Tag: Pat Mills

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #3 (1993)

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #3 (1993)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the year 1996 and explore a part of the Marvel 2099 comics universe through a tale of the Punisher 2099 monthly series.

In my previous retro review, the futuristic Punisher moved on from the deaths of his family members. Influenced strongly by the writings of the late Punisher Frank Castle, Jake Gallows begins operating as a vigilante even though he still has a full-time career as a law enforcer with Private Eye. Not only that, he gets opportunities to face off once again with Kron Stone (Venom 2099 himself) who is responsible for the deaths of Jake’s family.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Punisher 2099 , published in 1993 by Marvel Comics with a story written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, and drawn by Tom Morgan.

The cover.

Early story

The story begins on one snowy night within the city. A lady who has grown very addicted with Total Reality makes a deal with a sinister merchant and makes her escape out of reality and into a living digital realm without caring about the consequences she will physically experience.

A black ambulance arrives and out comes the Punisher who hits the merchant hard enough with his weapon for a quick knockout. He then takes off the lady’s optical device (note: this should remind you somewhat of Microsoft’s HoloLens in terms of physical similarities) which brings her back to reality. Gallows knows fully well that Total Reality can actually kill users who do not practice any restraint, and he then crushes the lady’s device. Instead of thanking the Punisher, she expresses her frustration and anger to him before leaving.

Afterwards, Gallows brings the merchant into the black ambulance and puts him on stretcher. There are sharp devices nearby that can kill the merchant if he makes any attempt to escape…

Quality

Among his colleagues at work, Jake Gallows simply acts as he himself is the Punisher captured on video (but his face has been protected digitally).

While the first two issues of this monthly formed the origin and establishment of Punisher 2099, this comic book shows him doing vigilante work and acting as judge, jury and executioner all together. Going back to issue , the creative team made it clear that in 2099, justice can be bought and punishment for criminals is much softer compared to how it was in the 20th century. This alone serves as a powerful motivation for Jake Gallows to bring back old-fashioned, harsh punishment for criminals even if it means he has to do it by himself outside of the law. This is the core concept of this comic book and along the way, there is this build-up of the villain Fearmaster and his henchman Multi-Fractor.

More on the story, the creative team took their time to develop Jakes Gallows and emphasize how his mind functions each time he works secretly as a vigilante (who cannot be identified visually) and privately as a Private Eye cop (the organization’s psychologist noticed something about him). More on his secret as the Punisher, it turns out Gallows was able to establish a secret prison complex, equipment for crime-fighting and even a deadly chair underground.

As he continues to be obsessed with fighting criminals with the harsh ways of the past, the futuristic Punisher symbolically becomes a questionable protagonist. On face value, he seems to be good by simply opposing crime and yet he seems to be evil as he commits acts outside of 2099’s laws.

Conclusion

Clearly acting out of the law, the Punisher of the future imprisons criminals and acts as judge, jury and executioner without hesitation. This also shows his dark side.

With its simply concept, Punisher 2099 (1993) succeeds in defining the futuristic Punisher’s motives, intentions and execution. Compared to Frank Castle Punisher, Jake Gallows lives in a society which has laws that are so weak to push back against crime, justice becomes hollow and even laughable. That being said, this comic book is very socially relevant (note: Leftists in America weakened laws which benefited criminals, supported illegal immigrants at the expense of citizens, and have varied movements of arrogant protesters and activists who intimidated people and caused serious damage around the country) and what has been happening in America under the influence of the Democrats makes the dark future of 2099 looking like it could happen. At the same time, the Punisher in this story incidentally became somewhat unlikable as his crime-fighting obsession is gradually turning him into becoming as bad as the bad guys. This is a lively reminder that even in a society that is plagued with crime and weak justice, vigilantism is still a big no-no and it is also very destructive. To be a vigilante means becoming wicked.

Overall, Punisher 2099 (1993) is satisfactory.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #2 (1993)

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #2 (1993)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we revisit the future of 2099 through the Punisher 2099 monthly series.

For the newcomers reading this, Punisher of 2099 is Jake Gallows who works during the day as a law enforcer which is a nice contrast to the concept of the classic Punisher identified as Frank Castle. In Punisher 2099 (1993), Jake Gallows witnesses the demise of his family that got attacked by a gang of killers led by Kron Stone who is not only the son of Alchemax’s Tyler Stone but also became the deadliest nemesis of Spider-Man 2099.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Punisher 2099 , published by Marvel Comics in 1993 with a story written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, with art by Tom Morgan.

The cover.

