Garth Ennis (writer), et.al., The Punisher: the Complete Collection, Volume 1. New York: Marvel, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-302-90015-1.
"Born" serves as an origin story of sorts for Frank Castle. He is a U.S. Marines captain in a firebase in Vietnam. It takes place in the last days of the Vietnam War. Everyone knows it, and they are just counting days. Captain Castle is still doing his job, leading patrols, and hunting down Charlie. He does it with obsessive zeal. In that jungle, darkness speaks to Frank, setting him on the war path we all know now. This is a very intense story with fast pacing and some very good writing. The art is very good; it brings the story to life in gory details. This is a violent story, and the art reflects that. The opening of "Born" issue 4 is a good example of the vivid writing Ennis uses. As for the art, Castle as last man standing and that smoke clearing behind him resembling a skull is haunting, intense, and very well done.
"In the Beginning" finds Castle back in New York City years later after the Vietnam War. He is already killing mobsters and waging his one man war on crime. It is post-9/11, and Osama Bin Laden is the big boogeyman now. The CIA hopes to recruit Castle to have him hunt Osama. However, the CIA does not really know who they are dealing with, plus the mob wants their turn at trying to kill Castle. This is another fast paced story with good art, violence, and action. We also get a look at intrigues and shadowy government schemes.
"Kitchen Irish" was the weakest of the three stories, but it was still pretty good. This particular story does have some seriously gory violent details, so it is definitely not for the faint of heart. In essence, this is a bit of a greed and treasure hunt story. An old mobster dies, and he leaves a will leaving $10 million dollars to the factions he controlled. Naturally, instead of sharing, they all want to kill each other to get the full pot. In the context, Irish terrorists blow up a diner full of innocent people; a bomb goes off prematurely. Castle wants to take all the mobsters out. So there is also a bit of cat and mouse leading to an explosive conclusion. The story overall is good, and the art is good, gory at times.
Overall, this is a great start to the series. The stories just draw you in, and you want to keep on reading. I stayed up late reading this one. This is a gritty, violent, and intense set of stories. I did enjoy the volume, and I will definitely read the next one. The text and artwork work very well here.
I recommend this for libraries, but do note the title does have an explicit content warning. For fans, the volume also includes some extras such as sketches and some art commentary. I found interesting the "from layouts to finished colors" for issue 7 that is included. It gives a sense of the work these artists put in. Excellent volume.
5 out of 5 stars.
This volume qualifies for the following 2024 Reading Challenge:
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