10 Punisher Graphic Novels You Must Read Before You Die

9. Welcome Back, Frank

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Marvel Comics

After that one time the Punisher died and was reborn as a literal Angel of Death (hey, it was the nineties), Garth Ennis was charged with bringing the character back to basics.

Pretty much ignoring everything beyond his resurrection (the whole affair barely rates a mention, apart from a line about telling angels "where to stick it"), Welcome Back, Frank unleashes the Punisher on a mob family and lets him go to work. The result is one of the most exciting, hilarious and iconic Punisher stories of all time.

Written by Ennis and illustrated by the late, great Steve Dillon, Welcome Back, Frank deftly juggles multiple plotlines and characters, serving as inspiration for both the 2004 movie and a brilliant episode of Netflix's Daredevil. Ennis' Marvel Knights would eventually get too silly and too vulgar to be taken seriously, but Welcome Back, Frank gets the balance just right.

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.