Early story

The story begins with a funeral of Jake Gallows’ lost family members held at the church of Thor. In accordance to the traditions of the Thor religion, the dead bodies were placed on a burning boat floating on the water just outside the church building. As he and his fellow law enforcers watch the ritual happen, Jake confirms that he and the church of Thor do not believe in forgiveness and he himself believes in revenge.

When he is not on duty, Jake goes out as the Punisher hunting and killing criminals in his own brutal ways. Even as he does not wear a mask nor a helmet, his face is digitally covered from detection of security cameras thanks to a special technology he uses to protect his identity.

Meanwhile at an amusement park, lots of children enjoy floating in the air within an anti-gravity chamber. Kron Stone and his fellow killers arrive as they attempt to murder the children. Punisher suddenly comes out and successfully kills Stone’s companions, leaving them together in a standoff…

Quality

The Punisher has someone assisting him.

While the sub-par issue was composed mostly of the build-up and emphasis of the futuristic Punisher, this story is pretty much a big pay-off to it. Quite predictably, Jake gets to meet with the gang leader responsible for the death of his family in this issue not once but twice. Along the way, the comic book writers got to emphasize Kron Stone’s wickedness more as well as his continued disregard of human life. This time, Stone’s willingness to kill many children is very disturbing and Tom Morgan’s art style clearly emphasized the villain’s evil.

Within this comic book is a visual tour of the Gallows residence which has a large underground facility and pieces of technology that Jake uses for his campaign against crime (this makes Punisher 2099 becoming similar with Batman and his Bat Cave). He also has a technology oriented partner named Matt who helps him establish a working base of operations.

There is also a sub-plot about the side of crime with the introduction of the Fearmaster who, like Tyler Stone, is with Alchemax and has influence over Public Eye. Unsurprisingly, his introduction is short.

Conclusion

Jake Gallows and Kron Stone (AKA Venom 2099) meet again, only this time the former is now in his form as the Punisher.

The best way to describe Punisher 2099 (1993) is that its plot really thickened and unlike issue , this one has a more interesting story and the presentation done by the creative team has some entertainment value. While this is unsurprisingly the natural progression of defining the futuristic Punisher to readers, it is also a successful way of expanding his own part of the 2099 universe complete with the introduction of a new villain and conspiracy that connects to both criminals and law enforcers. To be clear, this is far from being an excellent comic book but it is clear that this one is an improvement over issue . In retrospect, the one thing that adds weight to this comic book is not Punisher himself nor the creative concepts involved, but rather the presence of Kron Stone who later on became Venom 2099 (read my retro reviews involving him in Spider-Man 2099 issues #35, #36, #37, #38 and #39).

If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of Punisher 2099 (1993) be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $90 while the near-mint copy of the newsstand edition costs $200.

Overall, Punisher 2099 (1993) is satisfactory.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #13 (1994)

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #13 (1994)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back, superhero enthusiasts, comic book collectors, 1990s pop culture enthusiasts and fans of Marvel Comics! We finally made it at last with the conclusion of The Fall of the Hammer crossover storyline that highlighted Marvel’s 2099 franchises.

Last time around, Doom 2099 saw the raising of the stakes and tension of the storyline leading up to the sudden team-up of the 2099 universe’s pioneering heroes – Spider-Man 2099, Ravage 2099, Doom 2099 and Punisher 2099 – facing the so-called Thor (the flying idol of the people in 2099), the minions and the secret forces behind the conflict.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Punisher 2099 , published in 1993 (cover dated 1994) by Marvel Comics with a story written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, and illustrated by Tom Morgan.

The cover.

Early story

The story begins with Spider-Man, Punisher, Doom and Ravage together facing a horde of Berzerkers approaching them. The four engaged with the horde using violent action. When things calmed down, Doom 2099 tells them that they need to split into duos so that they can prevent the city of Valhalla from harming the millions of people below (in New York).

Before they start their tasks, the schemer Avatarr appears to them through holographic imagery and tells them that Valhalla was created as a base for the heroes that would destroy them and lead mankind along more productive lines. Thanks to Ravage’s move, Doom detects Avatarr’s frequency…

Quality

As Punisher 2099 arms himself, look closely and you will see the conflict between him and Jake Gallows.

When it comes to the storytelling, this conclusion to The Fall of the Hammer storyline felt unsatisfying. There were clear signs of rush on the resolution to the plot that preceded the ending which itself had a sudden shift of focus on Punisher 2099.

