PUNISHER appreciation thread 4 4

[nepatkm]

[Parabellum]

41 minutes ago, nepatkm said:

Not enough activity in this thread to be worthy of pinning it @Hollywood1892  😕

Always love to see others Punisher items, but not many post them, or create conversations about the character. 

Post away 😆👍

Everyone is talking about The Avengers or lame Spider-Man.  

[nepatkm]

1 minute ago, Parabellum said:

Everyone is talking about The Avengers or lame Spider-Man.  

Truth! @Parabellum  💀

[nepatkm]

OK, I'm going to post my recent submissions here since they are all Punisher titles, hoping to boost more activity in this thread...

First my failures, knowing there were some flaws, but still gave them a 50/50 chance at 9.8 grades (I know better, but almost desperately want to complete The Punisher 1987 set.. )

[nepatkm]

The others, that hit the 9.8 grade in my recent submission.

[nepatkm]

[nepatkm]

[STORMSHADOW_80]

I ran across this beautiful piece of machinery at a local arcade. I’ll be back to play some more rounds

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 6/3/2019 at 4:10 PM, nepatkm said:

Thanks @Ira K, started this set in 2008, definitely thought it would be easier to accomplish. 

Newb.

(I still haven't gotten a 9.8 #9; that book is a BEAST!)

[RockMyAmadeus]

I've probably said this before, but I'll say it again: from 1987 to about 1992-1993 or thereabouts, there was no single hotter character in the comics market than the Punisher. 

He went from literal obscurity for 12 years to becoming an overnight success with the 1986 mini-series. In fact, prior to the first issue of the mini-series, Frank had virtually disappeared from the Marvel Universe, with his last appearance being in Spectacular Spiderman #83...a full two+ years prior! ASM #129 was a neglected, unloved book for over a decade after it was published, but then something changed in a way that made the character and the timeframe really resonate with the audience. This was the time of the Cold War, the Terminator, Die Hard, Robocop. Tough guys with guns and anti-heroes struck a cultural chord with the populace, and no one could get enough...and the Punisher was at the forefront of that, and became such a cultural touchstone, there was even a film starring Dolph Lundgren as our favorite killing machine...something very few comic characters could accomplish at the time if your name wasn't "Batman."

Sure, Hulk #181 went toe to toe with ASM #129 for a while there, but in reality, if you had two copies in the same general condition, 9 times out of 10, people would trade the Hulk for the Spidey....Frank was just that hot.

It ended around the end of 1993, and it's never been the same since...we live in a society which doesn't value the masculine anti-hero the way it did, for better or for worse...but when it was on, it was ON.

[nepatkm]

9 hours ago, STORMSHADOW_80 said:

I ran across this beautiful piece of machinery at a local arcade. I’ll be back to play some more rounds

That’s a Great game!! 

[nepatkm]

7 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

I've probably said this before, but I'll say it again: from 1987 to about 1992-1993 or thereabouts, there was no single hotter character in the comics market than the Punisher. 

He went from literal obscurity for 12 years to becoming an overnight success with the 1986 mini-series. In fact, prior to the first issue of the mini-series, Frank had virtually disappeared from the Marvel Universe, with his last appearance being in Spectacular Spiderman #83...a full two+ years prior! ASM #129 was a neglected, unloved book for over a decade after it was published, but then something changed in a way that made the character and the timeframe really resonate with the audience. This was the time of the Cold War, the Terminator, Die Hard, Robocop. Tough guys with guns and anti-heroes struck a cultural chord with the populace, and no one could get enough...and the Punisher was at the forefront of that, and became such a cultural touchstone, there was even a film starring Dolph Lundgren as our favorite killing machine...something very few comic characters could accomplish at the time if your name wasn't "Batman."

Sure, Hulk #181 went toe to toe with ASM #129 for a while there, but in reality, if you had two copies in the same general condition, 9 times out of 10, people would trade the Hulk for the Spidey....Frank was just that hot.

It ended around the end of 1993, and it's never been the same since...we live in a society which doesn't value the masculine anti-hero the way it did, for better or for worse...but when it was on, it was ON.

