6 Awesome Comics You Must Read This Week (2 October)

2. The Trial Of The Punisher #1 By Marc Guggenheim and Leinil Francis Yu (Marvel)

So this is the second (but not last) Marvel release I'm recommending this week - Marvel sometimes just surprises and throws out some absolutely brilliant comics completely unexpectedly, and this week was one of those instances. The Trial of the Punisher is a two-part limited series, the first part of which was actually released last week but if like me you live in the UK, the physical copies didn't reach us until this week due to a shipping error. I know, I could've bought it earlier digitally, but I prefer paper to screens if I have a choice, so I waited the extra week - and it was worth it! Marc Guggenheim takes the interesting approach of bringing Frank Castle into a courtroom setting to account for his crimes. Frank has been in jail before (pick up Garth Ennis' brilliant From First To Last to see what kind of mayhem Frank gets up to in Rykers) but never in a courtroom so it's fun to see how he fares in this civilised setting. Frank walks into a New York police station carrying a duffel bag - containing the dead body of the District Attorney. But why would Frank kill the DA, why does he want a trial, and how is he going to get himself out of this one? The answers to all are teased in this issue but not revealed until the second part finale. Leinil Yu's art is as amazing as ever and there isn't a page that doesn't look awesome. This is the rebooted Frank Castle so he's in his 30s rather than some 60-something Vietnam vet, and Yu gives him this great look that's part Marv from Sin City, part Thomas Jane (who's played Frank on screen - check out Dirty Laundry, a superb Punisher short film starring Jane on Youtube), and part classic Frank from the 70s with a 21st century haircut. I thought it was interesting that Guggenheim eschewed appointing Matt Murdock as Frank's attorney and instead gave him a new character - but maybe Daredevil will show up in the finale? The two have a past. There's also a brilliant scene with a cocky psychiatrist who visits Frank to evaluate him and who leaves the worse for wear. If you're as big a fan of the Punisher as me, you won't even need a rec to pick this one up - just that it's out there should be enough. This is the Punisher at his most restrained and thoughtful, though even if we get Frank's inner monologue, we're still left in the dark as to his intentions and I for one can't wait to see where the story is headed in issue #2. Excellent idea for a mini-series and really well-handled, Marc and Leinil!