Punisher #9 pg 25 by Whilce Portacio

Great pick up KG. Great panels through out, but that skull shot is great

It’s tough to comment on your stuff because you basically say everything I would say about a piece in your description. Anyway, agree with you and great addition!

everything he said!

Super piece.

It's incredible that this was in a Comics Code approved book back in 1988!  I thought the Code was there to protect our impressionable young minds from such violence!  But all kidding aside, I think half the boys in my sixth grade class were reading this book at the time.  Baron had the character down cold, and Portacio and Williams were starting to show why they would go on to be two of the biggest comic book artists of the next decade.  Great page!

Was thinking the same thing - how was this CCA approved!? Glad it was, tho. Great page

Thanks, Michael, and agree all around!  We's all the better for a lax Comics Code - let the creative team shine :)

That closeup of the Punisher's emblem in the bottom panel is definitely the money shot.  Congrats!!

yooo that's a brutal and classic Punisher scene man awesome Whilce great addition 

Nice!

Just brutal. So much more powerful in the original black and white too. Congrats!!!

Great Pickup Kahlil! These are getting harder to get these days!

First, the classic all horizontal panel layout is always so pleasing to the eye and gives the storytelling a cinematic feel, which is precisely why you get that "scene from an ‘80s action film" feeling from it. This method of storytelling, of course, is highly reminiscent of Miller's approach on his first Daredevil run. The unique rendering style is just fabulous and Williams' inking style was as good a symbiotic match for Portacio's pencils as they were for Jim Lee's. Congrats!

Good point on Miller DD! Didn't make that connection initially, maybe because I found that run a lot later. But totally see it, as well as that "cinematic" influence. Portacio/Williams definitely doin' their thang here! Thanks, Ruben!

I'm going to have to issue Marvel some fines on behalf of the comics code authorit....."Spuuurrraaaakkgg"!!!!!!!!!  

<choke>...
<sob>...

LOL!!  Spoke too soon :)

Brutal!  And I love the logo shot to complete the page!

Memorable page! One of the bloodiest pages we got away with. Always tried to push the violence envelope, but Marvel (and the code) always pushed back. This one was a victory!

I'm sure you and Whilce had some healthy tension with editorial, Scott :)  I'm picturing you 2 high fiving with this win!  Thanks for the comment - really happy with this first OA add by you, as well as Whilce!

Great description and great page! Ruthless!

Frank getting medieval.

Cool page, I remember it well.

I read your description carefully. As this is a bad boy you may need to punish them !

Dayammmmmm that's some slicey dicey action! Great get and amazing piece bud!!!

The physicality of this page just oozes character.  The Punisher powerfully doling out punishment.  The expressions on the faces of the SOBs who aren't long for this world.  And that Death's Head...

Egzzactly, Steve! All of that was the lure. Flipped through a lot of art that Sunday and this one kept calling me back :)

Yeah, this is perfect Frank, doing tropical Frank things. Such a great page, glad it found you. Congratulations!

Perfect page--the kind that feels complete in and of itself.  So much story and action, with a satisfying ending.  And yeah, look at the Punisher's musculature in the first panel!  Some very gritty and explicit imagery, but this aint a Spider-Man comic book.  It's the PUNISHER!!

That's right - you know we love some Spidey, Paul, but Pete and Frank definitely play some different...roles in the Marvel Universe :)  And we like it that way.  Totally agree with this page feeling "complete in and of itself" - don't think I had thought that explicitly but definitely was implicit in its appeal!

KG, the best at what he does - collect sweet pages

Oh, yeah, now that is a Punisher page. A katana to the throat, and then he doesn't even deign to take out the main baddie. You're already dead, dude, just shoot yourself. Heh, love it. And those last two panels are...killer. :rimshot: :) Great pick-up, Kahlil. Big congrats!

Bloody son of a gun, congrats ! ;)

Oh, man, K!!  My mom would have LOVED this one back in the day!  An incredible testament to / showcase of everything that's wrong about comics!  "But Mom," I'd say, "what about the sex?  What about the drugs?"  But she would hear none of it...  She would just go on and on about comics at that age...  ;)  Incredible pick up, K.  I know this was "just another Tuesday" for the Punisher, but how crazy was it to hit this page as a kid?  Brutal.  And totally historic in the context of the talent producing the page: not an easy score, getting such a strong example of Whilce and Scott together in this era...  Lots of fun inking, zipatone, paint touches; these gents were testing their wings (just as the readers were all pushing their boundaries, too :) ),  A terrific takeaway from LA, and I know how excited you were to land it!  Congrats, pal!

Lol! It's funny how blasphemous to moms and pops this could be for comics but at the same time there'd be no issue watching Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Seagal, etc, movies from the time, with the same images, many worse, in live action! And yeah, probably a little more on the violent bent than my usual pick ups, but this is CASTLE! Thanks, J!

Great stuff as usual! I was just regretting not getting a Portacio/Williams Punisher page the other day. They were good together!

Whilce's work is always arresting but this page....just amazing!  The storytelling is perfect and it tells you all you need to know about Frank Castle.  

Oh man! This page is just so good on every level! Bloody... brutal... everything you want in a good Punisher page! Congrats!

Violent and impressive ! HEAVY METAL !

That bottom panel closeup is so simple, yet so powerful.  

Damn dude!  That's a great early Portacio!  What a treasure!

Eat your heart out Michonne!

Great punisher page!

The Punisher doling out the punishment!

Gotta love Punisher.  This is a badass page!

The gore and story is phenomenal and just when you think it can't get any better, that last panel ends the page!  This is an amazing piece!  Major congrats!

Truly shocking that they were able to get this published.  As a teen reader in the late 80s, there were comics--like this one--that felt edgy, challenging, and a little scary in a good way.  Kind of like getting into a R-rated movie, I always felt a little tougher after reading these early issues of the Punisher series!

Looking at the first 3 panels only, we get a glimpse of what Whilce would become. Horror style like in Wetworks. great page!