10 Punisher Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

1. Born

Punisher Max Thumbnail
Marvel Comics

Another Garth Ennis story, another Punisher: MAX entry, another Vietnam War tale. Punisher: Born is the Punisher's origin story, set before his actual origins.

Once again, Garth Ennis puts his passion for brutal war stories to good use within the Punisher/MAX universe (see also: his Nick Fury work). The result is not just one of the greatest Punisher stories ever written, but also one of the best comics written.

What makes a man like the Punisher tick? Did Frank Castle ever really come home from Vietnam? These are not new questions - not even to Garth Ennis - but here they're answered (or asked) so definitively that, in spite of being published within the MAX imprint, Born is now widely regarded to be Marvel Universe canon. A classic Punisher story, without so much as a skull t-shirt in sight.

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Contributor
Contributor

A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.