This review originally appeared on Goodreads on November 15, 2012.

The Punisher, Vol. 2: Kitchen Irish

By Garth Ennis (Writer), Leandro Fernandez (Artist) – Marvel Enterprises – December 31, 2005

Review by Robin Marx

Garth Ennis's dark and gritty run on The Punisher continues with a story involving warring Irish gangs in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan (hence the “Kitchen Irish” label). The Punisher becomes involved when a bomb intended to wipe out an enemy gang detonates prematurely, killing or injuring a dozen citizens. Looking to avenge those casualties, he comes into contact with an old ally from MI-6 and a British soldier, both searching for Irish terrorists involved in the bombing.

While the plot itself works, it wasn't quite as strong as that of the previous volume. There were many more characters than the previous storyline, too, meaning that some of them weren't as fleshed out as they could have been. My biggest complaint about the story is the distinct lack of Frank Castle. He gets minimal time in the spotlight, and it's the antagonists that do the most work advancing the storyline.

Leandro Fernandez's artwork gets the job done, but I missed Lewis LaRosa's moody, shadow-drenched work from the last storyline.

Minor gripes aside, I'm enjoying the Punisher MAX series and plan to track down further volumes.

★★★☆☆

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