Absolutely RMA, it was a great Era for action heroes!! And I enjoyed the Dolph Lundgren Punisher Movie 🍿 

The Limited Series hooked me, The 1987 unlimited series was the first title that I picked up faithfully as the issues were released from issue 1 until the end of the series at 104, along with Annuals,War Journal,War Zone,Armory titles. 

The Punisher was in everything back then -way overexposed by Marvel, however the character was selling everything it was on, and they burnt him up. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 hour ago, nepatkm said:

The Punisher was in everything back then -way overexposed by Marvel, however the character was selling everything it was on, and they burnt him up. 

They did...but along the way, there were some really decent stories. Issue #14, for example, is a particularly poignant one (and that Portacio run from #8 to #18? Gorgeous.) Even Russ Heath drew a couple of stories (#26-27), and I regret not getting him to sign those before he passed. Plus, of course, the magnificent #10/DD #257 combo. It may seem hard to believe now, but there was a time when Punisher #1 and #10 were worth the same as ASM #300. They just kept going up and up and up...

[Gatsby77]

I also want to give a shout-out to Punisher War Journal # 1-19.

*Such* a great run, and a masterclass in how to start off a book.

# 1 - full origin

# 2-3 - Daredevil guest appearance

# 6-7 - vs. Wolverine

# 9 - Black Widow

# 14-15 - Spider-Man

Featuring art by Jim Lee & Mark Texeira.

# 18 was the first issue I bought off the shelf, and I was hooked.

I've toyed with idea of trying to pull together a CGC 9.8 Jim Lee sig series run for awhile now, but haven't yet pulled the trigger.

And it looks like half of those issues don't even have examples of 9.8 sig series yet.

[nepatkm]

1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

They did...but along the way, there were some really decent stories. Issue #14, for example, is a particularly poignant one (and that Portacio run from #8 to #18? Gorgeous.) Even Russ Heath drew a couple of stories (#26-27), and I regret not getting him to sign those before he passed. Plus, of course, the magnificent #10/DD #257 combo. It may seem hard to believe now, but there was a time when Punisher #1 and #10 were worth the same as ASM #300. They just kept going up and up and up...

Amazing stories, and artwork. Enjoyed them all.

As I stated earlier, the Punisher big 3 titles (Punisher,War Journal, and War Zone) had me hooked for over the 7 year span, anxiously awaiting the release, and picking up the issues as they came out. Never had another title(s) keep me interested that long beforehand or since. 💀

-The Russ Heath issues were classic, I posted #26,27 in this thread when he passed on. 

Edited June 8, 2019 by nepatkm
Russ Heath 🙁

[RockMyAmadeus]

Here are a couple of my #10s:

I could own 1000 of these and be quite happy. That they are $2-$5 now is criminal.

Here's part of my Countdown set:

[nepatkm]

Punisher (1987) 1

56 minutes ago, Gatsby77 said:

I also want to give a shout-out to Punisher War Journal # 1-19.

*Such* a great run, and a masterclass in how to start off a book.

# 1 - full origin

# 2-3 - Daredevil guest appearance

# 6-7 - vs. Wolverine

# 9 - Black Widow

# 14-15 - Spider-Man

Featuring art by Jim Lee & Mark Texeira.

# 18 was the first issue I bought off the shelf, and I was hooked.

I've toyed with idea of trying to pull together a CGC 9.8 Jim Lee sig series run for awhile now, but haven't yet pulled the trigger.

And it looks like half of those issues don't even have examples of 9.8 sig series yet.

👍 Yes, such great reading. 

-That set would be amazing to see @Gatsby77  I’m not a signature collector myself, but love seeing them. There are some tough issues in there to get in 9.8 

War Journal #8 comes straight to mind, still trying to find a copy that would grade 9.8. 

[nepatkm]

1 minute ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Here are a couple of my #10s:

I could own 1000 of these and be quite happy. That they are $2-$5 now is criminal.

Here's part of my Countdown set:

Beautiful!!! @RockMyAmadeus 

[nepatkm]

Yes a shame that #10 is selling that low now, If I find NM and up copies in Dollar boxes, I buy them. Bad habit 😆 

[RockMyAmadeus]

Here's my Zecks:

I wanted to get ongoing #1-5 signed by Janson, but he charges an absurd amount ($20) for what are, functionally, dollar books if they are "for CGC."

Thanks, Klaus.  I swear, these creators just aren't capable of making distinctions.