The Punisher #4
Writer: Becky Cloonan
Artist: Steve Dillon
Colors: Frank Martin
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel
Reviewed by David Hildebrand
The Punisher and his little passenger, Juniper are in the middle of a scene straight out of Mad Max as we begin 
issue #4. Face and the rest of the Condor outfit are hot on Castle’s ass trying to finally put our favorite vigilante on ice. Chasing Castle’s van in a truck decorated in spikes, filled with thugs, and driven by the ruthless villain Face. Who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I only hope to see more of what he is capable of doing before Castle ends him….well, if that happens. To be honest, I would like to see this guy reappear and I really want to know his history!
The DEA, who hasn’t really played a big factor into the story other than constantly being a couple steps behind the action, become a bigger presence in this issue. Agent Ortiz and Agent Henderson are not far behind in a helicopter to bring the chase to an end. Face cuts his guys loose wanting them to open fire on the DEA, despite objections Face hears about the fact that they need to remain under the radar. Face doesn’t appear to care and isn’t going to let anything stop him from killing the Punisher. That seems to be the main objective in his eyes. And he isn’t being quiet about it. The Punisher does what he is best at and keeps the baddies at bay while protecting the innocent girl. He remains stone cold but his parental side comes out a little towards the end. Meanwhile Olaf makes an appearance only long enough to insert fear into a scientist that Face is leading the Punisher straight to her. Is this all becoming a trap for Frank? Olaf appears to maybe have another agenda going on here. I look forward to see how it all plays out.
Once again we see Cloonan and Dillon gel and they are a perfect pair to work on the Punisher. The action illustrated by Dillon in this issue is fast paced, brutal, and oh so satisfying to bloodthirsty readers like me. I’m liking this story as Becky continues to add another element to it. What has started out as a simple good vs bad has evolved into something deeper than what was originally presented. Martin’s colors remain bold. The reds! The reds are so deep! From the bullet wounds, to the crushed bodies, to the eyes of the EMC addicts. It is a beautifully violent book that always leaves me wanting more.
Verdict:
Buy It! The story continues to get better. The DEA is more involved now and all hell is starting to break loose. Ortiz has hit her boiling point and I’m curious to see if she is going to end up working with Castle since they have a common enemy or is she going to continue to her best to take both the Condor and Castle down. So if you are still dragging your heels in getting this book, you need to pick them up and just buy it already. I think we are getting close to the end of this arc and I have no doubt that things are going to get even better!
