Punisher Red Band #1 (2025)

Marvel's 'Red Band' books come sealed for freshness and your protection. How are you, the reader, to have any idea what's inside (Aside from the promise of gore and violence beyond the pale)? Why, you'd have to guess, and being asked to fork over $5.00 on a guess seems nearly unfair. So, what are you getting for your Abraham Lincoln?


You ARE getting some blood, some violence, arguably more than you would in a regular Punisher comic. Writer Benjamin Perce has become Marvel's Go-To Atrocitarian, currently slicing and dicing up your favorite heroes in 'Predator Kills The Marvel Universe'. For you older readers, you are getting nothing CLOSE to the Punisher Max series by Garth Ennis and company. For you younger readers, I guess this could be shocking, but you aren't allowed to read it, so you can't be shocked by what you don't see.

There's a bit of a secret-not-so-secret villain who's choice could have been influenced by certain Marvel TV shows. I didn't know he was in this, so I won't spoil that here. The art by Julius Ohta is fine, clear enough, and seemingly influenced by Marco Checchetto.

Given what we've seen in previous Punisher comics, this is a serviceable entry point, but nowhere near peak Frank.