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THE PUNISHER #7
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights
Writer/Pencils: Steve Dillon
Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Stuart Moore
Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN |
Penciller Steve Dillon takes over the writing chores for this silent issue of The Punisher, and while he captures title character's intensity and determination, nuances are lost in the process. Mind you, it's not
Dillon's fault the book is without dialogue; that's thanks to Marvel's imposed "'Nuff Said" December theme. Still, the "script" excerpt in the back of this book struck me as a lame gag that wasted space.
The Punisher is after a mob boss, and the target in question knows it. He goes deep underground, forcing Frank Castle to look for him. He doesn't check abandoned warehouses or the like, but the feeble minds of lowlifes who hear things he doesn't. One such informant quickly learns than it's not wise to cross the Punisher.
There's a sense of constant movement in the art for this issue. With no words, Dillon has to keeps things moving along visually, as the verbal path has been denied him. Dillon conveys a deliberate tone with that movement, though. He walks us through the Punisher's steps slowly, and it communicates an inevitability to the events set in motion.
The plot is understably thin, given the lack of dialogue. However, there's also a predictability to it. The closing scene, which boasts a lot of storytelling potential and reflects real-world issues of justice and violence, seems to come from out of nowhere, though. I flipped through the book several times to find out how it came about or how it fits into the flow of main plot. I came up with nothing.
The most frustrating aspect of this issue is the spoof "script" Dillon provides. Script excerpts have been included with every "'Nuff Said" comic book so far. It would seem Dillon didn't work from a script for this story. Instead, we get hand-scrawled notes, obviously poking fun at the concept of writer/artists. One page would have been funny, but several of them felt like a gyp. Added bonuses, though, were the self-portrait and a pin-up/note by Dillon and regular writer Garth Ennis that is in keeping with the spirit of the Sept. 11 tribute poster book, Heroes.
Email Don MacPherson comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.
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