Re: [HOE] HoE read

[Robert Holland <robert@macauley.com>]

>> >
>> > Picked up a new comic book today by Garth Ennis called "Just a
>> > Pilgrim." Lots of cool HoE elements in it, including a quickie
>>appearance of a
>> > Rattler.
>
>Excellent.
>
>> >
>> > It's done by a group called Black Bull. Don't know how long it'll
>> > last, but  if it's a quarter as good as Preacher was, let's hope it's a
>>long
>> > time.
>
>The Punisher, in my opinion, is quite a bit better with Garth at the helm 
>than Preacher ever was.

Eh...I dunno. Don't get me wrong, Ennis is a *great* writer and I love his work,
but if he has a flaw, it's that he overuses shock value. Gruesome or disgusting
scenes can really grab your brain and shake it if used sparingly (Deadlands
Marshals take note!); but when every third character is hideously deformed and
every fight ends with someone getting their eyeball knocked out or their
intestines spread all over the floor or with a jackhammer shoved through their
head, it loses some of its impact. The thing I dislike most about Garth's
Punisher (and I do read it and love it whenever I can) is that Frank Castle was
always a hard, brutal man, willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done,
but I don't recall him going out of his way to be actively sadistic. When Frank
dumps the guy in the piranha tank *instead* of knocking him down and taking his
gun, even though he's unarmed and knows there's more mobsters after him...it's
impractical. It's out of character for the Punisher to compromise the mission
just to make some random baddie suffer, and that bugs me.

Okay, I'm done ranting now. Must go sleepy time.

--Robert Holland