During the War of the Realms, Frank Castle made a promise of vengeance, and Frank Castle keeps his promises. Punisher Kill Krew #1 kicks off a direct follow up to the War of the Realms.

Written by Gerry Duggan, Punisher Kill Krew #1 is a smart start to a miniseries delivering just enough information for new readers to enjoy it. It also has a “quest” aspect of it that blends the Punisher’s aesthetic with a Dungeons & Dragons like adventure. That includes mission creep and an off the rails aspect to it all.

When I head about the comic, I admit I had a bad flashback to the Punisher’s avenging angel days. The character and “fantasy” didn’t quite click for me. Duggan does some smart things to make the genres work. There’s a focus on revenge, a regular motif for the Punisher. He’s out to kill someone who hurt another person. It just so happens the being is a troll. Then there’s the addition of orphaned kids. This adds some heart to the story. We see Frank’s reaction to them and his need to help. It humanizes him a bit and shifts the story from a straight murder spree.

The art by Juan Ferreyra, with lettering by Cory Petit, also helps. There’s a blend of the mystical and cold guns that just works. It’s not odd to see the Punisher don a Viking like helmet and use a machine gun. It doesn’t look weird when he tosses a grenade into a killer tree. It all flows in a way that has some humor about it and keeps aspects of the grounded Punisher and fantasy world. The art also creates an off-the-rails campaign aspect to it, mainly due to some humorous moments.

Punisher Kill Krew #1 works in a way because it both does and doesn’t take itself too seriously. There’s something fun about it all as it mixes bullets and swords. What shouldn’t work not only does but has me excited to see what comes next.

Story: Gerry Duggan Art: Juan Ferreyra Letterer: Cory Petit
Story: 8.05 Art: 8.05 Overall: 8.05 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review