Punisher: War Zone (2012 series)

For the film, see Punisher: War Zone.

Punisher: War Zone
Issue 1 cover by Marco Checchetto
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Publication date	2012
No. of issues	5
Main character	Punisher
Creative team
Created by	Greg Rucka
Written by	Greg Rucka
Artist(s)	Carmine Di Giandomenico Matthew 'Matt' Hollingsworth
Penciller	Carmine Di Giandomenico
Inker	Carmine Di Giandomenico
Letterer	Joe Caramagna
Colorist	Matthew 'Matt' Hollingsworth
Editor(s)	Axel Alonso Cory Levine Ellie Pyle Nelson Ribeiro Alex Starbuck Stephen Wacker

Punisher: War Zone, also known as The Punisher War Zone , is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics about the vigilante The Punisher. The series was written by Greg Rucka as a follow-up to his previous Punisher series from 2011, meant to finish the story Rucka had begun in the 2011 series. The interior illustration was done by Carmine Di Giandomenico. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Plot

During the series, Frank Castle (The Punisher) finds himself attacked by several members of the Avengers, who are all trying to stop his lethal personal war against crime, especially after he is accused of killing several police officers. Wolverine attempts to speak with him and believes Castle when he says he did not murder the policemen and lets Castle go.

Afterwards, Castle finds out that his supposed accomplice, Rachel Cole, will most likely be executed for the crime they have been accused of and he must save her. He fights with Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and Thor and manages to steal one of Iron Man's armors to give Cole enough time to escape. After he's beaten down by several Avengers, Castle is made to surrender by Steve Rogers (Captain America) who urges him to stand down like the military man he is after the battle is over and he knows he is beaten. Castle, unwilling to refuse an order from Rogers, whom he respects, gives up and is placed in prison.

Reception

The series holds an average rating of 7.7 by 64 professional critics on the review aggregation website Comic Book Roundup. ^[5]

Joey Esposito of IGN stated of the first issue that it is the kick-off to the perfect kind of event story, that it plays off what came before it but does not rely on it. He also expressed that even if one has not read Greg Rucka's previous Punisher story yet one can jump on War Zone and be up to speed on the very first page. He expressed that Rucka displays true storytelling mastery in the series, using five nearly-silent panels to give the reader the essential information to get them off and running. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}

Prints

Issues

No.	Title	Cover date	Comic Book Roundup rating	Estimated sales (first month)	Rated
#1	Punisher Manhunt Continues	December 2012	8.1 by nineteen professional critics. [10]	27,010, ranked 98th in North America [11]	PAL [12]
#2	Punisher Accomplice Refuses Not-Guilty Plea	February 2013	7.0 by seven professional critics. [13]	25,471, ranked 86th in North America [14]	PAL [15]
#3	"Punisher Proxy" Trial Ends, Now to Jury	March 2013	7.9 by nine professional critics. [16]	23,863, ranked 85th in North America [17]	PAL [18]
#4	Guilty!	March 2013	7.2 by fifteen professional critics. [19]	22,993, ranked 90th in North America [20]	PAL [21]
#5	Escape!	April 2013	8.4 by fourteen professional critics. [22]	22,824, ranked 92nd in North America [23]	PAL [24]

Collected editions

Title	Format	Material collected	Pages	Publication date	ISBN	Estimated sales (North America) [Trades]	Rated
Punisher: Enter The War Zone	Trade Paperback	Punisher: War Zone (2012) #1-5	120	May 29, 2013	978-0-7851-6742-6	2,100, ranked 44th the first month [25]	—

See also

• 2012 in comics

References

1. McElhatton, Greg (January 14, 2013). "Punisher War Zone #3". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
2. Sunu, Steve (November 1, 2012). "RUCKA SETS THE BOUNDARIES FOR "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE"". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
3. Ching, Albert (July 16, 2012). "SDCC 2012: The AVENGERS Enter The PUNISHER's WAR ZONE". Newsarama. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
4. http://comicsalliance.com/punisher-war-zone-october-teasers/ https://web.archive.org/web/20170404103958/http://comicsalliance.com/punisher-war-zone-october-teasers/
5. "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE". Comic Book Roundup . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
6. Esposito, Joey (October 24, 2012). "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #1 REVIEW; Frank Castle meets the Avengers". IGN . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
7. Esposito, Joey (December 5, 2012). "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #2 REVIEW; Black Widow goes on a manhunt". IGN . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
8. Norris, Eric (January 9, 2013). "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #3 REVIEW; Further proof that, yes, Thor is an alcoholic". IGN . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
9. Bailey, Benjamin (February 27, 2013). "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #5 REVIEW; Rucka's mighty run sadly comes to an end". IGN . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
10. "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #1". Comic Book Roundup . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
11. "October 2012 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
12. "Punisher: War Zone (2012) #1 | Comic Issues | Marvel".
13. "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #2". Comic Book Roundup . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
14. "December 2012 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
15. "Punisher: War Zone (2012) #2 | Comic Issues | Marvel".
16. "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #3". Comic Book Roundup . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
17. "January 2013 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
18. "Punisher: War Zone (2012) #3 | Comic Issues | Marvel".
19. "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #4". Comic Book Roundup . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
20. "January 2013 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
21. "Punisher: War Zone (2012) #4 | Comic Issues | Marvel".
22. "PUNISHER: WAR ZONE #5". Comic Book Roundup . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
23. "February 2013 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles . Retrieved 2017-07-04.
24. "Punisher: War Zone (2012) #5 | Comic Issues | Marvel".
25. "May 2013 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles . Retrieved 2017-07-04.

External links

• Punisher: War Zone at the Comic Book DB