Garth Ennis is a sick and twisted man - at
least, that's what his writing leads me to believe. Anyone that could
imagine the deplorable and depraved acts of violence that spatter onto
his comic scripts would have to be mad or some sort of sadistic poet in
the tradition of the Marquis de Sade.
That is why I am so sad.
Ennis is leaving the title that was tailor-made to suit him: Marvel's Punisher series.
In
1999, Marvel was in an unenviable situation with the character. A
previous storyline had killed Castle, only to have him return as a
punishing angel; a spirit of vengeance. The fans didn't buy it,
figuratively or literally.
Editors Joe Quesada and Jimmy
Palmiotti asked Ennis to write the Punisher again, this time in a story
that brought the character back to his roots. What followed were 12
issues of gloriously escalating humor and violence in equal amounts.
Ennis
teamed with friend and collaborator Steve Dillon for a year-long stint
that won Best Mini-Series of the Year in the Wizard magazine fan
awards.
The story was called "Welcome Back, Frank," and it featured at least one innovative kill in every issue.
My
personal favorite involved a car trip on the Long Island Expressway
with a nasty end for a mobster, but there are so many moments that
tickle that shameful part of the human psyche that laughs at the
suffering of others.
One character, known only as the Russian,
fought Castle nearly to the death and was saved by a strange
combination of hormones and machine implants. The result, a whole
series later, was a cross-dressing, big-breasted enormous strongman
cyborg with a goofy Russian accent. Mayhem, of course, ensued.
All
told, about 112 issues of Punisher have been written by Ennis so far.
He has grown with each story. He moved away from over-the-top and
violently humorous scripts into a writer that tackled serious issues
without pulling any punches.
Recent story arcs have followed
the Punisher as he wreaked havoc on a Slavic sex-slave ring, and
battled a murderous Russian general in Afghanistan while war raged.
Writing
the Punisher for nearly a decade may have gotten to Ennis, perhaps akin
to Heath Ledger, whose role as the Joker is rumored to have caused the
sleeping trouble that may have led to his death. As soon as the series
was relaunched as part of Marvel's Max line of mature-themed books, the
violence began to take complete precedence over the humor. What humor
remained in recent Punisher stories was darker, more twisted and subtle
than before.
Garth Ennis is the best writer to ever script the
Punisher. It will be a cold day in the depths of hell before Marvel can
find someone like Ennis to do something as original and imaginative
with the character. Today's issue 55 marks the beginning of the last
story arc of The Punisher written by Ennis, so catch the magic while
you can. Here's to you, Garth, for so many memorable moments.