PUNISHER TO THE MAX
Writer Garth Ennis is set to head down a few familiar roads later this year in Punisher with "Confederacy of Dunces", a five-part story arc kicking off in October with issues #33 and #34. The arc will finish up the current Marvel Knights series with issue #37, setting the stage for an all-new Punisher series under Marvel's MAX imprint in January with art by Citizen V penciler Lewis Larosa.
"Dunces" will see Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Wolverine teaming up to bring the Punisher's killing spree to an end once and for all, as well as a guest-appearance by the incredible Hulk. ComiX-Fan recently talked with Ennis about the new arc, the upcoming new series, and Artisan's new big screen version which began filming in Tampa, Florida last week.
COMIX-FAN: First of all, what's the basic premise of "Dunces"?
ENNIS: Daredevil, Spider-Man and Wolverine team up to take Frank down, and avenge the catalogue of injury and humiliation he's inflicted on them. Frank hits back hard - and cleverly.
COMIX-FAN: The Punisher has clashed with Spidey, DD, Wolverine, and even Hulk in the past, but how is it that these characters come together to stop Frank now, at this point in time?
ENNIS: These are the three I've put through the Punisher wringer over the past couple of years. I was all set to finish the current series at #32 before moving on to the MAX book, but Joe Quesada talked me into one last all-out maelstrom of carnage, sick jokes and superhero-stomping. My old pal John McCrea was up for drawing it, which pretty much swung the deal for me.
COMIX-FAN: The decision to use Wolverine is an interesting one, given that he's no slouch in the killing stakes himself. What was it that saw him added to the mix?
ENNIS: See above. Wolverine got it worse than anyone.
COMIX-FAN: Will Wolverine's appearance this time around be reminiscent of his last appearance in the title?
ENNIS: Yep.
COMIX-FAN: The arc is being described in solicitations as "the Punisher kills the Marvel Universe... again". How does it compare to that 1995 one-shot?
ENNIS: Ten times better. Some of Kills was (badly) rewritten by Marvel editors, and {artist} Dougie Braithwaite wasn't very well served by the inkers they put on him.
COMIX-FAN: What ramifications will this arc have for the Punisher?
ENNIS: It finishes the series, and pretty much puts an end to the crazy, black-humored, "knowing wink to the audience" Punisher I've written up to now. The new MAX book that follows this series will be a much darker beast - no less action-packed, but more serious. Very similar in feel to the Born mini-series running at the moment. So "Confederacy of Dunces" is a nice way to clear the decks.
COMIX-FAN: Ultimately, what can fans expect from "Dunces"?
ENNIS: Mayhem, brutality, humor of the nastiest kind, all very fast-paced. And everyone involved gets the crap kicked out of them at least once.
COMIX-FAN: And finally, much is being made of Artisan's Punisher movie tapping "Welcome Back, Frank" as its source material. With characters such as Stanley Bumpo and Spacker Dave appearing in it, what are your thoughts on and hopes for the film?
ENNIS: I'm kind of tickled they used some of my characters, but I've got a bit of a "wait-and-see" attitude to movies these days. A nice, brutal, fast-paced, well-plotted action movie would be a welcoming break from most of the stuff coming out at the moment - the key to the whole thing is Frank's character, of course. Soften him or tone him down and you've got just another vaguely edgy anti-hero, but get him right and you can have some very dark fun indeed. Thomas Jane is a good choice {to play Frank}, I think; he has a good enough range to suggest he knows how to handle something like this.
So I hope it's good, and I hope they have the courage of their convictions. And I hope there's a fantastically successful Mr. Bumpo spin-off movie that makes me about a billion ******* dollars, that would be kind of nice.
Failing that, I'll settle for a good, entertaining action film.