For the most part, The Punisher has been a cartoon under the pens of Ennis and Dillon. While there are still elements of dark humor in the book, however, that tone seems to be shifting, and it's starting to feel more like what this team is really capable of. The current story, surrounding a pair of possibly corrupt cops, is about the best this book has been, and in this issue, there's a lot of great characterization and moral quandaries along with the blood and guns. There's nothing wrong with books just being fun, but I'm glad to see that the depth that has been peeking out in recent issues of The Punisher was an indicator of more to come rather than just an anomaly.
When it comes down to it, this book, and this issue in particular, is about anger and fear and how people react to it. Some react by closing themselves off to the world and drowning their sorrows in violence and vengeance. Some take their anger out on those who love them. Some deal with their fear by holding no principles, serving whoever scares them the most. And some turn to the worst people they could for help, getting themselves even deeper.
I'm particularly interested in the parallels between Frank Castle and Mike Pearse. Both men are driven almost entirely by anger, and they take it out in violence. Both also seem completely unable to control what they do, justifying it and rationalizing it to themselves and others. Throughout the series, we've had Castle narrating the book, but this issue was the first time I really saw something human, as he admits to himself that the reason he enjoys his war is that he thinks of it as saving families like his own. I was also impressed that Ennis is able to make Pearse a somewhat sympathetic character, not a monster, even as his actions make it clear that he is a monster.
Corrupt cop stories are nothing new, of course, not even in the realm of the Punisher. I remember at least one What If?, and of course the Ultimate version of the character, where it was corrupt cops instead of mobsters that drove him to his career. But what I like about this story is that the hard-charging, confident cop isn't the corrupt one, and that the corruption comes about more from weakness than arrogance.
Another facet of the book that I quite enjoyed is how much story there is in this issue. In addition to some important plot developments and revelations about the characters that forward the plot, there's a lot of room to explore the characters in depth, whether it's the Punisher or the two cops. A big part of that is due to the art of Steve Dillon, because his work is clear and makes the action and the feelings of the characters very clear, allowing Ennis to engage in parallel storytelling that embellishes the story rather than simply reinforcing what's going on in the art in case the art doesn't completely tell the story.
