Punisher War Journal 13 - Acts of Vengeance

For some reason this issue lacks an "Acts of Vengeance" banner on the cover. Perhaps this is another sign of the series's original publication schedule which would have seen this issue come out either on the same day as the climax of the crossover or even a week later. But the issue, written by Carl Potts and drawn by David Ross at the start of a three-issue fill-in run (perhaps coinciding with Jim Lee doing a three-issue run on Uncanny X-Men), is definitely a part of the crossover, concluding the story of Bushwhacker being sent to take down the Punisher by the Kingpin as part of his ongoing squabble with Doctor Doom.

Punisher War Journal #13

Story: Carl Potts
Pencils: David Ross
Inks: Russ Heath
Letters: Jim Novak
Colours: Gregory Wright
Assistant Editor: Rob Tokar
Editor: Don Daley
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The comparisons and contrasts continue, to the point that Bushwhacker's wife declares "You're both hypocrites -- so righteous in your roles -- you're two peas in a pod!" Bushwhacker certainly proves one of the toughest solo foes the Punisher has had to deal with so far, made worse by the latter having been caught off guard and he finds himself trapped in a part of a warehouse with only a spring-loaded ballistic knife. Bushwhacker isn't a simple killer though. He regards killing as an art and is obsessed with confession, a hangover from his days a priest. Thus he finds himself unable to simply kill the Punisher when he has him at his mercy. Ego repeatedly proves critical as Bushwhacker becomes determined to demonstrate his superiority. It's a trait shared somewhat with Doctor Doom and the Kingpin, still engaged in taunting one another over whether or not it's easy to take down the Punisher, whilst the mysterious stranger merely relays messages and watches.

Much of the issue is all action based as the Punisher and Bushwhacker fight first at the former's warehouse and then at the latter's home, before a final road chase with a twist. Both men are driven and both have an unusual conversation with their wives - in the Punisher's case it's with her spirit as he lies close to death. Each man uses both cunning tactics and raw ballistic strength in their attack, making for a strong showdown. As a foe from another series, Bushwhacker's fate is left in typical comic book ambiguity but on all signs here he would make a good recurring foe for the Punisher.

This is an example of "Acts of Vengeance" at its best, pitching a hero against an existing villain who's a good match for them both physically and as a character. It's a fast-paced action piece that works its themes well, helped by the dark art.

Punisher War Journal #13 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Punisher War Journal by Carl Potts & Jim Lee (2016)

Punisher War Journal 12 - Acts of Vengeance

The late 1980s saw the Punisher surge to such popularity that within two years he had gone from having no series at all to being only the second Marvel character to have two ongoing monthly series. The two titles largely orbited each other in their early years, making passing reference to events in the other series but normally avoiding crossovers. Companywide events can be harder to avoid but rather than running one long story told over all titles (as with the Spider-Man books both here and during "Inferno"), it instead goes for a two-parter in the older title and then a sequel that readers of the other series don't need to be aware of. It's not immediately obvious why this is, although if Punisher War Journal was only sold in the direct market then it may have been to avoid confusing newsstand readers who would only have been able to access half of the story. It also means that sequential collections of either title don't contain the parts from the other.

Punisher War Journal #12

Story: Carl Potts
Pencils: Jim Lee
Inks: Al Milgrom
Background inks: Don Hudson
Letters: Jim Novak
Colours: Gregory Wright
Assistant Editor: Rob Tokar
Editor: Don Daley
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Unfortunately for contemporary readers this would all have fallen down due to the order in which the books were released. Despite clearly taking place in the order Punisher #28, Punisher #29, Punisher War Journal #12 and Punisher War Journal #13, they were instead released in the order Punisher War Journal #12, Punisher #28, Punisher War Journal #13 and Punisher #29, thus beginning the sequel even before the original story. This arrangement looks even odder when noting that Carl Potts was the editor on Punisher and the writer on Punisher War Journal. One possible explanation is that Punisher War Journal began coming out approximately every six weeks but stepped up the frequency to monthly with issue #10 and this threw the planned schedule with no time to insert a fill-in to restore it.

