Comic By Comic

Good news, bad news

2009-11-25T08:10:00.005-05:00

Good news - no root canal today!

Bad news - root canal Monday.

Good news - four-and-a-half-day weekend starts this afternoon!

Bad news - four-and-a-half-day weekend ends Sunday night.

Good news - due date for the arrival of first baby is only a week away!

Bad news - it's going to be a loooong week...maybe.

Good news - following birth of said baby, I'll be pretty much absent from work for much of the rest of the month.

Bad news - MUCH of the rest of the month.

In the meantime, I'm trying to cram as much as work into the few hours I have here so that I'm in a decent enough position not to be concerned about work if previously mentioned baby decides to put in an early appearance.

Unfortunately this means that blogging time is limited, although I do seem to be making time to post stuff over on Tumblr, if only because it's quick and usually doesn't require pithy comments.

So, uh, a cover from a series that I may be the only person to like:

Talk amongst yourselves.

Could be worse, could be his daughter.

2009-11-24T08:13:00.002-05:00

I'm enjoying the new Batgirl book waaay too much.

So, yeah, busy in work - doubt you'll get much more than this today.

Universal Soldier: Regeneration

2009-11-23T14:42:00.003-05:00

I'm a big fan of big dumb action movies of the '80s and '90s - you know the kind; they starred Arnie, Stallone, JCVD or Lundgren (hey, remember Dark Angel? That was great!) - and if you got two of them together, even better.

Which was why Universal Soldier was so awesome - Van Damme and Lundgren duking it out as enhanced, nigh-robotic soldiers.

Even so, it wasn't a movie which was crying out for a sequel - let alone three, the first two of which didn't have either of the main characters in them, and the third of which only had Van Damme - so I avoided them.

But this...Van Damme and Lundgren?

I'm so there it's not even funny.

Between JCVD and the upcoming Expendables it seems both these guys are having a little bit of a renaissance - and as far as I'm concerned, that's a pretty damn good thing.

Rich's Pull List - 25th November 2009

2009-11-23T09:04:00.000-05:00

Assuming I don't get a sprog dropped on me this week, here's what I'll be getting (although having a root canal on Wednesday may mean I don't make it to the comic store, sadly...) - it's a pretty big week but at least there are some last issues in there for me.

Blackest Night #5 - Well, yes, obviously.

Gotham City Sirens #6 - And probably my last issue of this. Partly due to the big Purge and partly due to it just not being that good.

Green Lantern #48 - Again,obviously.

Justice League of America #39 - Blackest Night hits the JLA and hopefully gives it the kick in the pants that last issue's bridge between Cry for Justice and the new run didn't.

Justice League: Cry for Justice #5 - As I've said many, many times - unintentionally hilarious.

Justice Society of America #33 - Once again, probably my final issue. I like the JSA and all, and will probably continue to follow via back issues or trades, but I'm not picking up both books.
Superman #694 - Mon-El's finally sporting his new Superman-inspired look and basically is now Superman-Red. Just wish the 'S' was bigger.

Amazing Spider-Man #613 - Last issue was a pretty good start to the Gauntlet - I always liked Electro, and I like the idea of him as an agitator. Good stuff.

Avengers: The Initiative #30 - Sticking with this to the end - which isn't far away, if the upcoming Avengers Academy rumors are to be believed.

Fantastic Four #573 - Hell or high water, I'll be getting the FF.

Guardians of the Galaxy #20 - I'm kind of hoping that last issue's massacre isn't all instantly undone by time travel. Except maybe for Cosmo. Cosmo rocks. Good dog.

Hulk #17 - Don't start; I know it's crap, but it's entertaining crap.
Incredible Hercules #138 - Awesome, awesome book and one that needs the sales enough for me to stick with single issues.

~~Invincible Iron Man~~ #20 - This is a tough one, especially as I've enjoyed the run and have a pretty huge run from the character's previous titles. But...I think this might read better in trades.

New Avengers #59 - This would also read better in trades, but I'm stuck

Secret Warriors #10 - Despite my bitching, I'm sticking with this till the end of this arc although I don't really know why.

Uncanny X-Men #517 - Still not feeling Fraction on this book, but it's one of the few I'll stick with through thick and thin.

Web of Spider-Man #2 - Yes, I'm picking this up too. It's Spidey, okay?

