(Strand)om Stories: The Punisher: War Journal by Carl Potts and Jim Lee Review
It's not perfect, but this volume is a fun spotlight on a veteran vigilante that toys the line between ludicrously violent and properly ridiculous
—by Nathan on October 11, 2025—
Dear diary,
Today I read a collection of Punisher comics.
The black-suited, boot-footed, law-eludin' vigilante last popped up in a Venom limited series written by Carl Potts that I recently reviewed. I critiqued Venom: Funeral Pyre fairly harshly, not overly swayed to enjoy Potts' efforts in bringing the Punisher into contact with another darkly dressed killer with a white symbol on his chest. I still felt interested in Potts' work enough, however, to check out a book I'd been eying for a while: a collection of his contributions to The Punisher: War Journal series alongside then-future Image co-founder Jim Lee.
It hasn't been too long since I reviewed a Punisher series. A few months ago, I examined his first-ever limited series, written by Steven Grant and illustrated by Mike Zeck, published in 1986. I felt the series was a timely examination of vigilante justice, distilling the Punisher down to his core principals: he walks around with a lotta guns, and he kills a lotta people with those guns. Elaboration not terribly necessary.
The next year, Frankie received his first ongoing series, simply titled The Punisher, by Mike Baron and Klaus Janson. During that title's eight-year run, two spinoff series emerged: The Punisher: War Zone and The Punisher: War Journal, the first nineteen issues of the latter series fitting between the covers of today's volume.
Though not overly impressed by Potts' writing, I wanted to see his take on Castle when Eddie Brock's violent vigilante self wasn't around to hog the spotlight. So, with perhaps the slightest of inhibitions, I gave this volume a read. Frank may not write in a diary, but he does detail his adventures…and they're a darn bit more interesting than I would have given Potts credit for before cracking the spine.
Of the volume. Not people. I'll leave that to Frank.
The Punisher: War Journal by Carl Potts and Jim Lee
Writers: Carl Potts, Mike Baron, John Wellington, and Roger Salick
Pencilers: Carl Potts, Jim Lee, David Ross, and Neil Hansen
Inkers: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Don Hudson, Klaus Janson, Al Milgrom, Danny Bulandi, Russ Heath, Mark Texeira, Steve Biasi, and Kenneth Rubenoff and Company
Colorists: John Wellington and Gregory Wright
Letterers: Jim Nokav Ken Lopez, Ken Bruzenak, and Rick Parker
Issues Collected: Punisher: War Journal #1-19
Volume Publication Date: September 2016
Issue Publication Dates: November 1988-December 1988, February 1989-April 1989, June 1989-July 1989, September 1989-June 1990
If there's one thing you likely know about the Punisher, it's that his family was brutally killed while picnicking in Central Park one sunny day. And if you don't, that isn't a big deal: Potts will tell it to you…and he'll tell it to you…and he'll tell you again for good measure. Kinda like his protagonist. Because if there's one other thing you ought to know about the Punisher, it's that he'll put as many slugs as he needs into someone to keep them down…and then some.
By and large, this volume is a much sturdier representation of Potts' writing abilities than the Venom limited series I maligned. Whereas the anti-hero's original five-issue series presented Castle's most basic essential attribute–his skill with a gun–Potts recognizes the need for somewhat deeper characterization. I say the above as a bit of a critique, because you will never be able to forget Frank's primary motivation in his one-man war on crime. Yes, we're allowed a somewhat more sophisticated approach to the character, but it's constructed upon a foundation that drives absolutely everything else he does.
Potts presents the Punisher as a fairly no-nonsense kinda guy whose entire life is wrapped up in an individual goal, established by a singular incident in his past. The Spider-Man/Batman/superheroes-in-general parallels are never harped on, but you can see them clearly: man fails to prevent tragedy, man chooses to throw on a costume and take down criminals. For Spidey and Batman, their motivations come from a desire to prevent similar tragedies from happening to other people. In most cases with the Punisher, evil has already struck, and Frank seeks to mop up the aftermath, just with a more permanent solution. It's telling that the first three issues of this series comprise an arc titled "An Eye for an Eye," which about sums up how Frank operates…except he isn't taking revenge for himself. He's a two-eyed man ripping the eyeballs from people who have already punctured irises and retinas. He's the fulfillment of revenge deferred.