The problems don't arise until nearly halfway through the issue when we get a scene of the Kingpin and Doctor Doom continuing their taunting of one another about how easy it would be to take the Punisher down, with Doom brushing aside his reasons for not doing so in the earlier story before the Kingpin takes on the task and opts to contract Bushwhacker, a former foe of Daredevil. The method of recruitment is interesting, with the mysterious stranger first sent to bribe a news anchor on "CMN", a twenty-four-hour news channel that Bushwhacker watches, to deliver coverage that approves of the vigilante but disapproves of the mercenary. Then he contacts Bushwhacker, claiming the Punisher is an ally of Daredevil as the clincher.

Earlier in the issue we get a classic use of the split page technique to provide parallels and contrasts between the two strands of the story, as Bushwhacker is introduced whilst on a missing to kill a modern artist who is also a low-level mutant, whilst the Punisher attacks a group of drug importers by the dock. It's a good sequence in its own right but it also helps to introduce the Punisher to readers who may be encountering him for the first time, though this effect is limited when the issues are put in chronological order. Later the Punisher's origin is used in the story, further introducing him but also providing a rationale for how Bushwhacker is able to locate him when he makes his annual pilgrimage to the site where his family were killed.

Normally the villains in Punisher stories don't live past the end of the story, making it difficult to accumulate a long-term set of recurring foes. However as Bushwhacker originated from another series there's a possibility he could be an exception. An ex-priest who then worked for the CIA before turning mercenary, he has a cybernetic arm that can form itself into a variety of guns, making him difficult to literally disarm. His history compares and contrasts well with the Punisher, suggesting good future potential.

Overall this is a pretty strong issue that works well in introducing both the hero and foe and setting up the conflict in a way that works for both new and regular readers. It's unfortunate that at the time this came out of sequence but now that's no longer an issue.

Punisher War Journal #12 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)
• Punisher War Journal by Carl Potts & Jim Lee (2016)

Sidesteps: Punisher War Journal Classic volume 1

Spider-Man may have been the first Marvel hero to get two ongoing solo series, but as we've seen it took a while and was a staggered process with Marvel Team-Up occupying a half-way slot (and Giant-Size Spider-Man was both an extension of Marvel Team-Up and part of a line that didn't last very long). Other Marvel spin-offs tended to be related rather than direct - for instance a solo series for the Human Torch and later a Thing team-up series rather than a second Fantastic Four title, or spin-off teams like the New Mutants and West Coast Avengers instead of doubling up the X-Men and Avengers. Or a character might get a second title but in a different format such as the Rampaging Hulk magazine or the various Conan titles. But the late 1980s saw a big change in the approach with more characters than just the flagship getting multiple titles. And the Punisher was the first in.

Punisher War Journal launched in (cover date) November 1988, when Punisher had reached just issue #13, a sign of the older series's instant success. The series hasn't yet been collected in the Essentials, in spite of the first Punisher series being up to issue #59, the contemporary of Punisher War Journal #38. However a single volume has appeared in the Classic line which reprints (mainly Bronze Age and Modern Age) series in colour, albeit with rather fewer issues and a higher price point than the Essentials. Punisher War Journal Classic volume 1 contains the first eight issues of the series. Carl Potts writes every issue, with plot assistance from colourist John Wellington on issue #4, and also does layouts on issues #1-3 & 6-7. The finishes on those and full pencils on the rest are by Jim Lee, at a very early stage in his comics career before he had even started on the X-Men.