The Problem with Secret Warriors

2009-11-20T08:55:00.000-05:00

Secret Warriors wants to be a good book. Marvel wants it to be one of those books which, like the Bendis-penned Avengers titles, really 'matters' in the shared universe. Jonathan Hickman appears to want it to be a Nick Fury book.

And you know what?

If it was a pure Nick Fury book, I'd be more into it. Even with the 'everything you know is wrong' approach of the book - S.H.I.E.L.D. has always been an arm of Hydra! The Contessa is part of the group that controls Hydra! Fury has a network of 'caterpillars' waiting to be activated! Fury, Contessa, Strucker and a bunch of others are all part of the Zodiac! - it could be a good book, if that was what it was sold as.

But no, it was sold as a book about Fury's team of 'caterpillars' and now, nine months in, we still don't have much of an idea who these characters are and why they're willing to throw their lives away following Fury. The exception to this are Daisy, who seems to fill the role previously held by Maria Hill - ie, be shouted at, have short hair and serve as exposition - and Phobos, who provides a convenient tie to Osborn's Dark Avengers team through his father.

The other guys? I really have no idea - I can't even remember their names, truth be told.

The fact is, no matter how much back matter and diagrams Hickman throws in the back, this is not a particularly good book. Sure it's 'integral' to the Marvel Universe but it's dull and more than a little smug. Back matter and what I'm sure is a well-plotted arc doesn't make up for the fact that the comic itself does a poor job of (a) selling its characters and (b) explaining the plot in the pages of the comic itself.

The murky coloring of the art doesn't help either.

I had high hopes for the book but frankly, it's a stinker.

Nice covers, though.

Star Wars The Old Republic Trailer

2009-11-19T13:03:00.000-05:00

I don't play online role-playing games, not even Star Wars ones - just don't have the time - but if I did, I'd be playing this one because this is one amazing trailer:

Ms Marvel #50: The End

2009-11-19T09:42:00.000-05:00

I can't say I'm sorry or surprised to see Ms Marvel end at #50 (although I do like the cover homage).

I started reading the book with high hopes but over the first 16 or 17 issues, was frustrated by the lack of development of a decent supporting cast and even more frustrated by the lack of development of the main character herself.

Carol Danvers has a pretty interesting history and a lot of potential - but it felt like Carol wasn't really been looked at too much; Ms Marvel was the focus to such an extent that any attempt at a normal life by Carol was completely ignored.

It didn't help that the book seemed to try a 'bold new direction' every six issues or so, either - that just added to the feeling that it was being made up on the run.

And yes, I know that everything's made up on the run, but the feeling I got was that the thrust of the first arc - 'being the best hero she could be' - got thrown out once Civil War hit. After that, the 'roaming agent of SHIELD' arc got thrown out with Secret Invasion (which I picked the book up for) - and so on and so forth.

I suspect that more than any other book - except perhaps Thunderbolts - Ms Marvel has been bounced around at the whim of the big events in the Marvel Universe, but while a lot of the Thunderbolts developments at least felt somewhat organic, Ms Marvel's changes in direction always felt too artificial.

So no, I'm not sorry or surprised to see it go and I hope for a relaunch under a different writer that can do the character justice - you know, I happen to know David Gallaher has some ideas for Carol...

It's my Birthday

2009-11-18T09:02:00.002-05:00

Yes, I've reached the grand old age of 35, which I reckon is half the allotted span that's dealt out to most of us.

That's a bit depressing.

Not as depressing as it being pointed out to me on the phone by my mum this morning that she was my age when she had me and at that point she also had three daughters aged between 9 and 13.

Yikes.

Anyway, I don't think I've done badly in the past 35 years;

- have a beautiful wife;
- have a baby due in the next few weeks;
- have a great family;
- have an awesome dog;
- have some great friends;
- traveled to Australia, New Zealand and across the US, and various other places;
- wrote a book (unpublished);
- wrote a screenplay(unpublished);
- wrote a comic;
- wrote another comic;
- wrote a whole bunch of other stuff;
- have a job which, although I may hate, allows me to provide for the first four above, and generally I work with some pretty cool people.

So yes, all over I'd say I'm a pretty lucky guy.

I have a bad feeling about this...

2009-11-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

I'm doing one of those things that I do.

You know, the ones where I put together random pieces of information and postulate on what they mean.

And, more often than not, I'm completely, utterly wrong. In this case, I certainly hope I'm wrong.

Anyway, Dan Didio has been saying for a while now that Green Arrow is a character to watch in 2010. I think he said the same about Blue Beetle in 2005, so take that as you will.

