The Punisher #6
Writer: Becky Cloonan
Artist: Steve Dillon
Colors: Frank Martin with Lee Duhig
Letters: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel
Review by David Hildebrand
Becky and Steve have taken us on a wild ride with The Punisher so far. Castle has been hot on the trail of Condor, a mercenary organisation and the ones behind the drug EMC. Last issue he temporarily made a truce with DEA agent Ortiz to partner up to try and take down Condor and to save DEA agent Henderson in the process. Henderson didn’t make it and the Ortiz lost sight of Castle. In The Punisher #6, we get a break from the main story and travel back a few years to see what brought Olaf and Castle to part ways.
The story takes us to Castle and his unit in the desert. They have one main target that is the focus but there are other gunmen in the area that they have to deal with as well. Castle and his unit are spotting the targets along with Olaf. But Olaf has a surprise, he is bringing in mercenaries from Condor, but it appears that Frank isn’t aware of their ties. Olaf says they are there only for back up. However, things get a bit out of control and there is bloodshed. Bloodshed that Castle doesn’t agree with but he is there to finish his mission. I really don’t want to say too much more because I would end up giving it all away. But this is a vital piece to the story that has been unfolding in the previous five issues.
I like how Cloonan fleshes out this story. It is a solid backstory between Castle, Olaf, and the introduction of Condor. The pair of Condor mercenaries that Cloonan introduces are ruthless and cut of the same cloth that we have seen from other Condor operatives. It’s very smooth, consistent, and it works! Kudos to her for being able to tie this in so well with the primary story. Dillon’s work is still on point. I really dig his style of action and there is a lot of action in this book! There is even a scene that is very Pulp Fiction like that caught my attention. Martin with the help of Dehig has recharged the color red just to use it all up again in this issue. The book stays brilliantly violent with enough blood to go around.
Verdict:
Buy It! I like the temporary break from the main story to take us back to see what exactly happened between Olaf and Castle. It all fits nice and neat into one issue. This series has yet to drag and has been a lot of fun so far, especially if action is your thing. That is what The Punisher is about! Cloonan and Dillon haven’t disappointed at all. If you are looking for an exciting, action packed book, then look no further than The Punisher!