The title of the series may imply it offers tales from the Punisher's War Journal but in practice the journal is only mentioned about three times in these first eight issues as part of the Punisher's standard internal thoughts. Otherwise, the series is basically more of the same. The only slight variation of note is that we get a small recurring cast of an Oriental family who run the deli in a New York building where the Punisher has a flat for when his New Jersey warehouse is too far away. As the series progresses, we discover there's more to them than at first seems, but in part this seems to be a trail for the Shadowmasters limited series. Nope, I haven't heard of it either. Unfortunately the volume stops before the series really delves into this so on its own the subplot is just a distraction.

Otherwise the Punisher is put through a variety of situations, though issue #1 ends with a trail of eight different scenes and only one of them is followed up in this volume. The series kicks off with the Punisher commiserating the anniversary of his family's killing, having en route helped a mobster's wife escape from her husband. The main storyline in the first three issues builds upon the family's death when they accidentally wandered into a criminal execution and we get a tale in which the son of the executionee and a drug smuggler each bring a tale of the reasons behind the execution, leaving the Punisher trying to work out who was responsible. As an introduction to the Punisher and his background this generally works a lot better than his first series, showing what makes him tick and his methods and thus gets the series rolling quite well. We also get a brief encounter with Daredevil and a quick reminder of the antagonism between him and the Punisher, filling in the latter's general relationship with other heroes which has at times dominated his appearances, so again a key factor is explained. However Microchip isn't introduced so well, being just presented and there's not much to explain why he aids the Punisher in spite of his own loss (which is briefly referenced). The next couple of issues build on the other key aspect of the Punisher's backstory, namely his time in Vietnam as he discovers that the surviving members of his old squad are being murdered one by one. The Punisher eventually takes down the killer but in the process also brings justice to his former colonel who put the squad in needless jeopardy by deliberately delaying and pick-up and then was responsible for "friendly" fire. The result of all this is an effective introduction to the character that puts the other series to shame.

The remaining issues include another guest appearance and what feels like an early case of gratuitous sales chasing - indeed adverts at the time pointed to the high back issue prices for most appearances of both characters. In this tale Microchip determines that the Punisher needs a vacation so sends him to the Congo (the Republic, or Brazzaville) as part of an expedition chasing rumours that dinosaurs have survived in a remote part of the jungle where the climate hasn't changed. Elements of fantasy akin to The Lost World may feel a little out of place but the dialogue offers a rationale that sounds plausible enough to the non-palaeontologist. During the course of the expedition the Punisher discovers that two of the party are engaged in poaching and smuggling for a Texan oil tycoon, and this brings him into conflict with someone investigating the same from the other end of the trail - Wolverine. We get the standard plot of a misunderstanding, a fight between them and then they discover who the real culprits are and team up to take them down. Fortunately this is only part of the story with much of it devoted to the expedition and the discoveries. Meanwhile back in the States the owner of the deli has visions that draw him to Texas where he infiltrates the mastermind's home and uses a computer to make bad investments and donations that wipe out the businessman's wealth. The final issue involves an urban gang who murder a local resident for organising against drugs, and the Punisher takes out the headquarters whilst half the gang attack his van and run afoul of the self-defence systems.

A number of the issues also contain "equipment pages" that profile various weapons. The first one is badly lettered, using a font resembling handwriting that is virtually impossible to read, but the rest detail some of the more unusual weapons. One that also appears in the stories is the ballistic knife - a sharp blade and a spring launcher in the handle, allowing the blade to be fired at a short distance. I was surprised to see this one in use so early in the Punisher's career.

As second titles go, this one follows the pattern of initially being just more of the same as the first series rather than offering either a particularly distinctive take on the character or a unique environment. With only eight issues available in this volume (and to date no sign of either a second Classic volume or any Essentials) it may be a little unfair to judge it as such and it's quite possible the title developed a niche by the early teens. On its own the adventures are quite good, though drugs feature as the driving force a few too many times for my liking, and the Shadowmasters subplot offers hints of some ongoing development. Add in the fact that the first few issues do take time to establish the character, his background and some of the basics of situation and this is actually quite a good start for the series. Now if only we could get some longer reprints...