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The Punisher War Zone (1992 series)

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The Punisher War Zone
Cover by John Romita Jr. and Klaus R. Janson. Romita's signature can be seen beneath the logo.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing series
Genre
Publication date1992
No. of issues41 + 2 annuals
Main character(s)Punisher
Creative team
Created byChuck Dixon
John Romita Jr.
Written byChuck Dixon (1-11, 25-37, 41, Annual #1-2), Steven Grant (38-40, Annual #1-2)
Artist(s)John Romita Jr.
John Buscema
Joe Kubert
Penciller(s)John Romita Jr.
John Buscema
Joe Kubert
Inker(s)Klaus R. Janson
Art Nichols
Thomas "Tom" Palmer Sr.
Joe Kubert
Letterer(s)James R. 'Jim' Novak
Colorist(s)Gregory A. Wright
Kevin M. Tinsley - Stick/Stickman
Joe Rosas
Editor(s)Don Daley
Tim Tuohy
Justin F. Gabrie - J.F. Gabrie
Alex Starbuck

The Punisher War Zone is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics about the vigilante The Punisher. The series was written and drawn by several artists during its run. The series lasted for 41 issues. It was the first series of The Punisher War Zone title history and lasted from 1992 to 1995. The vast majority of the series was written by Chuck Dixon.[1] Besides John Romita Jr. who worked a lot on the series, several other artists painted the covers, among them Rainier "Rain" Beredo, John Buscema and Joe Kubert.[2][3][4][5]

Plot

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The series was split up in different story arcs which tended to last several issues. The first story arc was Psychoville U.S.A. which lasted from issue 12 to 16, the next was The Jericho Syndrome beginning with issue 17 and ending in 19, third was Suicide Run from 23 to 25, after that was Conan with a Gun starting from 26 and lasting to issue 30, later was River of Blood picking up from issue 31 and concluding at 36, next to last was the Dark Judgment arc lasting from issue 38 to 40. The final arc was Countdown which took place in all three ongoing Punisher series at the time, The Punisher, War Journal and War Zone.

Reception

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The series was popular upon its original release.[4] The launching of the series, which was the Punisher third simultaneously ongoing series at the time, marked the peak of the character's exploitation and popularity at the time.[6][7]

Content

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In the beginning of the series publication Marvel still adhered to the comic code and even with the main character, Frank Castle, killing a criminal in the first issue no details or effects of the shooting is portrayed. This is in stark contrast to later Punisher series such as those by Garth Ennis.[8] Despite this and other Punisher series remained controversial and rejected in some circuits. Upon the release of the hugely popular issue of Alpha Flight in which the character Northstar came out as gay the New York Magazine reported that a store in Bleecker Street in New York City resorted to making customers who wanted to buy a copy of it purchase an issue of the series The Punisher War Zone as well to combat hoarding of the comic.[9]

Prints

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Issues

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No. Title Cover date Comic Book Roundup rating Estimated Styx sales (first month)
#1 Only The Dead Know Brooklyn March 1992
#2 Blood In The Water April 1992
#3 The Frame May 1992
#4 Closer To The Flame June 1992
#5 Feeding Frenzy July 1992
#6 The Carrion Eaters August 1992
#7 Muggers's Picnic September 1992
#8 The Hunting Ground October 1992 Ranked 22nd in North America[10]
#9 Goners November 1992 Ranked 26th in North America[11]
#10 Tight Spot December 1992 Ranked 28th in North America[12]
#11 In A Deadly Place January 1993
#12 Psychoville U.S.A., part 1: Family Ties February 1993 Ranked 28th in North America[13]
#13 Psychoville U.S.A., part 2: Happy Days March 1993 Ranked 35th in North America[14]
#14 Psychoville U.S.A., part 3: My Two Dads April 1993 Ranked 39th in North America[15]
#15 Psychoville U.S.A., part 4: Father Knows Best May 1993 Ranked 42nd in North America[16]
#16 Psychoville U.S.A., part 5: Empty Nest June 1993 Ranked 57th in North America[17]
#17 The Jericho Syndrome, part 1 July 1993 Ranked 64th in North America[18]
#18 The Jericho Syndrome, part 2 August 1993 Ranked 69th in North America[19]
#19 The Jericho Syndrome, part 3 September 1993 Ranked 61st in North America[20]
#20 Numbah One Boom Boom October 1993 Ranked 74th in North America[21]
#21 2 Mean 2 Die! November 1993 Ranked 70th in North America[22]
#22 Taking Tiger Mountain December 1993 Ranked 70th in North America[23]
#23 Pt. 2: Bringing Down the House January 1994 Ranked 65th in North America[24]
#24 Pt. 5: SHHH! February 1994 Ranked 67th in North America[25]
#25 Pt. 8: Last Dance in Laastekist March 1994
#26 Conan With A Gun, part 1: Pirates April 1994
#27 Conan With A Gun, part 2: Boss Sugar May 1994
#28 Conan With A Gun, part 3: Sweet Revenge June 1994
#29 Conan With A Gun, part 4: The Swine July 1994
#30 Conan With A Gun, part 5: Ring Of Fire August 1994
#31 Part 1: Scorched Earth September 1994
#32 Part 2: Comrades October 1994
#33 Part 3: Capital Crimes November 1994
#34 Part 4: Dead Men's Eyes December 1994
#35 Part 5: Open Wounds January 1995
#36 Part 6: Children of the Gun February 1995
#37 Something Like Love March 1995
#38 Dark Judgment, part 1 April 1995
#39 Dark Judgment, part 2 May 1995
#40 Dark Judgment, The Conclusion June 1995
#41 Countdown: 2: Dead And Deader July 1995

