This might be the best Punisher series I've ever read. Rucka's minimalist style of writing is perfectly matched by the art from Checchetto & Hollingsworth with many 2-3 page runs without a single word on the page. My favourite part of the series is how the story is told about the people whose lives Castle affects and interacts with leaving the Punisher as more of a force of nature rather than a character - which is, in my opinion at least, the essence of the character. Highly recommend this entire 15-issue run. ( )

Kind of disappointing, to be honest, since I've enjoyed other work of Rucka's. He seems to be going for this whole idea of focusing on the people on the Punisher's periphery - the police, the criminals, etc., but I just kinda had a hard time caring about most of them (I already know what ends up happening with Alves, so I felt like I was constantly drumming my fingers waiting for her storyline to go into high gear). I probably won't continue. :",,,1,,,0,,,,,
6334,Never Let Me Go,Kazuo Ishiguro,Ishiguro ( )

I suppose in Volume One the story is only getting started, but I didn't see much in it but another saga of bloody vigilanteism. However, the layout and artwork are fantastic. Many panels were worth savoring for minutes at a time--very cinematic. ( )

"Fresh Meat" by Dave Richards for Criminal Element

Wars are common occurrences in crime fiction. They can be gang wars between rival mobsters, a war on drugs, or an all-encompassing war against the forces of organized crime itself. The latter type of war has been waged by many memorable protagonists like Dashiell

Hammett’s Continental Op, Richard Stark’s Parker, Don Pendleton’s Mack Bolan, and Bolan’s four-color descendant, Marvel Comics’ U.S. Marine-turned-vigilante Frank Castle, AKA the Punisher.

Acclaimed thriller writer Greg Rucka joins artists Marco Checchetto, Matthew Southworth, Matthew Clark, and color artist Matt Hollingsworth to kick off a new campaign in the Punisher’s ongoing war against organized crime. The Punisher Volume 1 (March 14, 2012) is a graphic novel that collects the first six issues of the title character’s current series.

Read the rest at http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/02/fresh-meat-the-punisher-by-greg-ruc...