Hot on the heels of actor Jon Bernthal's return as Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel Comics has announced the return of Frank Castle in comics with a new Punisher: Red Band comic by writer Benjamin Percy and artist Julius Ohta that the publisher is promising will be the "most violent in Punisher history."
Castle last appeared in the Marvel Universe in 2023's Punisher #13, which left him stranded in the fantasy-fueled alt-reality WeirdWorld, with no memory of his life as the Punisher. Castle's de-commissioning of sorts came at the end of one of the character's most transformative stories ever, which changed him from being a deadly street vigilante into the leader of The Hand, complete with a new symbol nothing like his classic skull emblem.
"Frank Castle's brutal war on crime is reignited this September in PUNISHER: RED BAND! The five-issue limited series will be by writer Benjamin Percy and artist Julius Otha, currently delivering twisted horror together in Hellverine," reads Marvel's announcement. "Polybagged for explicit content, the Red Band series promises to be the most violent in Punisher history, as Frank Castle - freshly resurrected and back in his classic costume - is allowed to fully unleash his brutal brand of justice on the criminal underworld."
Here's a gallery of interior pages by artist Julius Ohta, along with covers for Punisher #1 by Marco Checchetto and EM Gist, as well as a 'Hidden Gem' variant by classic Punisher artist Mike Zeck:
In the story, Frank will have to deal with his amnesia, but that won't stop him from apparently returning to an incarnation of the character that has become somewhat infamous thanks to his indiscriminate violence against villains that often amount to stereotypes of street criminals.
Marvel previously distanced itself from the classic Punisher logo in the lead up to Frank Castle leaving the Marvel Universe, thanks to its unwilling association as a real-world emblem for people who embrace the idea of enacting violence on others in a way few superhero logos transcend their source material.
The publisher went so far as to create an all-new Punisher, Joe Garrison, with similar origins and motivations to Frank Castle, and equally violent methods, but with a more superheroic flair with high-tech weaponry and super-powered villains meant to set him apart from Frank Castle's more street-focused style.
"Frank Castle - that dark-hearted, vengeance machine, that monster who fights monsters - is one of my all-time favorite characters, and Punisher is a series I've been gunning to write for a long, long time," says series writer Benjamin Percy in a statement. "Not only is Frank back in black, but this is a Red Band book. You know what that means. I'm going to lean in fully and push the very limits of my favorite genre: hairy psychopaths. This is going to be as gritty and bloody as it gets. Street-level mayhem awaits you. And Julius Ohta - who I collaborated with previously on Hellverine - is bringing all the blood and fire and rage to the page with his beautiful, terrifying art."
Punisher #1 of 5 goes on sale September 10.
Jon Bernthal is assembling "an incredible group" to work on his upcoming Marvel Punisher streaming special.