Annuals

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Title
[Tagline] 		Between Pages Cover date Release date Comic Book Roundup rating Estimated sales (first month) Rated
The Punisher War Zone (1992) - Annual 01
  • [High $take$]
 — 64 1993 — — — —
The Punisher War Zone (1992) - Annual 02
  • [From Out of the Icey Grave... ...Thorn!]
 — 64 1994 — — — —

Collected editions

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Title
[Tagline]		 Format Material collected Pages Publication date ISBN Estimated sales
(first month)		 Rated
The Punisher: War Zone vol. 1 Trade paperback The Punisher War Zone #1-6 144[26] July 2002 0-7851-0923-4[27] 1,894, ranked 39 in North America[28] PSR[27]
The Punisher: River of Blood TPB The Punisher War Zone #31-36 144[29] November 30, 2005[30] 0-7851-1542-0 1,820, ranked 61 North America[31] T+
The Punisher: Barbarian with a Gun TPB The Punisher War Zone #26-30 120 November 12, 2008[32] 978-0-7851-3428-2 1,735, ranked 66 in North America[33] T+

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Booker, M. Keith (28 October 2014). Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [4 volumes]: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313397516 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Schelly, Bill (17 November 2008). Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert. Fantagraphics Books. ISBN 9781560979289 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Marvel Firsts: The 1990s Vol. 1. Marvel Entertainment. 20 April 2016. ISBN 9781302485658 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b Frye, Todd (20 December 2014). Marvelous Mythology: How the world's greatest superheroes were created. Todd Frye. ISBN 9780989135467 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Robert G. Weiner (2007). Marvel Graphic Novels and Related Publications: An Annotated Guide to Comics, Prose Novels, Children's Books, Articles, Criticism and Reference Works, 1965-2005. McFarland. p. 63. ISBN 978-0786425006.
  6. ^ Plowright, Frank (2003). The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide. Slings & Arrows. p. 517. ISBN 9780954458904.
  7. ^ Roach, David A. (2005). The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes. Omnigraphics. ISBN 978-0780807723.
  8. ^ Schmid, David (2 November 2015). Violence in American Popular Culture [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781440832062 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Comic Store Policy No Laughing Matter". New York. February 10, 1992. p. 10. Retrieved March 18, 2017 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201992%2008%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  11. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/comicstats.htm http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201992%2009%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg
  12. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/comicstats.htm http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201992%2010%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg
  13. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/comicstats.htm http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201992%2012%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg
  14. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2001%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  15. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2002%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  16. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2003%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  17. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2004%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  18. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2005%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  19. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2006%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  20. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2007%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  21. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2008%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  22. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2009%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  23. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2010%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  24. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2011%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  25. ^ http://www.hoknescomics.com/Styx%201993%2012%20Top%20100%20Comics.jpg [bare URL image file]
  26. ^ Dixon, Chuck (2002). Punisher War Zone Volume 1 TPB Paperback – September 16, 2002. Marvel Comics. ISBN 0785109234.
  27. ^ a b "THE PUNISHER WAR ZONE TPB (Trade Paperback)".
  28. ^ "July 2002 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  29. ^ Punisher: River of Blood. Marvel. 7 December 2005. ISBN 0785115420.
  30. ^ "Punisher: River of Blood (Trade Paperback)".
  31. ^ "November 2005 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  32. ^ "PUNISHER: BARBARIAN WITH a GUN TPB (Trade Paperback)".
  33. ^ "November 2008 Comic Book Sales Figures". comichron.com. The Comics Chronicles. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
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