Then in one of his weekly Q&A's, Didio was asked:

What is the next villain we should keep our eyes on to get an upgrade in the manner which we have been of late with Brainiac and Starro?

DiDio: Let me think. Good question. I mean, Prometheus is front and center because of Justice League: Cry for Justice right now. But that’s a more immediate story, not something that’s playing out in the foreseeable future. Because Brainiac comes back in a big way.

You know, I really can’t answer that question because the person who might be deemed the next villain isn’t actually a villain just yet.

Nrama: So there’s somebody who's not a villain now that will be an important villain – when?

DiDio: By the end of next year.

A month later, he was asked about the status of some characters in 2010:

Can you give one sentence hints as to what 2010 holds for the following characters?:

DiDio: Wow, and multi-part answer. OK.

-Green Arrow?

DiDio: On the run.

- Black Canary?

DiDio: Reunited with old friends.

Okay...meanwhile the unintentionally amusing Justice League: Cry for Justice has long been said to end with something earth-shattering - and that's certainly what the new solicit suggests -

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #7

This is the big one! After the catastrophes seen in issues #5 and #6, a hero loses control, leading to an unexpected ending that will fundamentally change the lives of the World’s Greatest Heroes forever. This issue launches a major storyline in the DC Universe and is not to be missed!

That certainly looks like Green Arrow on the blacked out cover, doesn't it? And 'loses control', eh?

Meanwhile, over in the regular JLA book that month...

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #42

In the aftermath of the horrific events of JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE, a member is comforted by his friends and fellow Justice Leaguers over his tragic loss.

I'm probably reading too much into this, but still...

- A blacked out Green Arrow who appears to be trailing blood and a hero losing control;

- A JLA'er coping with his tragic loss;

- Black Canary reuniting with 'old friends'. What, like some dead JLI'ers?

- Green Arrow being a character to watch in 2010, and being on the run in 2010.

- A hero turning into a villain in 2010. Maybe a hero who's grieving and 'loses control'?

I mean, I may be adding 2 plus 2 and getting 17. I probably am.

Because there's no way that DC would kill off Black Canary and spend a while turning Green Arrow into a villain, right?

Right?

Rich's Pull List - 18 November 2009

2009-11-16T12:43:00.001-05:00

It's a big week this week - and unfortunately, not too much to drop...

Adventure Comics #4 - Superboy Prime takes center stage as Blackest Night hits the book. Hope that this serves as his curtain call

Flash: Rebirth #5 (of 6) - Cue joke about slow plot and slow schedule. Shoulda waited for the trade.

Outsiders #24 - Terra shows up for a family reunion with Geo-Force as BN hits this book too.

Supergirl #47 - Continues to be good, much to everyone's surprise.

Amazing Spider-Man #612 - The much-touted Gauntlet kicks off! Looking forward to this.

Dark Avengers #11 - Also looking forward to this for no apparent reason except its an enjoyable book - which should be enough.

Dark Reign The List Amazing Spider-Man - And again, one that I've been looking forward to! Man, this is shaping up to be a decent week.

Deadpool Merc With A Mouth #5 - Potentially my last issue, no matter what kind of Deadpoolitis I have.

Incredible Hulk #604 - Damn good since Pak came back. I'm enjoying Skaar mixing it up with the MU. There's something about the Banner-Skaar dynamic that I'm really enjoying.

Mighty Avengers #31 - End of the storyline, as Hank Pym presumably saves the day. I like the book, but I wonder if this would work better in trades for me?

Realm Of Kings Inhumans #1 - I think Abnett and Lanning have totally revitalised a lot of Marvel's cosmic properties over the last few years, and they don't always sell too well - so I'm committed to picking them up in singles.

Realm Of Kings One Shot - See above.

~~Thunderbolts~~ #138 - This is the one. Jeff Parker coming on board is a good dropping point for me. I'm not overly fond of the characters (except Ant-Man) so this is just a natural jumping off point - I may follow in trades.

X-Men Legacy #229 - I'm fast approaching a dropping point here too...

RIP Edward Woodward

2009-11-16T09:04:00.003-05:00

Edward Woodward died today, aged 79.

Damn. I used to watch The Equalizer when I was a kid, despite my parents thinking it was too violent for me and that it was ridiculous that a man of that age went round getting into so much trouble.

