Written by Becky Cloonan
Penciled by Mark Horak
Cover by Declan Shalvey
Published Feb 15 2017
Cover by Declan Shalvey
Published Feb 15 2017
Frank angrily buries Ethel and rides away on her husband's motorcycle. Meanwhile, Agent Ortiz bangs on the windows of the ambulance Face has hijacked. He tells her that nobody will ever come looking for her and how her partner screamed while he murdered him. She reminds him that the blood pouring from his nose is evidence of an EMC overdose on the way to his brain. Sleep deprived, he drives off a cliff and over a mountainside. Face pulls her unconscious body from the wreck. When she comes to, she's tied to a furnace in a cabin. Finding a scalpel in her sleeve and quickly concealing it, Face walks in with an armful of firewood.
Explaining to her he intends to cook and eat her, she tells him he'll need a lot more wood. He heads back out and collapses. Using the scalpel to cut through her constraints, he Sees her run from the cabin and chases her. She stabs him with the scalpel and just as he prepares to kill her with her own weapon, he begins to hallucinate. She explains to him death is imminent but she promises him a clean death in exchange for information.
She asks him where the drugs are while miles and miles away, some DEA agents question Olaf's wife, Veronica. She tells them she hasn't seen him in months and that she's planning on divorcing him. They ask if they can look around and she mention's his man cave. Reminding them she has to put their baby down for a nap, they ask to see the mancave and she relents. Kicking the door open reveals a tripwire and thousands of pounds of C4. The house explodes.
On the run. Olaf's phone displays a notification that the fire sale protocol is engaged. Angry she messed with the basement door, he expresses happiness that it at least takes care of the headache. Back at the cabin, Ortiz hotwires a station wagon and from the back seat, Face reminds her of her promise. She tells him she's changed her mind. Her phone rings and it's a fellow DEA agent telling her there's a situation and it's all hands on deck. She responds that she's on vacation and she has a rendezvous with some old friends in Canada just as we see Frank crossing over the border with John Conway's military ID. With that we're left to be continued.
Nothing like a Punisher comic book where Frank Castle is literally only shown in like 5 panels. I understand that this story needs a little shoring up, but this was kind of a weak way to do it. 9 issues in and Face and Condor are still part of the arc, although it looks like maybe not for long. I don't know how many other books Becky Cloonan writes for Marvel right now, but seeing as this book is published sparingly she should be able to spend a little more time with it. Hopefully it picks up. I give it a 6/10.
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