CBR: Remender Reflects on His "Punisher" Saga

[CBR News]

With Rick Remender's two and a half year run on the Punisher coming to a close with the release of the final issue of "Punisher: In the Blood," we spoke with him about his time spent with Marvel's favorite violent vigilante.


Full article here.

[bjmorga]

I generally enjoy Rick Remender's writing, but I loathed the FrankenCastle stuff. While well written from a writing standpoint, the concept was stupefyingly ill-suited to the character. There is a way to make Frank work within the context of the Marvel Universe without resorting to such outlandish shenanigans. That's not what makes the Punisher tick. I think Punisher is in this "post-Ennis" funk where writers are finding ways to either live up to the legend of that material or try to do something radically different. FrankenCastle falls into that latter category. But I don't need or even fantasize about Punisher being something that he is not. Most people read Punisher because he's not like the rest of the Marvel Universe. There's a difference between populating the Marvel Universe and conforming to its spandex set. I posit that the Punisher has never been the latter and has never really worked in that manner. He's unique and different because of that, not in spite of that.

Read an interview with Greg Rucka about the Punisher versus this one reflecting on FrankenCastle. One writer gets what makes Punisher tick whereas the other one went out on a limb that broke. Guess which one is which. I own every single comic ever published under the Punisher banner. Some of those issues I had to go back and get, but I've bought everything since Punisher since War Zone #1. I'm certainly a Punisher collector. That being said, I dropped FrankenCastle. I voted with my dollar (as Quesada has encouraged us to do for years) and I think enough folks did just that to force the change away from FrankenCastle. I feel no ill will towards the creators, but I'm glad FrankenCastle is gone. It will be remembered as poorly as the angel/demon run prior to the Ennis revival/golden age.

Regardless, those first eleven issues plus the The List one shot are some excellent Punisher comics. The end of the Hood arc was one of the most hardcore things I've read. When Frank burns his own family down it was legitimately one of the few times I've said "damn" aloud while reading. In the Blood was fine too, but I've read better.

[Greg Anderson]

I was wishing that he got to do a crossover with Voodoo and FrankenCastle.

[NickFury90]

It will be remembered as poorly as the angel/demon run prior to the Ennis revival/golden age.

Which a damn shame, because if readers stepped outside of their narrow little boxes of what a character should or shouldn't be, they would find a exceptionally fun read that's full-on, grindhouse comics bursting with ideas.

Its safe to say I LOVE Remender's run, all of it. If I just want to see Punisher shooting mafia guys, I go read the MAX series. Remender managed to take the essence of Frank Castle and involve him in the Marvel Universe in a fun and inventive way. He takes big ideas and infuse them with character and actual emotion. "Frank Castle kills his family" isn't just an awesome high concept here, its an intense "Holy Shit" moment that continues to be built on throughout the second half of the run and becomes one of the most important themes of the run.

Strong ending too, everything coming full-circle with Frank, Jigsaw, and Henry. I grew to enjoy the Frank/Henry relationship, adding a bit of humanity to Frank's usual antics. "In The Blood" was structured in an unpredictable way, where even with a character I thought I come to know like Henry, I didn't know which side he was with. Furthermore, I felt that Jigsaw and Frank were BOTH right in their own way, and should both stay the hell away from having children

If there's a "Rick Remender's Punisher" Omnibus down the line, Marvel, you have my money.

[ian33407]

...Legion of Monsters...ONGOING... by Remender ...

Uh...YES.

[ian33407]

I meant...yes-please

[Spidey616]

LOVED Remender's Punisher run. Sad to see him no longer writing him.

Was looking forward to seeing what he'd do with Turner D. Century

[ayof]

Yep, thanks for mucking it all up. Rucka to the rescue!

[bjmorga]

...Legion of Monsters...ONGOING... by Remender ...

Uh...YES.

Now this I would buy.

[blehbeh]

Awesome run from start to finish.

[Rollo Tomassi]

Thank goodness its finally over.

If the ongoing Punisher saga was a stock market, Remender's run was the 1929 crash.

[MisterSmith]

'Nuff Said.

[Mason Dixon]

I enjoyed the Franken-Castle stuff. It was a good read. But... It really felt forced onto the character. It didn't feel a natural fit. I had to divorce myself from what I had just read to even start to enjoy it.

Many writers say that you need to show Frank IN the Marvel Universe and do stuff like this. It doesn't work for his character I think. Ed Brubaker used Punisher at the start of his Daredevil run beautifully. It had Frank interacting with the MU but using the character in a way that felt right.

I'll re read the FrankenCastle run because it was good. But to me it's a What If..? story, not the real thing.

[TonyStark1012]

I generally enjoy Rick Remender's writing, but I loathed the FrankenCastle stuff. While well written from a writing standpoint, the concept was stupefyingly ill-suited to the character. There is a way to make Frank work within the context of the Marvel Universe without resorting to such outlandish shenanigans. That's not what makes the Punisher tick. I think Punisher is in this "post-Ennis" funk where writers are finding ways to either live up to the legend of that material or try to do something radically different. FrankenCastle falls into that latter category. But I don't need or even fantasize about Punisher being something that he is not. Most people read Punisher because he's not like the rest of the Marvel Universe. There's a difference between populating the Marvel Universe and conforming to its spandex set. I posit that the Punisher has never been the latter and has never really worked in that manner. He's unique and different because of that, not in spite of that.

Read an interview with Greg Rucka about the Punisher versus this one reflecting on FrankenCastle. One writer gets what makes Punisher tick whereas the other one went out on a limb that broke. Guess which one is which. I own every single comic ever published under the Punisher banner. Some of those issues I had to go back and get, but I've bought everything since Punisher since War Zone #1. I'm certainly a Punisher collector. That being said, I dropped FrankenCastle. I voted with my dollar (as Quesada has encouraged us to do for years) and I think enough folks did just that to force the change away from FrankenCastle. I feel no ill will towards the creators, but I'm glad FrankenCastle is gone. It will be remembered as poorly as the angel/demon run prior to the Ennis revival/golden age.

Regardless, those first eleven issues plus the The List one shot are some excellent Punisher comics. The end of the Hood arc was one of the most hardcore things I've read. When Frank burns his own family down it was legitimately one of the few times I've said "damn" aloud while reading. In the Blood was fine too, but I've read better.

Well said. I agree.

[cambrown99]

If half the people absolutely love it, and half the people absolutely hate it, you know you're doing something right.

I'm not a Punisher fan by any stretch, but I loved the FrankenCastle arc. I'm glad Marvel took a risk with this.