Eli’s Plot Twist – Punisher MAX #71 Review

Column, Comic Books, Review | Eli | June 17, 2009 at 4:49 am

punisher-max-71

Don’t linger on the atrocious cover art of Punisher MAX 71, all is not lost, I assure you. Instead of lamenting white trash pretensions (a confederate flag? Seriously?) open the book up and get a taste of a decent Punisher story, or at least the setup. This is the beginning of a four-parter called Welcome to the Bayou. Victor Gischler writes this sordid story. Goran Parlov, the unlikely artist who is most prolific in the MAX series returns to drawing board for the first time since working with Garth Ennis on his seminal run.

Let’s start out with Parlov’s work, because this issue just couldn’t work without him. I noticed that his pencils were a little bit looser than usual, but he can still draw a mean Punisher comic. Despite the fact that very little actually happens, Parlov draws out the tension in each scene. The whole issue is a trip to a run down gas station, a seemingly boring premise, but my eyes were glued the entire time. Parlov has a unique talent, mixing cartoon sensibilities with reference quality realism and impeccable establishing shots. Every issue he has ever done clearly lays out where the character is, and exactly what is happening, and this is no exception.

Gischler is the third writer to take on an arc since Ennis helmed the title; the first two attempts were abortive, though the second arc had a lot of squandered plot potential and incredible art. Gischler takes a fresh approach to the material. He doesn’t try to out violence the series with an oppressively grim tone. He doesn’t try to ape an Ennis storyline with too many narrative threads. Instead, he posits Castle as a wandering knight, helping innocents he meets during his travels through the countryside.

Everyone can agree that cannibal hillbillies are a known quantity, especially in the horror genre. And this story places Frank Castle firmly in a horror flick, where buxom co-eds and their beer swilling boyfriends are in imminent danger of becoming mutant redneck food. Castle is in the process of taking a drugged hostage from Houston to New Orleans in the trunk of his Lexus. (I always like how Goran Parlov gets vehicle details just right.) His path crosses with aforementioned horny twenty somethings, and he diverts from his mission to go back and find out just what happened to them.

There is no Punisher on hillbilly action in the issue. That is a bit disappointing, but a necessary evil in setting up a proper confrontation. There is a scene, in which Castle stares down the ever present skinny hillbilly freak, that is so well written and rendered, the resulting tension is near cinematic. Praise must be given to the writer and artist for pulling off such a subtle effect. Seeing the Punisher as detective is a nice change of pace, and Gischler gets the character right, one who doesn’t spend all his time moping about his dead family after all. We do get some well deserved violence, gore, and gross out near the end of the issue, and the whole thing comes together really well.

I had my doubts about this story. The horrible cover art didn’t help. The truth is, this is great episodic writing, great art (at least on the inside), and a great setup for entertaining issues. Gischler didn’t take the obvious route on this one; he was creative, and brought something new to the table. There is no way to be sure, but I think Gischler is going to provide a raucous good time. It’s a shame his arc has only three more issues to go.