I think that this issue of Punisher has cemented a theory I've been working on about comics and animation: stories about secret underground dwelling societies just don't work anymore. Whether it's the absymal Batman Animated episode "The Forgotten," Geoff Johns's surprisingly disappointing Morlocks mini-series or this misfire of a story about cannibalistic human underground dwellers, the stories usually wind up coming off as predictable and dumb rather than scary. Certainly that's no fault of artist Tom Mandrake, who has done terrific work on scary monsters in The Spectre, Creeps and plenty of other work, and Ennis has an interesting hook here in the notion of a leftist social worker meeting up with the definitely right-wing (in terms of his take on crime) Punisher, but the story as a whole is a mess.
Honestly, part of that is that this is the kind of story that the Punisher really doesn't belong in. While Ennis wisely steers clear of using a group of mutants or aliens as the underground dwellers, instead using a manipulative and mysterious leader and a lot of desperate homeless, the notion of a secret underground society comes across as realistic in the face of a guy who is basically a gun-toting vigilante. Not that the Punisher is on the "dude, that could so happen" level either, but there is a bit of separation between the suspension of disbelief required for a cracked-up ex-Marine and a bunch of homeless cannibals.
It doesn't help that Ennis doesn't really deliver convincing personalities for the villains either. Ronnie's anger comes across as cartoonish in context of the darkly humorous violence that has been at the heart of this book rather than scary, and Jen seems awfully gung-ho and more than a little dim in her drive to get physically involved in such a potentially dangerous scam. The highlight of the book comes when Jen talks with the Punisher, largely because it's interesting to see that Frank's interest in discussing his philosophies doesn't run terribly deep, and that he seems to be aware on some level that Jen is right about the complexity of what he's doing even if he doesn't want to confront it.
It's always a pleasure to see Mandrake's art, and this issue is no exception. While there doesn't seem to be the same depth to his work that I'm used to, particularly in the backgrounds, his ability with shadow and mood is strong as always. I also enjoyed his take on the Punisher, which has the same broad beefy look that John Romita Jr. brought to the character, and of course the creepy looking homeless is an archetype that Mandrake has defined visually in comics, and he serves up a creepy rendition of same here.
While I'm one of those who thought that the jokey take on Punisher didn't have much legs, I'm also not entirely certain that a more straightforward take on the character is the best place for Ennis's talents either. This issue is played almost entirely straight, which seems odd given that the villains are so remarkably goofy, and though Ennis puts a little effort into developing Jen as someone we can care about, in general we're still left with a story where the consequences for anyone other than the Punisher seem to be both a foregone conclusion and not all that interesting in the first place.
