Punisher War Journal #18

So, taken as an individual issue, starting a new story, this is a pretty interesting beginning. We get a lot of good character work with Jigsaw (the story is named after him, after all), and an okay twist at the end of the issue. It's really more like a prologue than a first chapter. But it looks good and reads well, so I agree with Jigsaw. Game on. Read Full Review

As for the script, I can only say this issue didn't play out how I expected at all. In some ways that's a good thing. I'm hoping this arc will prove to be the Jigsaw story to end all Jigsaw stories, and that's not going to happen if the two killers spend six issues shooting at each other. On the other hand, this issue pretty much boils down to an exchange between two characters - a mysterious hitman and a hapless pawn shop owner. The way Fraction crafts the killer's dialogue is... interesting, but I think aggravating would be a more suitable word. It reminds me of someone so intent on replicating the distinct dialogue of a Brian Bendis comic and going way overboard in the process. It's frustrating when I know Fraction is capable of more. Hopefully this arc will pick up immensely once Punisher decides to put in a real appearance. He's been effectively on vacation for three issues in a row now. Until then, I'm going to keep counting down the days until the next issue of Punisher MAX. Read Full Review

Hislight

Jun 25, 2020

The art looks like leftovers..part of it was appealing but some of it was downright sloppy. The story itself was good not great. This set up a new arc but I felt like it wasn't as heavy as it could have been. We got a fun villain coming up and this issue did a decent job setting that up. Good not great .