The real meat of this comic book is the team-up of the Marvel 2099’s pioneering protagonists, including the duos that were spawned as the plot required it. For most of this crossover storyline, Spider-Man 2099 and Punisher 2099 were just riding together going to Valhalla. In this comic book, you will really see the two work together which was satisfying enough as pay-off (to the build-up the preceded this issue). The duo of Doom 2099 and Ravage 2099, however, was nowhere as satisfying and, more notably, there was no real chemistry between them.

This comic book continues the theme of false deities and a series of unfortunate events pulled off from a distance by some sinister force located in a secret place. While this storyline had touched on the faith of the Thorites (most notably in Doom 2099 ), this one simply abandoned it to focus more on 2099’s original heroes doing something heroic.   

When it comes to Punisher 2099 himself, fans will have a lot of stuff to enjoy. There is a short but notable moment in the story implying that Punisher 2099 and Jake Gallows are separate entities presented in the character’s mind.

Conclusion

This opening image is easily the best image of the comic book. Things went downhill from after this image.

Punisher 2099 (1994) is not the solid conclusion The Fall of the Hammer storyline deserved. There were clear signs of rush as well as compression of details that had to be done in order to fit the 22 story pages. The so-called final conflict felt hollow and 2099 fans who got invested with the era’s self-declared Thor (who was initially the main antagonist) in the previous chapters will be disappointed with the way he turned out here. That being said, Avatarr as the main villain is just not convincing and was unsatisfying. Having Punisher 2099, Spider-Man 2099, Doom 2099 and Ravage 2099 together to do some saving was pretty interesting and symbolic, as well as the main attraction of this comic book. Sadly, not even those pioneers could save this comic book and the storyline from ending with a whimper.

If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of Punisher 2099 (1994), be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $6 while the near-mint copies of the signed-and-numbered and the newsstand editions cost $50 and $16 respectively.

Overall, Punisher 2099 (1994) is worth getting below its cover price.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

A Look Back at Ravage 2099 #15 (1994)

A Look Back at Ravage 2099 #15 (1994)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back, superhero enthusiasts, comic book collectors, 1990s culture enthusiasts and fans of Marvel Comics! To those who read my previous retro comic book reviews related to the 2099 universe of Marvel Comics, you know fully well that I found the first eight issues of the Ravage 2099 monthly series to be lackluster even though they all involved the writing of the late legend Stan Lee. After Lee stopped working, the Ravage 2099 series was taken over by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner for the writing duties and those two were in-charge of the Punisher 2099 series.

Eventually, a crossover storyline of the 2099 universe was published titled The Fall of the Hammer. It was told in five parts and each of the existing 2099 monthly series at the time – Spider-Man 2099, Ravage 2099, Doom 2099, Punisher 2099 and X-Men 2099 – had one issue forming it. The Fall of the Hammer kicked off with Spider-Man 2099 #16 which had solid writing by Peter David.

Part 2 was told in a Ravage 2099 issue. To find out the story and its quality, here is a look back at Ravage 2099 , published in 1993 (cover dated 1994) by Marvel Comics with a story written by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, and drawn by Grant Miehm.

Early story

The story begins at the place of Paul-Phillip Ravage who is now in human form. In his presence are X-Men 2099 members Meanstreak, Krystalin and Bloodhawk. Suddenly Bloodhawk comes after Ravage and tries to make him give out information in relation to the disappearance of Jordan Boone, a friend of Meanstreak. Boone disappeared after compiling data related to Alchemax’s problem with Valhalla.

Ravage then transforms into his monstrous form which surprises Bloodhawk. After the winged X-Men member mentioned Valhalla, Ravage calms down and decides to talk with the team. Soon enough, they fly above the city streets in a vehicle heading towards Valhalla. As they approach the floating city, armed flying personnel move in to attack Ravage 2099 and the three X-Men.

Elsewhere in New York, Spider-Man 2099 finds himself at a disadvantage as Punisher 2099 has a gun pointed at him…

Quality

2099’s Spider-Man and Punisher together.

To put it clearly, this 2nd part of The Fall of the Hammer storyline is where the 2099 heroes begin to actually cross over with each other and the first panel showing Ravage with the three X-Men members is symbolic of that. The plot here is actually simple…Ravage and the X-Men make it to Valhalla which is their common destination. The mutants want information about Jordan Boone while Ravage tries to meet Doom 2099 (whom he met in Ravage 2099 ). Apart from those objectives, there is a lot of action scenes laced with dialogue designed to move the narrative forward little by little. If you are looking for character development of Ravage, you won’t find much here. What you will find, however, are some scenes of intrigue that show Ravage getting disturbed temporarily as a result of realizing the presence of a certain someone he got close with.

