Yesterday, writer of August's The Punisher #1 participated in a live blog with MARVEL to reveal new details about what's in store for Frank Castle in the upcoming new series. Here are some of the main excerpts, but you can read the whole thing by heading on over to the site by clicking on the link below.
The first arc of the new series does not tie directly into Fear Itself, but does touch on the state of New York City and the criminal element following the event and how various gangs are battling for power. It kicks off with a crossfire that has a lot of innocent casualties.
Greg will not spend a lot of time "in Frank's head."
"We know where Frank wants to get to: He wants to kill all the bad guys. How he gets there is what's interesting." -Greg Rucka
As a younger reader, Greg always stayed away from The Punisher. He felt he seemed reactionary and over-the-top. As he got older, he saw the appeal more. He had actually forgotten about this before he took this job.
That Frank has survived and not gone completely off the deep end, has not "eaten his own gun," is what Greg wants to look at.
Needing to stay off the radar of the many super heroes who will not tolerate somebody like Frank will be a major part of the book. Down the line, this will be explored more and more.
"Marco Checchetto is a great storyteller, which is what I look for in a collaborator. A lot of guys and gals can draw pretty art, but he can really tell a story. He also does beautiful art. His interpretation of my script is more elegant and stronger than I could have imagined." -Greg Rucka
Greg does not have any interest in making The Punisher particularly knowable or sympathetic. "If you want to sit down and have a beer with this guy, you need to reevaluate yourself."
"That said, though we will not be using the War Journal or going inside his head, there will be a mechanism that addresses why he does what he does." -Greg Rucka
Frank Castle tends to slide under the Avengers' radar because they have bigger stuff going on as Greg says. "He's his own problem. Crime sucks, but right now we have giant hammers falling from the sky, so that's a priority."
"The Punisher is not going to shoot Spider-Man. At the same time, The Punisher is not going to let Spider-Man take him into custody, but there's no way Petr Parker lets him walk. That's an interesting conflict when or if it occurs." -Greg Rucka
There will be a new detective character who believes in his job and is frustrated by the fact that his job becomes more difficult as a result of Frank's action. For his part, Frank would "be delighted" if the NYPD could do their jobs well, but he does not believe they do. A conflict will build here.
Norah Winters from Amazing Spider-Man will be appearing in The Punisher.
"I can't write Jason Aaron's Punisher, I can't write Rick Remender's Punisher, I can't write Matt Fraction's Punisher, I sure as hell can't write Garth Ennis' Punisher; I can write the Punisher I'm fascinated by and would pay money to see, and hopefully others will feel the same way. I want to see my Punisher look like a bad ass. I want to see him make the T-1000 look like a [expletive]." -Greg Rucka