Punisher #1 Review

Written by: David Pepose
Art by: Dave Wachter
Colors by: Dan Brown
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Rod Reis (cover A)
Cover price: $5.99
Release date: November 8, 2023

Punisher #1 begins a new era for Marvel’s lethal vigilante when an Ex-SHIELD agent, Joe Garrsion, undertakes a mission of revenge for his murdered family.

Is Punisher #1 Good?

I don’t understand the point of Punisher #1. If you take away the man under the body armor and a few semantics, this comic is effectively the same origin story you already know from Frank Castle’s life.

Ex-agent with a knack for killing swears off the lethal life to settle down with his wife and two children. His wife and children are killed in a merciless act of violence. Ex-agent takes up arms, with the help of a techy sidekick working remotely, to murder everyone responsible for his family’s death. Rinse and repeat.

If the goal was to create a new Punisher for modern audiences, one with a less hard-edged approach to vigilanteism or one framed to appeal to modern audiences, somebody forgot to tell David Pepose because this Punisher is practically identical to the old Punisher. If you’re going to go through the trouble of creating a “new” Punisher, after Jason Aaron’s bizarre deconstruction of the old Punisher, why not stick with what you have?

Watch our Punisher #1 Video Review

David Pepose’s script centers on Ex-SHIELD agent Joe Garrison – an effective killer for the now-disbanded SHIELD – who gave up his killing ways to settle down with his wife and children. When the Garrison house is blown up by an assassin with hidden motives and masters, Garrison enlists the help of his former handler, Triple-A, to arm up with the latest armor, guns, and gadgets to mow down everyone in his path to finding out who is responsible for the death of the Garrison family.

Weird. Right? The details are different, but the general story is the same. Whoever at Marvel came up with this idea has a very strange notion about mantles and legacy characters.

On his killing spree, Garrison encounters Russian hitmen, ninjas, and Mr. Hyde.

What’s great about Punisher #1? Garrison’s actions certainly are NOT of the kinder, gentler variety, so if you want classic Punisher killing, you get it.

What’s not so great about Punisher #1? Truly, there is no point to it. Why go through all the trouble of deconstructing and banishing Frank Castle to get rid of his “problematic” Punisher, only to replace him with a new character with an identical motivating event and modus operandi? Further, the story is a less engaging version of Frank Castle’s story because you jump into the action quickly without giving the death of the Garrison family enough time to develop emotional weight.

How’s the art? It’s fine. Dave Wachter delivers a perfectly good set of visuals with energetic, hard-hitting acting. That said, the big draw of this issue (besides the new/not new origin) should be the new costume, but you barely get to see it in detail.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Punisher #1 is a weird comic because it tells almost the same origin story as Frank Castle’s Punisher with a different man. There’s nothing different about Joe Garrison’s Punisher to set him apart from Frank Castle except his name and a slightly different costume. Considering the original is still alive and kicking, there’s no point to this comic.