It wasn't until years later that I saw the occasional reruns of Callum and, eventually, discovered The Wicker Man - a simply amazing film which is probably one of the best horror movies ever made. Just don't mention the remake.

The Wicker Man was also more than a passing influence on my lookalike's movie, Hot Fuzz - which also featured Woodward in a supporting role.

He's had many more credits of course, but those three roles are the ones that I'll remember most.

DOCTOR WHO SALE

2009-11-13T09:26:00.007-05:00

A PSA - Amazon has a sale on Doctor Who today - the first four seasons available separately for $33 each - they normally retail for more than double that, so its a pretty damn good deal!

Click away!

A Plan Comes Together

2009-11-12T09:35:00.000-05:00

Last Friday night as I was tidying up the dinner plates and making a cup of tea (yes folks, another excitement-filled Friday in New York City!) I was, for no apparent reason, whistling aimlessly.

Only it wasn't quite as aimless as I thought - because I realised my wife (currently nine months pregnant for those counting) was watching me with a little smile.

"Is your plan coming together?"

I stopped whistling. Oh. Yep, it had been the theme tune to The A-Team.

"You know," I said, "if the first trailer that gets released for The A-Team movie isn't a recreation of the credits with the new cast, there's something seriously wrong with the marketing people."

She nodded wisely. "In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit."

"They promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground." I replied. "Today they survive as soldiers of fortune - if you have a problem, and if you can find -"

"- if no-one else can help," she corrected.

I thought about it. "You sure?"

She nodded and motioned to the computer. "Yep."

I pulled up this -

- and lo and behold she was right, although we'd missed a few bits out. I stopped the video after the narrative, just as the title card comes up - so before the rest of the credits.

"Hey," she laughed, "you think they'll have Liam Neeson smoking a cigar in a dinosaur suit?"

This is why my wife is awesome.

Other scenes from the credits I want to see recreated:

BA in a blinged-out construction helmet -

Murdock in a wedding dress -

- or perhaps with his sock puppet -

And, of course, Face and a cylon. New variety if possible:

Clash of the Titans Trailer

2009-11-11T16:01:00.001-05:00

I might be ambivalent on the Kick-Ass trailer but this looks like fun.

Now if only we can get sword fighting skeletons...

...and yes, I know they were in Jason and the Argonauts, not the original Clash of the Titans. Creative license, people. Creative license.

Kick-Ass Trailer

2009-11-11T15:04:00.000-05:00

I'm ambivalent about this, having no attachment to the source material - but I do think it's impressive that Mark Millar managed to sell another comic for a movie after the first or second issue came out.

And I'm one of those guys who actually liked the Wanted movie, so...

Remembrance Day

2009-11-11T08:51:00.005-05:00

In the UK, it's Remembrance Day, in the US it's Veteran's Day. Elsewhere, it's Armistice Day, since on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, Germany signed the Armistice and World War I - often simply referred to then as the Great War - ended. In the United States it wasn't until 1954 that the day was expanded to include veterans of all wars.

It's worth remembering that the Great War was also known as the War to End All Wars because after suffering losses of 16.6 million people world wide, surely nobody would be stupid enough to have a second World War.

World War Two, with a death toll of 62.4-78.3 million people, pretty much put paid to that.

And, of course, today men and women serve in their countries' armed forces across the world, protecting and defending not only their own country but also people of other countries - because if they don't, who will?

So: thank you.

And just because a post isn't complete without video or a picture of some kind, here's what is, for me, the best series ending of all time. There's a longer ending here, with additional Melchie (Stephen Fry) and Hague (Geoffrey Palmer) - but in the meantime...

There's something familiar about that guy...

2009-11-10T12:58:00.000-05:00

Over on his blog, Joe Bloke posted the first issue of Atlas/Seaboard's The Scorpion -

Does the Scorpion look familiar at all?

I immediately posted on the blog that he looked a hell of a lot like Marvel's Dominic Fortune -

- only to discover that Howard Chaykin created the Scorpion, quit the book two issues in apparently as he lacked creative control (it was canceled after the third issue), then used the Scorpion as the basis for Dominic Fortune.

I always liked Fortune - although my knowledge of the character was based entirely on the non-Chaykin written (Danny Fingeroth actually wrote them) Web of Spider-Man and Iron Man stories from the 80s.

I know that Chaykin's got a Dominic Fortune MAX series at the moment (which I also haven't picked up) - but I wonder; why take a character to a company like Marvel after walking away from a similar character because you lack control over it?