As for Valhalla, the city here is more of a technical playground than an actual threat to the people and societies it flew over. What weakens the story here is the absence of 2099’s Thor.

Conclusion

The money shot of this comic book!

To a certain extent, Ravage 2099 (1994) is a somewhat entertaining read mainly due to the mix up of 2099 characters together here. The story is pretty light but at the very least fans of Ravage 2099 will find their monstrous hero in a somewhat interesting misadventure here. The concept that started in Spider-Man 2099 showing Valhalla as a floating danger is weaker here but at least this comic book sets the stage for the next chapter of the storyline decently.

If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of Ravage 2099 (1994), be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $16 while the near-mint copy of the newsstand edition costs $48.

Overall, Ravage 2099 (1994) is satisfactory.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

A Look Back at Ravage 2099 #8 (1993)

A Look Back at Ravage 2099 #8 (1993)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back, superhero enthusiasts, comic book collectors and fans of Marvel. Today we revisit the original 2099 universe that Marvel Comics launched in the 1990s. We go back to the said universe through the eyes of Ravage 2099, the original 2099 character co-created by the late Stan Lee and artist Paul Ryan.

Before proceeding with my next retro comic book review of Ravage 2099, I want to stress that there was a time when the late Steve Ditko nearly launched Ravage 2099 with Stan Lee. For the newcomers reading this, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee are recognized for co-creating the iconic Spider-Man and to even imagine the two creators almost getting involved with the 2099 universe’s original hero is intriguing.

Marvel tried to get Ditko to work with Lee on Ravage 2099 early on. Then Marvel Comic editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco revealed that, on behalf of Lee, he called Steve Ditko who eventually attended a meeting which reunited them. After having a terrific discussion with Lee, Ditko cordially turned down the project. DeFalco stated that Ditko just did not agree with some of the philosophical underpinnings.

“Steve walked away, and I could tell he was really thrilled to have seen Stan,” DeFalco added.

With that short history over, here is a look back at Ravage 2099 , published in 1993 by Marvel Comics plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner and drawn by Gran Miehm. This was Stan Lee’s final work of writing a Marvel 2099 story.

The cover.

Early story

The story begins with a weakened Ravage, Tiana and Dack already in trouble as a Public Eye battle copter approaches them. The three just escaped from an underwater city using an old vehicle from the Fantastic Four. While Tiana expressed that there is no way they could outfight or outfly Public Eye, Dack reminds her that Ravage is their only hope and because of him, they got away from the aquatic beings and survived.

Dack then send their vehicle (which instantly blew ballast and raised a canopy) under water to escape from Public Eye. The effort was futile as the battle copter captures their vehicle and pulls it out of the water using a magnetic beam.

Knowing this development, Anderthorp Henton makes a confidential holo-call with Dethstryk and tells him that Ravage is in his possession. Henton also states that he intends to kill Ravage. Dethstryk demands Henton to deliver Ravage to him, insisting that it should be he who should kill him.

While captured in transit, Ravage struggles to write his instruction to his companions to take his gloves off…

Quality

Henton and his team with Ravage and his companions captured.

Finally, after going through the first seven issues that resulted unsatisfying plots, recycling of character elements and forcibly stretching the narrative, this particular issue has a story that combines doubtful heroism with a believable objective. Of course, it should be noted that Stan Lee provided the plot while leaving the scripting and pacing to two other writers who eventually took over the writing duties of Ravage 2099.

There were some improvements to the quality of the dialogue and narration (by Ravage). This comic book’s story was paced decently and there was not a single moment of stretching the narrative unrealistically. By this stage of the series, Ravage’s status as a heroic figure improved once again as he was given a purpose to fulfill. While we have seen him help Tiana or Dack escape from the bad guys, this story has him being more strategic and more determined to really solve a mystery while overcoming opposition.

Henton in this story, fortunately, is not a repeat of his cruel, cold-hearted self from the previous issues. This story reveals his link with Dethstryk and new insight as to who or what really controls Alchemax and its top officials. As such, there were some unexpected elements that transpired in the story.

Visually, Gran Miehm provided decent art and for the most part, Ravage and the other characters remained recognizable although I notice Dack looking more like a young adult than the teenager he really is.

Conclusion

Dack makes a move to help them get away.

Ravage 2099 (1993) was Stan Lee’s last work with this particular series of the 2099 universe and thanks to the new writers who took scripting duties, this one has a satisfying story, higher quality dialogue and a more focused narrative. In retrospect, it was already too little and too late to salvage the Ravage 2099 series due to the inconsistent and overall weak storytelling that dominated the first seven issues.