Though I guess he'd call it "justice."
Potts develops within Frank Castle an interesting set of morals, guiding him through emotions and intentions that go beyond "shoot every punk on two legs." Sometimes, Frank shows mercy, letting a seemingly reform-willing crook go free; once, he visits Central Park in memory of his family; other times, he saves his buddy Microchip, who he also gives a few fun nicknames. These traits are generally sequestered to individual moments within the issues, as most of the page length is dedicated to Frank's habit of runnin' and gunnin', but these moments give insight into the man, letting us know he's more than a bloodthirsty barbarian.
Building off that idea, the action isn't all just "I'm going to kill these guys because I've got guns and it's the late 80s/early 90s." Whereas other creators–including Jim Lee a few years after these issues were published–would give guys a whole mess of pouches and guns and have them go after criminals with a blatant intent to kill, Potts allows Frank a touch of reasoning with his missions. Some stories are based on personal vendettas, others see Frank tackle genuinely horrible people and problems, and still others show Castle's efforts at putting down old ghosts. He saves a kid in the last three-parter, reluctantly teams up with Spidey to rescue hostages in the Daily Bugle, and spends a few issues trying to avenge former members of his Vietnam squadron. His family is the foundation, but Potts indicates that the Punisher is this all-encompassing force of retribution. He'll fight for himself just as much as he'll fight for the store owners below his apartment, or Microchip, or his former squadmates.
Still, we enter the very early 90s here, beginning an era which tries to extend and build upon the lessons delivered during the 80s, and though we're not at a point with these stories where they seem so ridiculously over-the-top in terms of violence or "whoa, awesome!" factor, Potts and Lee indulge appropriately. The Punisher is given high-tech armaments and a seemingly endless supply of battle vans–which, gosh darn it, Frank just keeps wrecking–and though I'm not aware of how feasible some of these weapons actually are (do all the guns and vehicles the Punisher uses or interacts with exist in our world? I don't know), they seem realistic enough. Frank never combats any aliens or many supervillains for that matter; the most blatantly "comic book" issues see him squaring off against Wolverine in Africa before encountering several sauropods, but even the tussle between the two is based in a very real country where Potts and Lee highlight the very real living conditions of these people.
So the volume exists in this sort of nebulous "feels pretty grounded yet embraces some fantasy" zone, though the realistic grit Potts indulges in does provide the issues with solid footing. Frank fights maybe one supervillain, Bushwacker, and even that two-issue conflict is grounded in Potts developing a religious connection between the two (anyone else here not aware that Frank at one point attended seminary? To become a priest?? We coulda had "Father Frank"???). Elsewhere, the Punisher exchanges bullets with drug dealers, a veteran sniper, trained assassins, ninjas, poachers. That two-issue team up with Spidey, featuring some fun David Ross art, sees them battle religious zealots, and a standout, standalone issue by Mike Baron embroils Frank in a financial scam and the grim nature of poverty. And if you love the way Jim Lee draws vehicles, you'll adore watching Frank chew up the pavement on motorcycles, his battle vans, and a tank, and you'll especially get a kick out of a sequence where he commandeers a jet ski! Doesn't get much better than the Punisher taking out drug peddlers while skipping over the waves.
Some real evils are stressed here, and though the solution our writers provide is often bloody, Frank decently integrates himself into a world enshrouded with homelessness, addiction, murder, fanatics…and I'll admit it feels weird to celebrate a volume which looks at all that and decides the fictional solution is a guy with bullets, rockets, and weaponized vans. I'll not condone the Punisher's methods, though I understand the desire to eliminate injustice. Frank brings a whole plague of bullets upon his enemies in nineteen issues which are fairly grounded, fairly interesting, and fairly entertaining. This is not, as I'm aware, an easy volume to come by these days, so if you're ever lucky enough to find a cheap copy, do yourself a favor and pick it up.
Frank Castle rides a freakin' jet ski. What more could you ask for?