he ruled the underworld, but Brubaker still manages to fit him in such a way it makes sense with his current situation (stripped of his power, demoralized, desperate to find meaning in life). so it stands to reason having Matt take away his golden opportunity to regain his standing will lead to more revenge stories as he might put a lot more effort now into rebuilding what he once had - like making deals with Norman Osborn. little question here: is he still that fat that with two swords buried on his back, he's still breathing? or maybe it was the adrenalin? oh yeah he already got shot in the eye once and still survived. as they say someplace, bad grass die hard.

so where does Matt go from here? certainly not back to Milla (awwww), not back to Dakota (double awwww) and not back to his old life with Foggy (now that's a real friend). no, he's going to do what needs to be done, and that is either lead a criminal organization to a much more benevolent path, or he'll become the World's Most Wanted by 2011. King of The Hand. now that's a Dark Reign.

(props to Ann like-a-girl-from-my-past Nocenti for her little Coney Island tale. Brooklyn represent!)

drive-by readings: Punisher: Noir #1

Punisher: Noir #1 (Marvel) "Home is Where the War Is" Frank Tieri Paul Azaceta Nick Filardi Joe Sabino Tim Bradstreet (cover) Dennis Calero (variant cover)

the Punisher finally gets the Noir treatment, and it makes a lot more sense because he's not really a superhero being retrofitted to the '20s. this time, he's a WWI veteran/widower who's trying to raise a son and run his grocery in the Bronx (oy, there's a Mr. Bumpo sighting). who else rears its ugly head but the Mafia? Dutch Schultz, come on down! this looks to be the return to the pure version of the Punisher, the concept of what he was, in the proper original context. bring the popcorn.