Punisher: War Journal No. 9 Explores America's Dark Side (Book Review)

The days following the Civil War storyline, which sharply criticizes the Patriot Act, resulted in this; will America follow?

Here's how I read comics as a kid; it's more uncomfortable than I remember.

Chances are good that by now you know that Captain America is dead; it was picked up by several media outlets and run as a major story reflecting on our country's cynicism and loss of innocence.

Chances are also good that you don't know how, or why, or what came next.

First, however, some of the story before the story. Captain America's death followed directly on the heels of a giant cross-promotional event Marvel dubbed "Civil War." After a mishap involving superheroes resulted in the deaths of over 600 people, the government pressed a striking new legislation called the Superhuman Registration Act.

This forced superheroes to reveal their secret identities to the government. However, heroes were split, and took sides; hence the title "Civil War." Several heroes advocated the act for public safety, while others advocated individual rights to privacy. Sound familiar? It should, as the plot line was made in direct response to our own government's actions following 9/11.

One of the most ardent supporters of the rights to privacy was Captain America, who reluctantly let Frank Castle, the Punisher, join his group of heroes fighting for their rights. Once the Civil War ended, Captain America was arrested and to be put on trial; that is, until he was shot on his way to the courthouse.

Several heroes had different responses to Cap's death. Frank Castle donned an entirely new costume that pays homage to Captain America while keeping true to his dark roots. Still evading the government's forces, but looking out to punish the crime world, we begin this chapter.

Neo-Nazis vs America: Fight!

When we join the Punisher, he's already being held captive by a militant group called the National Force, donning their own variations on Cap's outfit but donned with swastikas and striking combinations of red, white and black. Subtlety is no friend to Punisher comics, and the message is quite clear even from the first page.

Then, the comic takes an unexpected turn in flashback. The Punisher didn't merely fight the racist cell, he infiltrated them. As a malicious group of immigrant-killing extremists, they force Castle to kill an innocent woman to prove his worth - and he actually does so. Clearly, the ends justify the means for him. Later, he gets his revenge for forcing him to do such a thing by slaughtering at least one of the National Force members in a fairly brutal fashion that I will simply say involves a high-speed vehicle.

I won't spoil the ending, but suffice it to say we fall onto a cliffhanger. Such is the nature of serial stories.

Though the plot delivers a metaphorical and political message with all the tender care of a steamroller, I got pretty genuinely interested in the social commentary taking place in this piece. I'm not sure I'll continue to follow Punisher comics - he was never my favorite of superheroes - but I'm bound to at least research to discover how this particular plot arc wraps up.

Art Direction and Writing

As mentioned above, the art is nothing if not blunt - as Punisher tries to infiltrate the racist group he wears a Confederate flag on his shirt - and the writing is no different. We're subjected to a long and rather stereotypical diatribe from the leader of the National Force filled with racial epithets. This made me a bit uncomfortable, which I suspect was its intent, but it seemed to go on a bit unnecessarily long. Okay, they're racists; we all get it.

The glimpses inside Punisher's mind, on the other hand, are refreshingly interesting. We see his psychosis and the guilt he feels when he carries out his hazing, and this small portion gives us a look inside the terror of racist extremism that rivals some films I've seen on the subject. (Ed Norton, I'm looking in your direction).

In the world of this artist, all of the men are hulking beasts - even by comic standards. Though the one brief glimpse we get of a woman she looks fairly normally proportioned, the men appear to be nothing short of action figures with unbelievably defined chins and shoulders as broad as a school bus. This serves well enough to separate us from the disturbing messages the book delivers, but at the same time I wonder if a more gritty, realistic appearance would work better for putting us into the dark and depraved world of these fanatics.

American Punishment

We can clearly see the dementia and commentary on America in the artwork of this piece. Following the death of America - the embodiment of freedom - a new America has emerged, and that one is dark and cruel and willing to do horrible things to accomplish its goals. It isn't the same one that we loved, but it is somehow more relevant to the world we live in.

Interestingly, though, while the newly attired Punisher may cast a dark shadow on the current state of America, he is standing up for values that most would call very liberal, setting a priority of destroying a destructive racist cell. His willingness to get his hands dirty is no news for the Punisher, but is interesting to note now that he is representing our nation.

Civil War was a cautionary tale, and the stories that have followed have been equally ones of warning. In our current society, the Patriot Act is just beginning. It hasn't yet been allowed to reach the point, from a metaphorical standpoint, that was carried out in the Civil War storyline.

The question is, will we get to that point? Will one day the fallout of the Patriot Act cause a blow to our spirit strong enough to form us into what the Punisher shows us?

Or, the much more terrifying question...

What if it already has?

My Superhero Is Better Than Your Superhero Series

As part of a mini-series on comics that I'm writing with two fellow Viners, we're ending each comic book review with thoughts on how their Superheroing prowess stacks up against the competition. Frank Castle, otherwise known as The Punisher, has a long and checkered history. He's been everything from a villain to a dark antihero to an absolute laughing stock in the comic world.

One feature sets him apart from several of his comic brethren, however: he is utterly and completely merciless. We see this twice in this comic in fairly graphic detail, first when he kills an innocent woman to prove his worth to the skinheads, and later when he gets his revenge on them. At these times it's as if Castle is consumed by his anger, repeatedly reinforcing the word to himself like a mantra: kill.

While other heroes have a strict "no killing" policy, Frank Castle throws all of that out the window. For that reason, he's a formidable foe, because when he's set on a target he won't stop until they die -- or he dies. On the other hand, Punisher is also fully human, so he has an inherent disadvantage to his fellow heroes imbued with superpowers.

So to open the question: how would Punisher do in a fight against the following opponents?

• Catwoman Comes of Age: A review of Catwoman #68, "Catwoman Dies"
• Reconsidering Spiderman: Review of The Sensational Spiderman, The Strange Case of... #3
• John Constantine Confronts His Inner Demons...Again: Review of Hellblazer # 233
• Book Review - Superman/Batman #37 - Torment
• The Roots of Green Arrow: Review of Year One, #1
• Book Review - Fallen Son, The Death of Captain America - Iron Man (2007)
• How Wonder Woman Restored My Faith

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