Punisher Ban Lifted as Red Band Frank Castle Returns to Comics

Back in 2023, after years of dealing with the unexpected embrace of the Punisher by right wing media, police organizations, and military groups, Marvel decided to retire the Frank Castle Punisher and his iconic skull insignia. A new Punisher was introduced, and Frank Castle was sent to another dimension (after first having his whole reason for being called into question when his murdered wife was resurrected, and she was disgusted at what Frank had done in the name of her and their children). Well, the Punisher "ban" has apparently been lifted, as Frank Castle and his iconic skull logo is back in action in a new Punisher series debuting this September.

Following the Punisher's return in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 (and teases that he will be a big part of Season 2, as well), Marvel will be bringing the Punisher back in Punisher: Red Band, a five-issue series by writer Benjamin Percy and artist Julius Ohta.

What is the new Punisher series about? What does "Red Band" mean?

Marvel describes the new series as, "With no memories, a full clip and a thirst for wrathful vengeance, his violent search for answers could only be chronicled in a Red Band series! Bullets will fly, blood will flow, and the citizens and criminals of New York City alike will fear the name THE PUNISHER!"

We see that in action in the sample pages that Marvel sent in the press release announcing the new series, as Punisher is in the middle of a firefight, and he knows everything about the weapons being fired, and all of the wounds around him, but he doesn't remember what his name is. You'll note that the pages have a big "Censored" section, and that is because this is part of the Marvel Red Band line of books, which are filled with R-rated levels of violence and gore, forcing the books to be released polybagged.

So Punisher's return will be VERY violent and gory, which is just how classic Punisher fans likely want it.

What does Benjamin Percy have to say about the new series?

Benjamin Percy, who is no stranger to violent comics with his work on Wolverine and X-Force, and his current Predator vs. Spider-Man series (one of the first R-rated Spider-Man comic books ever), had this to say about the upcoming series, “Frank Castle—that dark-hearted, vengeance machine, that monster who fights monsters—is one of my all-time favorite characters, and Punisher is a series I've been gunning to write for a long, long time."

Percy continued, "Not only is Frank back in black, but this is a Red Band book. You know what that means. I'm going to lean in fully and push the very limits of my favorite genre: hairy psychopaths. This is going to be as gritty and bloody as it gets. Street-level mayhem awaits you. And Julius Ohta—who I collaborated with previously on Hellverine—is bringing all the blood and fire and rage to the page with his beautiful, terrifying art.”

Punisher: Red Band #1 is due out on September 10th.

Source: Marvel