The first four issues included here are good solid revenge action with nice gritty artwork. Unfortunately, the last three issues degenerate into superhero silliness involving a crossover with a more annoying than usual Spiderman and a somewhat bland Daredevil. Meh.

The Punisher now has to deal with Rachel, whose similar tragedy puts her on the warpath. Basically he takes her on as a sidekick. They team-up with Daredevil and Spider-Man in the second half of the book to deal with a plot point from Mark Waid’s Daredevil run. Overall, the storytelling is decompressed but good. Rucka writes a convincing Punisher even when doesn’t say anything. The stuff with Daredevil and Spider-Man is fun, but having read Punisher MAX, seeing Frank interact with superheroes is...

3,5* rounded downThis volume started better than the first one but the Omega effect crossover with DD kinda blew it. The first issues mark the beginning of the silent alliance between Castle and Cole after a murdering sweep in an upstate NY chalet. This was good, with an issue more focused on detective Oswald Clemmons (who somehow makes me think of det. Lester Freamon in The Wire) brilliantly illustrated by the Lark/Gaudiano tandem.Then the Omega effect takes over and it sucks it all down. Spide...

The character interactions got a bit more interesting in this one. The art was more varied, but in a good way. One of my favorites was #7, pencilled by Michael Lark. It followed the two detectives as they went over the crime scene of the murders we had just witnessed in the previous issue. It had a very Gotham Central feel to it. This volume ended with the Omega Drive story, which I had already read previously but now had more context for the Punisher side. Spider-Man stands out as very funny in...

Continuing my Punisher kick after watching the Netflix series, this edition includes a Spiderman-Daredevil-Punisher team up that had the same problem most team-ups have. There were too many splash panels with too little story and character development. And the Punisher always works better with a more "realistic" approach; once you start throwing in super powered foes and allies, Frank starts to seem way out of his depth. Still, some of the volume includes street level stories that are spot on.

Again, I was expecting something more from this run. Rachel Cole-Alves turned into another Lady Punisher just as scheduled and I'm not liking at all how Rucka's "Punisher always worked alone" reboot deleted years and years of Microchip partnership previous stories, but Checchetto's artworks are really good ones and the Omega Effect crossover was a blast of a re-read for me.

Rucka continues his dark and twisted Punisher run. So what happens when Punisher finds someone else in a similar situation as him? When Rachel, a woman who has her entire family murdered at her wedding and her nearly die, get revenge Punisher decides to take her on as a sidekick basically. On top of that we have the Punisher, daredevil, Rachel, and Spider-man team up story. I read this one in Daredevil run but this was still great. Spider-man is TOO funny, Punisher is badass, and Daredevil is th...

Solid continuation from Rucka, but it's the Omega Drive Crossover that does it for me. Spidey, DD and Frank team up, pitch perfect, like 3 different brothers in fighting and joking but deadly serious.Art is solid, the snow Punisher outfit is solid, great shit. Visual stunner. Meeting Cole Alves barrel to barrel is fun, especially when he finally accepts her, albeit in a supporting role.

I love the setup gimmick of Castle acquiring a new "sidekick" -- woman too! But this bogs down in the second story, in which he teams up with Spider-Man and Daredevil to destroy a sought-after MacGuffin -- almost all the entertainment lies in Spidey's deliberately horrid wisecracks.

Can't any of these dicks remember that the woman has told them repeatedly to call her Alves and not Cole?

I accidentally read volume 2 before volume 1, because the numbers weren't clearly visible in my Kindle app! Aaaand then I read them close on the heels of each other, so I'm just going to write a combined review for both.In general, I've now fallen hard for Greg Rucka's run on The Punisher. I've only read Garth Ennis apart from this, from Ennis' more cartoony bonkers stuff in 2000, to his grimdark Punisher MAX in 2004-2009 -- and now Rucka takes on the mantle in 2011. And it is lovely. It's dark

Let's take a solid baseline of pure storytelling goodness (last volume) and add a great little multi-threaded thriller (with a tinge of mystery) to it. Especially when you add a highly-motivated, skilled and equally-morally-unburdened woman to the dynamic - one with a clear line of sight to good reason to want to get in the middle of the punishing. Keep the gritty, noir-ish tone of the storytelling and the look of the scenography. I'm telling you folks, it's damned hard to out it down long enoug...

What about Punisher?The 💀Punisher is back with an ally. No wonder he's unshaven in Greg Rucka's run! Spider-Man 🕷 provides comic relief during the climax, at one point wondering if Rachel Cole-Alves, Frank’s partner, is the Punisherette? 😄 FULL OF SURPRISES!!!

Entertaining Punisher/Daredevil/Spidey crossover with the trio teaming up with a female vigilante against an army of bad guys. Action packed, humorous and taut, it’s well written and drawn, with the kind of cliched macho soul searching that comics do really well. Fun stuff

Good Tight Cross-Over that's Sensible and Well DoneOVERALL RATING: 4.5 starsArt: 4.5 starsProse: 4.5 starsPlot: 4.5 starsPacing: 4.5 starsCharacter Development: 4.5 starsWorld Building: 3.5 starsRucka's Punisher is definitely growing on me. Some fantastic writing here, some of Waid's best stuff too.

Title: The Punisher Vol. 2Author: Greg Rucka Series: The Punisher (2011), 2Format: ebookLength: N/ARating: 3 starsSynopsis: A fallen Frank Castle learns the hidden truths of the Exchange and how it’s connected to some of the Marvel Universe’s darkest secrets!Then, when ex-Hydra and AIM agents team up to bring down the Punisher, Frank finds himself up against a soldier who’s more like him than either of them realize. And when the Exchange targets the Punisher with some unique technology, things