Makes no sense to me.

Ah well, learn something new every day!

Believe it or not...

2009-11-10T08:49:00.002-05:00

...I'm walking on air!

A real blog post later, time allowing.

Rich's Pull List - 11th November 2009

2009-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

After last week's respite this could be another big week - which means the Purge continues!

Action Comics #883 - Like I've said, I'm sticking with the Superman books. The Reactron crossover was, surprisingly, pretty good so I hope that trend continues.

Batgirl #4 - Like Steph, like Babs - not going anywhere.

Batman & Robin #6 - This is still pretty entertaining and has yet to transition into the usual Morrison 'looked better before I wrote it down' mess - so I'm staying with it.

~~Batman/ Doc Savage Special~~ #1 - Damn, I really want this especially as First Wave looks better and better - but this is going to be in a trade someday so I'll pass over it right now.

Booster Gold #26 - I've said before, I'm with this book through BN - which arrives this issue. Whether there's a book after BN remains to be seen...

~~Green Arrow/ Black Canary~~ #26 - You'll be pleased to hear that I've kicked this bad habit.

Green Lantern Corps #42 - Yes.

REBELS #10 - As with Booster, here through BN, but this has been simply enjoyable, not stellar.

Red Robin #6 - I like Tim, and I'm actually enjoying the new status quo for him, so I'm staying with the book.

Titans #19 - Oh, don't start.

Amazing Spider-Man #611 - You know the score. If it's Spidey, it's bought.

Dark X-Men #1 - I'm a little torn on this one. I like Paul Cornell's writing, and I like Dark Beast and Mystique - but I'm not sure that I like them enough to pick up the mini. I'm not going to strike it off the list but it may not get picked up.

Deadpool #17 - It's a disease, I know. I think I have Deadpoolitis.

~~Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard~~ #1 - I've grown to like a lot of the Imperial Guard, but this is one that I'm going to pick up in trade. And, uh, shouldn't the Realm of Kings one shot have come out before this?

~~S.W.O.R.D.~~ #1 - As much as I like the concept of this, I don't feel the need to pick up the book. I feel like I've been kicked in the nuts too many times by Secret Warriors to pick up another book centered around an acronym-based agency.

~~Strange~~ #1 - I like Stephen Strange, and I like Mark Waid but I can virtually guarantee that nothing of note will happen in this book that I can't catch up on in trade.

~~X-Force~~ #21 - Necrosha arrives and I leave this book. I'm still going to get it in trades but not monthlies right now.

~~X-Men Forever~~ #11 - I've been quite open that this, in spite of it's many, many, flaws this is probably my favorite X-book - but from now on it's one I'll get in trades.

Ladronn's Cable

2009-11-06T09:00:00.005-05:00

I was using www.stashmycomics.com last night - see, www.collectorz.com, that's what you get when you won't release a mac version of your comic collecting software and I need to transfer all the info from my PC! -and I came across Ladronn's Cable run.

I'd forgotten how great a lot of these covers were - Ladronn seems to channel Kirby in places, especially when it comes to the perspective applied to characters jumping with their hands thrown forward.

See?

It's a shame that, as great as the art was in these books, the stories - by James Robinson and Joe Casey - sometimes didn't quite measure up. The late 90s were a dark time for a lot of Marvel's mutant line, and poor old Nathan Summers was no exception.

Even so, for the art alone these books are worth picking up cheap. I don't think they've ever been collected, so back issue bins at cons or ebay may be your best bet - I can't imagine they go for much over a buck a book these days.

At this point I'm just rambling to break up the pretty pictures a bit, but you probably figured that out already.

But they are pretty, aren't they?

I seem to recall Ladronn working on an Inhumans mini as well - that's probably worth tracking down too. Hmm...there's an idea...

Not sure what Ladronn is up to these days, but he should be doing more mainstream US comics work - if only because that's probably the only way that I'm going to see his stuff!

Oh, Deadpool...

2009-11-05T08:40:00.006-05:00

...you crazy self-referential fool, you.

Despite my attempt to Purge before the title began (although I guess since the title is counting backwards, it really started with last month's Deadpool #900), I picked up Deadpool Team-Up #899 last night and, unsurprisingly, loved it.

Sure, it helped that it had a FVL-written Hercules on board for an adventure against Arcade - and who doesn't love some kind of team-up issues that pitches mismatched heroes against Arcade? - but it was the combination of Herc and DP that sold me.

