The Punisher War Journal (1988 series)

The Punisher War Journal
Cover to issue 11, art by Jim Lee.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing series
Publication date1988-1995
No. of issues80
Main character(s)Punisher
Creative team
Created byMike Baron
Carl Potts
Roger Salick
John Wellington
Written byCarl Potts (1-15, 17-24), Mike Baron (16, 25-37), Steven Grant (50, 65-75), Chuck Dixon (38-42, 44-64, 75-80), Richard Rainey (43), Roger Salick (64), John Wellington (4)
Artist(s)Neil Hansen
Jim Lee
Carl Potts
Dave Ross - 'David H. Ross'
Steve Biasi
Danny Bulanadi
Russ Heath Jr.
Donald C. 'Don' Hudson
Klaus R. Janson
Allen 'Al' Milgrom
Kenneth Rubenoff
Mark Texeira - 'TEX'
Scott Williams
John Wellington
Gregory A. Wright
Ken Bruzenak
Ken Lopez
James R. 'Jim' Novak
Richard 'Rick' Parker
Penciller(s)Neil Hansen
Jim Lee
Carl Potts
Dave Ross - 'David H. Ross'
Inker(s)Steve Biasi
Danny Bulanadi
Russ Heath Jr.
Donald C. 'Don' Hudson
Klaus R. Janson
Allen 'Al' Milgrom
Kenneth Rubenoff
Mark Texeira - 'TEX'
Scott Williams
Letterer(s)Ken Bruzenak
Ken Lopez
James R. 'Jim' Novak
Richard 'Rick' Parker
Colorist(s)John Wellington
Gregory A. Wright
Editor(s)Mark D. Beazley
Sarah Brunstad
Kelly P. Corvese
Don Daley
Carl Potts
Rob Tokar
Mike Baron

The Punisher War Journal is an American comic book series published from 1988 to 1995 by Marvel Comics featuring the character Frank Castle, also known as the vigilante the Punisher.[1] It was the first ever spin-off for the character and the first series of the title The Punisher War Journal. It lasted for 80[2] issues and featured varying artists, including early works of Jim Lee[3][4][5] and writers, most notably Carl Potts who had worked as an editor on the main Punisher series before.[6]

Background

The series was made due to the character's immense popularity at the time. Marvel had previously used the character in guest appearances to boost the sales of other titles, but decided to publish a second ongoing title for the Punisher which became this series. Mike Baron, the series' editor and one of the writers, expressed in a 1988 interview that the character's popularity came at a time when American citizens were especially angry with society's failure to punish evil.[7]

Plot

The series consists of several story arcs, including "An Eye For An Eye", "Firepower Among The Ruins", "The Sicilian Saga", "The Kamchatkan Konspiracy", "Pariah!" and "Last Entry" which were confined within the series itself and other arcs such as "Acts of Vengeance", "Dead Man's Hand" and "Suicide Run" which were part of larger Marvel events. The final arc, "Countdown", was a crossover between all the ongoing Punisher series at the time.

Reception

The series was hugely popular upon its original release. Because of the series success Marvel put together a promo tour for the creators of the books. They visited numerous comic book stores in California and Hawaii and interacted with the fans there.[8] Its popularity also prompted Marvel to publish a third ongoing Punisher series named The Punisher War Zone. Though the popularity fell later in the run as it did with the two other Punisher titles at the time, The Punisher and The Punisher War Zone[9] due to extensive overexposure of the character at the time.[10] The series greatly contributed to the characters independent success outside of being a supporting character.[11] The series, especially Potts' writing, influenced Charles Forsman's series Revenger.[12] The series featured the first meeting of Wolverine and the Punisher in issue 6, named "On the Track of Unknown Animals", which was described by Blair Marnell of Comingsoon.net as a memorable meeting,[13] and was voted as the 75th greatest issue of any Marvel series ever in 2001. Greg Burgas of Comic Book Resources praised Lee's artwork.[14]

Content

While still under the Comics Code Authority the series featured bodily violence which had not been previously used in Marvel comics publications. The series also featured more guns, explosions and highly sexualized women.[15]

