Part of the appeal of Ennis's writing in general is the over-the-top approach to violence, characterization and even plotting. It was there in his seminal work, Preacher, and other shining examples of his skill, like The Pro and Hitman. It's found here as well, but what this latest stint on The Punisher lacks that previous efforts didn't is brains. Well, there are brains here... splattered all over the place. But the script isn't all that clever, and that's what I'm really looking for in the midst of Ennis's gratuitous but entertaining violence and characterization.
The Punisher and Wolverine, sans skin on his face, find themselves face-to-face with a mob of midgets... in both senses of the term "mob." The diminutive sibling of one of New York's top crime bosses has decided the time is ripe for him and his short-statured underlings to seize control of the Big Apple underworld... thanks in part to the Punisher's recent elimination of some key figures in organized crime. Sharp-edged, bullet-riddled action and hilarity ensues.
Robertson's raw, gritty style certainly suits the urban setting and criminal element that are core parts of the story. The more extreme qualities of his approach that made his work so perfect for Warren Ellis's Transmetropolitan serve him well here too. But at times, his work in this issue strikes me as being overly inky and lacking the same level of detail as his Transmet work. Maybe he needs a separate inker, or perhaps the art was under heavy deadline pressure. No way to tell.
The plot is far from the most inspired... little people trying to take over New York's mob scene? It's not bad for a throwaway joke or brief scene, but it doesn't really hold my attention and amuse for two whole issues. The idea is explained to the reader here, but most of the elements were pretty self-evident in the first part in issue #16. Furthermore, it's never made clear why the short-statured Tony Casino would feel any kind of sense of kinship with the Punisher... and the Wolverine connection was pushing it to begin with.
Speaking of Wolverine, the main point of this.. ahem, short story arc was to poke fun at what is arguably Marvel's second-hottest property. The problem is that Ennis more or less took aim at the 1980s vision of the characters. I'm no Wolverine fan, but the one-dimensional, catch-phrase spouting figure we see here isn't really what the character is about today. Furthermore, making fun of the character's corny/faux-cool side is like shooting fish in a barrel. And here, Ennis gets a bit repetitive with his potshots.
