Some very good character work here, even if the story is predictable and decompressed. Frank's sorta kinda mentoring of Rachel continues. She's forced to make tough decisions which lead to a deadly mistake. Rucka's writing remains strong, with standout scenes for Frank, Rachel, and the detectives. He really gets to the core of Frank Castle as a soldier, but not someone who should be idolized or imitated.

Not BadOVERALL RATING: 3.5 starsArt: 4.25 starsProse: 3 starsPlot: 3.5 starsPacing: 4 starsCharacter Development: 3 starsWorld Building: 2 starsNot as strong as the previous installment but was still a decent story. Leads in and sets up War Zone quite well.

Well, this didn't really turn out to be anything. Rachel Cole is a good character and I hope she sticks around in the Marvel universe, but this whole series never felt like it had a mission. Too bad.

I've not liked very much this Punisher's reboot, and Frank shooting dead Black Talon and his army of zombies while all NY heroes (and snipers...) were on vacation was just ridiculous, but the end of Rachel Cole-Alves' storyline was an intense good one, Checchetto's artworks got better and better and Frank's look Metal Gear Solid style was a cool add to the package.Not bad at all, but I think it could have been far better.

I liked each volume of Rucka's Punisher better than the one that came before. This is a terrific ending. That starts off with some great character issues. Rucka does the action-adventure and espionage of the rest of the issues quite well, but it's the character studies that make this volume really stand out.

Again and again, Punisher is proven to be one of Marvels best comics.

It Wasn’t consistently Good! But all 3 trades together made for 1 good written story! Bravo.

I don't know much about comics, but I do know literature, and from a complete literary standpoint, Volume Three of Greg Rucka's The Punisher did it for me.I've refrained from writing about the previous volumes because I simply felt I did not have a proper grasp on anything good in the comic. As a whole, they were entertaining--Rucka's writing and Checchetto's art (I'll get to the art in a sec) make for a solid, vivid series that, after midterms, was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to sit back an...

The three volumes were a good story in general, the art was great, punisher being the toughest guy like always. It had moments that i would understand why the rating is a bit lower, but is still entertaining and cool.

This run ends kind of...decent but I was hoping for more. So after all the horrible events that happened, Frank pushes Cole to her limit. Forcing her to choose a life of revenge or to go back to living a normal one. After that whole thing Frank and Cole go after the one who caused her so much pain. Does it go well? Well fuck no, this is the Punisher after all. The last issue ends the whole Cole/Frank thing. This isn't bad at all. Highly entertaining, brutal moments, and some great character deve...

This is the darkest volume, and that's saying something. Rachel Cole-Alves really has to count the cost of her mission to punish criminals. Castle doesn't take it easy on her. He treats her like the soldier she is. Lays it out on the line for her. The storyline building up from the first books culminates in a way that is very intense. I can't say anything more without spoiling it. This is a riveting read. I love this series, even when it's hard to read.

I like how Rucka very much writes this as a crime comic, because it's what he knows and is good at, and the Punisher works well in the genre. And because he's trying to keep it to as 'true' crime as possible, they're not always overly violent, which they can't be anyway because this isn't the MAX title. The inner monologue of the War Journal is missing (even though there is a panel of Frank writing in it), and instead Rucka allows for a very visual form of telling the story. Instead of telling y...

The last volume of Rucka's main Punisher series. There's still the followup War Zone trade, but I don't know yet how much of this storyline it will follow. In the end, I liked this series but didn't love it. The art was overall great (with a couple exceptions, Mico Suayan's art was terrible). I really like Marco Checcetto's figure work and faces and compositions. The primary problem, and it happened often throughout the whole series but only became a big problem near the end, was a lot of wordle...

"Wait, that's it?""Yep.""He just shot him dead?""A-yep.""He didn't even WANT to hear what Black Talon - Barone - was saying? He didn't want to find out WHY he was doing this?""I don't think the Punisher cared, Detective."This is exactly what I like about Castle. ANYWAY.Zombies attack. It's very strange. Not really what I'm looking for from Punisher.Punisher is framed for murdering innocents, blah blah blah the usual.TL;DR Pretty good.

It was me.Frank Castle and Sergeant Alves are back. Now the question is ... who’s pulling the strings?

My only problem is that the Rucka Punisher run was too short. Loved the Cole-Alves character, need more of her.

The end of Rucka's run before War Zone, which makes more sense now.The showdown with the Exchange comes, and the crossfire takes down innocents, due to Alves, and the cost becomes real.Frank makes her commit fully, but it doesn't sink in until it's too late.Once again, a Punisher series ends with Frank's humanity and heart on display, saving Alves from herself.This makes everything in War Zone make more sense (the Avengers come after Frank after he puts it on the line).

And the Punisher Vol.9 ends with a Bang!Castle and Rachel finally go against the Exchange and blood will be spilled. Lots of. Rachel will learn that vengeance comes with a price and Castle will show a more humane side of his personality-like a good officer should be- even if he is not much more talkative. Walter, Ozzie and Norah will also be swallowed in the last stand of this army of two and not all of them will escape unhurt.The plot to punish the Exchange is classical but well handled by Ruck...

The art is good, the story is good enough. I like the Punisher and I like Greg Rucka. This doesn't stand out, but that is because Rucka's work is so consistently good.

The Punisher by Greg Rucka Volume 3 is an average Punisher story with some interesting twists. Greg Rucka is an excellent writer whose prose is always on target. That tradition for fine authorial craft is evident in this volume. Every issue is solidly written and constructed with each adding to the cumulative impact of the narrative. The art, while suffering from the modern Marvel Comics curse of too many artists in the kitchen, is universally well-done. The illustrated panels fit the dark and s...