Prints

Issues

  1. An Eye For An Eye, Chapter 1: Sunday In The Park, November 1988
  2. An Eye For An Eye, Chapter 1: Tie A Yellow Ribbon, December 1988
  3. An Eye For An Eye, Chapter 1: A Dish Best Served Cold, February 1989
  4. Sniper, March 1989
  5. Crucible, April 1989
  6. On The Track Of Unknown Animals, June 1989
  7. Endangered Species, July 1989
  8. Damage, September 1989
  9. Guilt Trip, October 1989
  10. Second Shot, November 1989
  11. Shock Treatment, Mid November 1989
  12. Acts Of Vengeance: Contrast In Sin, December 1989
  13. Acts Of Vengeance: Confession, Mid December 1989
  14. Blind Faith, January 1990
  15. Headlines!, February 1990
  16. Panhandle, March 1990
  17. Tropical Trouble, April 1990
  18. Kahuna, May 1990
  19. Trauma In Paradise!, June 1990
  20. The Debt, July 1990
  21. Deep Water, August 1990
  22. Snowstorm, September 1990
  23. Firepower Among The Ruins, part 1, October 1990
  24. Firepower Among The Ruins, part 2, November 1990
  25. The Sicilian Saga, part 1: Get Out Of Town, December 1990
  26. The Sicilian Saga, part 2: Cry Uncle, January 1991
  27. The Sicilian Saga, part 3: Saracen With The Clock!, February 1991
  28. Meat, March 1991
  29. Crash And Burn, April 1991
  30. Spin Cycle, May 1991
  31. The Kamchatkan Konspiracy, part 1: Pipeline, June 1991
  32. The Kamchatkan Konspiracy, part 2: Blowout, July 1991
  33. The Kamchatkan Konspiracy, part 3: Fire In The Hole, August 1991
  34. Blackout, September 1991
  35. Motivation, October 1991
  36. Let Them Eat Cake, November 1991
  37. Controversy, December 1991
  38. Terminal Velocity, January 1992
  39. Slay Ride, February 1992
  40. Good Money After Bad, March 1992
  41. Armageddon Express, April 1992
  42. Ten-To-One, May 1992
  43. Adirondack Haunts, June 1992
  44. Barbarians, July 1992
  45. Dead Man's Hand, part 3: The Vegas Idea, August 1992
  46. Dead Man's Hand, part 6: Hot Chrome And Cold Blood, September 1992
  47. Dead Man's Hand, part 9: Say Goodbye To Vegas, October 1992
  48. Walk Through Fire, part 1: Backs To The Wall, November 1992
  49. Walk Through Fire, part 2: A Gunfight, December 1992
  50. Unfriendly Skies, January 1993
  51. Walk Through Fire, part 3: Sidewinder, February 1993
  52. Heart of Ice, March 1993
  53. Heart Of Stone, April 1993
  54. Surface Thrill, May 1993
  55. Bad Boyz, June 1993
  56. 24 Hours Of Power!, July 1993
  57. Blood Money, August 1993
  58. Blood Red Moon, September 1993
  59. The House That Hate Built, October 1993
  60. Dogged, November 1993
  61. ________ Part of Suicide Run, December 1993
  62. Suicide Run, part 4: Standing In The Shadows, January 1994
  63. Suicide Run, part 7: Known Associates, February 1994
  64. ________ Part of Suicide Run, March 1994
  65. Pariah!, April 1994
  66. Pariah, Part 2: Last Exit, May 1994
  67. Pariah, part 3: Nailed, June 1994
  68. Pariah, part 4: Bad Turn, July 1994
  69. Pariah, The Conclusion: Strict Time!, August 1994
  70. Last Entry, prelude: Warm Bodies, September 1994
  71. Last Entry, part 1: Road To Death!, October 1994
  72. Last Entry, part 2: Truck Stop Women!, November 1994
  73. Last Entry, part 3: A Journal Of The Plague Years!, December 1994
  74. Last Entry, part 4: Deadstop!, January 1995
  75. Last Entry, part 5: Conclusion!, February 1995
  76. Stone Dead, March 1995
  77. Bound By Blood, April 1995
  78. One Wicked Day, May 1995
  79. Countdown: 3: House Of The Dead, June 1995
  80. Countdown: 0: The Last Bad Man, July 1995

Collected editions

Title Format Material collected Pages Publication date ISBN
UPC		 Rated
The Punisher: An Eye for an Eye Trade Paperback (TPB) The Punisher War Journal (1988) #1-3 80 1992 0871357771
978-0871357779 		—
The Punisher War Journal
by Carl Potts and Jim Lee 		TPB The Punisher War Journal (1988) #1-19
The Punisher (1987) - Annual 02 "Knight Fight" 		504 September 14, 2016[16] 978-1-302-90107-3 T+[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Frye, Todd (20 December 2014). Marvelous Mythology: How the world's greatest superheroes were created. Todd Frye. ISBN 9780989135467 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Eason, Brian K. (December 5, 2008). "MARVEL MEMOIR: THE PUNISHER". CBR.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  3. ^ Bongco, Mila (2000), Reading Comics: Language, Culture, and the Concept of the Superhero in Comic Books, Taylor & Francis, p. 181, ISBN 978-0-8153-3344-9
  4. ^ Craig, Steve (February 26, 1992). Men, Masculinity and the Media. SAGE Series on Men and Masculinity (Book 2). SAGE Publications. p. ?. ISBN 978-0803941632 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Burgas, Greg (August 21, 2014). "YEAR OF THE ARTIST, DAY 233: JIM LEE, PART 2 – THE PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #2". CBR.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Daniels, Les (1991). Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics. New York City: Harry N. Abrams. p. 203. ISBN 0-8109-3821-9.
  7. ^ Wright, Bradford W. (2003). Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 275. ISBN 0-8018-6514-X. The Punisher War Journal.
  8. ^ Site admin (January 10, 2010). "Industry Interview: Carl Potts". VeryFineNearMint.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  9. ^ Frye, Todd (20 December 2014). Marvelous Mythology: How the world's greatest superheroes were created. Todd Frye. ISBN 9780989135467 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Marnell, Blair (2015). "The Punisher: Origins and Evolutions". comingsoon.net. p. 15 out of 35.
  11. ^ Lis, Martin (June 13, 2016). "Which Live Action Portrayal of THE PUNISHER Is The Best?". ScreenGeek.net. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  12. ^ Romeo, Mike (August 30, 2016). "Death Wish, Punisher and Teen Angst Collide in "Revenger"". MultiversityComics. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  13. ^ Marnell, Blair (2015). "The Punisher: Origins and Evolutions". Comingsoon.net. p. 8 out of 35.
  14. ^ Burgas, Greg (August 21, 2014). "YEAR OF THE ARTIST, DAY 233: JIM LEE, PART 2 – THE PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #2". CBR.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  15. ^ Bongco, Mila (2000), Reading Comics: Language, Culture, and the Concept of the Superhero in Comic Books, Taylor & Francis, p. 181, ISBN 978-0-8153-3344-9
  16. ^ "Punisher War Journal by Carl Potts & Jim Lee (Trade Paperback)".
  17. ^ "The Punisher War Journal by Carl Potts and Jim Lee TP Reviews".