Can we get a buddy book for these two instead of a rotating DP team-up?

Come on, you know you're itching for a fourth Deadpool ongoing really...

Lois Lane knows karate....

2009-11-04T10:35:00.002-05:00

...KRYPTONIAN karate!

via

(Yes, I'm too busy to blog today)

A Brutal Week #4 : Guardians of the Galaxy

2009-11-03T10:02:00.004-05:00

The reason that I started this series of posts on the past week's comics was because of Guardians of the Galaxy #19. While any deaths in a comic that has been featuring time travel as heavily as this has in recent issues are obviously suspect - especially when for some of these characters it's not the first time that they've died.

Even so, the wholesale - well, I guess the word is slaughter - that happens in this book happens so quickly that it took me by surprise.

I'm not sure Cliff Roberts' stylized artwork was the best way to show this but I have to admit that it's grown on me these past few issues.

Anyway, for those keeping score, the Guardians who were skipping through the timestream arrived just in time to stop Phyla, former Captain Marvel, former-Quasar and current Martyr, from killing Adam Warlock, not knowing that this was actually to prevent Warlock from changing into the Magus, his supremely powerful evil future self.

The non-time-traveling Guardians with the exception of Moondragon teleport over - and then Magus rises and all hell breaks loose.

It starts going wrong when Mantis and Cosmo (awesome telepathic Russian spacecop dog) try to use their telepathy.

And just like that, two of the Guardians are down.

Rocket Racoon' attack doesn't do much, but it gives Phyla the opportunity to move in for the kill with her supersword again -

And that's three down.

While Gamora - also wielding a sword - attacks her former teammate, Vance Astro hurls his shield at Magus, hoping to catch him by surprise.

It doesn't go so well.

That's four - until Magus gives Astro his shield back.

Make that five.

Finally, after Drax tries - and fails - to stop Magus (but at least he survives) , Starlord manages to use the cosmic cube that Kang gave him (told you there was time travel in here) to put a whammy on the villain -

- and then, at Warlock's urging, makes it six members of the team down in the space of about seven pages.

When the team come home to Moondragon - well, Drax puts it best.

Sure, the Punisher got cut to pieces, Donna Troy crushed her dead baby's skull, and Cypher tore Warlock's head off (that's the other Warlock), but it's without doubt this issue that made me put it down, then pick it up and reread it straight away.

And that almost never happens.

If you're not reading this book, you damn well should be.

Fall of the Whonow?

2009-11-02T15:53:00.001-05:00

Newsarama posted a preview of the upcoming Fall of the Hulks: Alpha earlier -

- and although I'm sure this will be the equivalent of a Michael Bay movie, what with Loeb on board, I can't help but think, 'I like Michael Bay movies, they're awesome.'

So, yes, I'll be picking this up in spite of the Purge.

Plus, homage cover to one of my favorite non-crossover crossovers ever, so bonus there.

A Brutal Week #3: Dark Reign The List Punisher

2009-11-02T13:12:00.000-05:00

I'm never entirely comfortable when the Punisher operates in the Marvel U proper; I think he's usually diminished somewhat. After all, he can't really kill too many well known characters and he's completely outclassed when he goes after the real villains of the MU.

Rick Remender's current series kind of underlined that, and had Frank tooling up against the Hood and his back-from-the-dead minions using a bunch of leftover Marvel weaponry. Fortunately, for the Dark Reign: The List: Punisher one-shot, most of the outlandish weaponry is ditched and it's just Frank against Daken.

And, well, it's brutal - and when you've got John Romita Jr on his game, it's really brutal.

Once Daken cuts Frank's throat, you know he's in trouble - but (if you haven't been paying attention to solicits) just how bad that trouble is may come as a shock to you.

Damn. And that was his gun hand too.

Thing is, and this is Frank to a tee, that just means he's going to use a knife with his other hand.

Although that may not turn out too well.

Crap. Two arms gone. Could things get worse for Frank?

Well...yes.

There's a bit more, as Daken kicks what's left of Frank off the roof into the alley below, and all his body parts pile in a heap, just in case you want to get a bit of closure.

The Punisher is a marquee character for Marvel. A name that a lot of non-comics people know - and they just had the lookalike of another big Marvel name cut him, literally, to pieces. I know this is comics, I know that Frank's coming back as a Frankenstein-style character (and god knows why they think this is a good move for him), but still...

It doesn't get much more brutal than this in a mainstream Marvel U comic.