10 Best Single Issue Comics Stories You Might Not Have Read
2. Punisher War Journal #4 - Small Wake For A Tall Man
The Punisher is something of a fixed point in time within the Marvel Universe. I don't mean his ties to the Vietnam War (which have since been altered due to Marvel's sliding timeline), but more so that he represents a turning point in the history of Marvel comics where the darker and more realistic elements became commonplace.
Those who could not adapt to this new creative and cultural landscape would wane in popularity. In this day and age, there is no great call for Stilt-Man, Gibbon or Cat Burglar - except in the case of Matt Fraction and Mike Deodato Jr’s Small Wake for A Tall Man.
When Wilbur Day, the original Stilt-Man, is murdered by the Punisher, a bunch of forgotten villains from Marvel's Silver Age - along with a recycled Doombot and briefly Spider-Man - get together and mourn his passing. As the various oddballs and forgotten characters reminisce about the good old days when anyone could put on a costume and go out there and "do it", they begin to discover that the modern world is not entirely done with them yet.
There is a thin line between tragedy and comedy, and this comic manages to wonderfully dance along the edge of the two.