I could have picked about five books being released on August 3rd as my staff pick this week, but lucky for you I was finally able to narrow it down to Greg Rucka’s new Punisher ongoing series. The Punisher has had his fair share of ups and downs over the years, often being treated as a character whose only purpose is to slaughter mobsters, ignoring the fact that he’s simply a man who lost everything he ever loved. Finally, Frank Castle is being placed in the right hands. Rucka has been out of the mainstream comic industry for about a year, and it’s been even longer since he’s dipped his pen in some Marvel ink. When it comes to crime comics that offer an in depth character analysis and a realistic approach to superheroes, Greg Rucka’s talent that is second to none. Expect some dark, gritty and grimy street level drama mixed in with flashes of ultraviolence. After all, somebody’s gotta take care of the thugs while the rest of the heroes are off fighting Fear Itself. Read on for the skinny…

WRITTEN BY: Greg Rucka
ILLUSTRATIONS BY: Marco Checchetto

”TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK. For Frank Castle death comes easy…life is where things gets complicated. Fully loaded with the Eisner winning writer Greg Rucka (Batwoman, Queen and Country, WOLVERINE) and neo-superstar artist Marco Checchetto (Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil), the BIGGEST GUN of all returns with blood on his hands and vengeance in his eyes. As New York City’s body counts continue to rise, the city’s streets are teeming with more methodical criminals than ever and a police force doing it’s best to keep its head above water. The Punisher has returned to serve his own brand of justice with everything’s he’s got… but can he survive the darkness stored in his own arsenal? Plus bonus pages exploring some of the new personalities in Frank’s life…and how closely intertwined living is with dying.”

Let’s get real, The Punisher is, and always has been a vigilante, a one many wolf pack, a hero who never really fit into the Marvel Universe. No other hero sees it as their job to murder criminals in cold blood, and annihilate the human scum from the face of the planet. In fact, most of the Marvel heroes are too busy fighting off space aliens, or evil gods, to pay attention to the crime that spreads from their own streets. This is where Greg Rucka’s Punisher comes in.

Greg Rucka has gone on record saying that with this new Punisher series, you won’t need to buy tons of other books to know what’s going on. Rucka wants to give readers, both old and new, a Punisher who stands alone, not mixed up with all kinds of other issues (like some people we know…Spidey). Anyone who knows Rucka’s work, whether Queen and Country or his work on Detective Comics, knows how serious his books are, there’s no child’s play. Rucka will undoubtedly bring a renewed brand of vengeance and punishment to the table, with a gripping storyline and intelligent dialogue.

If you’re sick of all the major comic book events, or if you’re looking to get started on a new ongoing series because you’ve been out of the game for a while, the brand spankin’ new Punisher series is your book. Although we may not see heads splattering and cigarettes lowered into criminal’s eyeballs like we got in the MAX version, The Punisher just wouldn’t be The Punisher without violence and gore. Now the only question that remains is, how long can Frank Castle get away with it before some godlike hero steps in?

“The Punisher” issue #666 Drops Wednesday, August 3rd From Marvel Comics! (MSRP – $3.99)