Marvel Comics, 2004, $14.99
REPRINTS Amazing Spider-Man # 129, 134, 135, 161, 162, 174, 175, 201, 202, annual # 15, Giant-Size Spider-Man # 4, Marvel Preview # 2, Marvel Super Action # 1, Captain America # 241, Daredevil # 182-184, Punisher # 1-5
Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Len Wein, Mike W. Barr, Marv Wolfman, Denny O'Neil, Frank Miller, Roger McKenzie, Bill Mantlo, Steven Grant, Mary Jo Duffy, Ross Andru, Tony DeZuniga, Frank Springer, Keith Pollard, Al Milgrom, Greg LaRocque, Mike Zeck, Mike Vosburg
The Punisher represented a new breed of anti-heroes when he was first introduced in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man # 129. Essentially a killer with a conscience, he was a maverick and oddity amongst the more straightforward super-heroes that populated the Marvel Universe. Essential Punisher vol.1 collects all of his appearances from Amazing Spider-Man # 129 up until and including his first mini-series by Steven Grant and Mike Zeck, including the rarely seen and never before reprinted stories from Marvel Super Action # 1 and Marvel Preview # 2.
In his first appearance, the Punisher no more than a riff of Mack Bolan's The Executioner, the protagonist of a series of highly popular crime novels at that time. Manipulated by the Jackal into assassinating Spider-Man, it would be many appearances before the character of the Punisher was further fleshed out, all the while serving as a reluctant sometime ally of Spider-Man. The first artist to draw the Punisher is the late Ross Andru, who portrayed him as someone in his mid to late thirties, something which has changed considerably over the years. And that basically surmised everything about the Punisher. That is until Steven Grant and Mike Zeck came along and added depth and personality to the Punisher.
Something to take note about in all of the Punisher's team ups with Spider-Man is the use of "mercy bullets", a deus ex machina concept created by Gerry Conway to explain away Punisher not killing the bad guys in order to comply with the then restrictive Comics Code Authority guidelines. Oddly enough, these "mercy bullets" are nowhere to be found in his appearance in Daredevil # 181-184 by Frank Miller, and was ignored altogether by Steven Grant for the Circle of Blood mini-series.
Clocking in at 560+ pages, this is one of the larger entries in Marvel Comics' Essential line of budget trade paperbacks. Essential Punisher vol.1 is definitely a great inclusion to any Punisher fan's bookshelf, and is worth a look even if you're not a fan as it also serves up excellent samples of classic 1970s Spider-Man tales as well as Frank Miller's Daredevil.