If you are seriously planning to buy an existing hard copy of Ravage 2099 (1993), be aware that as of this writing, MileHighComics.com shows that the near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $14 while the near-mint copy of the newsstand edition costs $42.

Overall, Ravage 2099 (1993) is satisfactory.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #1 (1993)

A Look Back at Punisher 2099 #1 (1993)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

As already established here on my website, I reviewed several comic books of the Marvel 2099 line of superhero comics. I reviewed the respective launch issues of X-Men 2099, Spider-Man 2099 and Ravage 2099 to name a few.

Some of you must be wondering what was the first-ever Marvel 2099 comic book I bought back in the 1990s. Believe it or not, it was not Spider-Man 2099 (the one comic book that launched the Marvel 2099 line in late 1992). It was actually Punisher 2099 which I bought in December 1992 (comic book was cover dated February 1993).

You read that right. I was a latecomer on discovering the Marvel 2099 universe in the late 1990s. Prior to the launch of Punisher 2099, comic books of Spider-Man 2099, Ravage 2099 and Doom 2099 were already on the shelves of comic book stores.

One day in Makati here in the Philippines, I passed by a comic book stall in a department store and saw Punisher 2099 (which had a gimmick cover) and other 2099-related comic books displayed. After observing the available 2099 comics, I decided to buy Punisher 2099 not simply because of its gimmick cover but because I wanted to discover the 2099 universe through the futuristic version of the Punisher (which I’m not even a fan of).

Here is my retro comic book review of Punisher 2099 published by Marvel Comics in late 1992 with a story by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner with illustrations done by Tom Morgan.

Cover
The cover.

Early story

The story begins with a man running away from danger. Because he does not have enough money to summon law enforcement for protection (note: cities in 2099 are all run by corporations and even public services have been privatized), he easily gets ganged up and killed by crooks armed with surgical devices. They killed him to get his heart.

Shortly after, the Punisher of 2099 arrives and easily kills the crooks. His action caught the attention of Public Eye Police Force (note: a service of police protection that responds to transactions by paying clients) via the city surveillance system, the cameras of which are unable to identify him because his head is automatically covered digitally (the Punisher here has his own identity protection system).

86

Jake Gallows, who is Punisher 2099 himself, enters the office of Public Eye. He is an employed enforcer of theirs and he notices that his employer has been watching his acts of violence against criminals…..

Quality

When it comes to establishing Punisher of 2099, the creators of this comic book pulled of a decent job. They not only introduced Marvel’s vigilante of the far future efficiently, they also made him look interesting temporarily. They also did a nice job with connecting Jake Gallows with Frank Castle, the 20th century Punisher.

Still, Punisher 2099 #1’s clear weak point in presentation was the back story of Jake Gallows who became the Punisher as a result of his family getting killed by group of armed, wicked people. In concept, this is too similar to the origin of the original Punisher who also lost his family.

While the origin lacked creativity, the creative team at least tried something new by introducing Kron Stone as the first-ever villain for Punisher 2099. Kron Stone, if you know your 1990s Marvel 2099 history, was not only the son of Alchemax chief Tyler Stone (a key character in the Spider-Man 2099 series) but also went on to become Venom 2099 (who debuted fully in Spider-Man 2099 #35).

The creative team also made a nice move establishing Jake Gallows as an actual working law enforcer who took a huge risk as he also secretly made moves as a vigilante when he’s not working.

While the comic book writers did a decent job with the story and characterization even though they had less than 25 pages of storytelling, the art by Tom Morgan will only please readers who enjoy violent and gritty imagery. Personally, I’m not impressed with Morgan’s art and his work on the cover of this comic book is laughable. Punisher 2099’s character design (what’s with those three frontal tubes that formed the teeth of the skull design?) is really corny to look at and not even famous painter Joe Jusko could improve the character’s overall look.

JuskoCardPun2k99
Punisher 2099 as painted by Joe Jusko for the Marvel Masterpieces card series.

Conclusion

Given the fact that Punisher 2099 never became a significant character of Marvel Comics all these decades, I would suggest thinking very carefully before spending any money to buy or even rent Punisher 2099 . It’s not a terrible comic book, just flawed with some limited engaging stuff here and there. If you are really craving for early 1990s Marvel superhero stuff, then this one could be worth it.

If you are seriously considering acquiring an existing copy of Punisher 2099 , be aware that as of this writing, and according to the rates of Mile High Comics online, a near-mint copy of the regular edition costs $6 while a near-mint copy of the newsstand edition is priced at $16.

Overall, I say that it’s best to purchase a copy of Punisher 2099 BELOW its cover price.