The Punisher is a twelve-issue comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 limited series

Limited series

A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

 written by Garth Ennis

Garth Ennis

Garth Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise...

 with art by Steve Dillon

Steve Dillon

Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...

 and published under the Marvel Knights

Marvel Knights

Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Worldwide, Inc. that contains material taking place within the mainstream Marvel Universe .-Production:...

 imprint

Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

 of Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. The series features the vigilante

Vigilante

A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....

 anti-hero

Anti-hero

In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...

 the Punisher

Punisher

The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...

 and ran from April 2000 to March 2001.

Publication history

The story continued in Ennis' The Punisher vol. 5 ongoing series

Ongoing series

The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...

.

Plot

Frank re-establishes himself in New York City by taking on the Gnucci crime syndicate. Detective Soap is assigned to "catch" the Punisher; it is purely a P.R. move as the cops do not really want to. Frank turns Soap to his side, getting him to pass information on local crime syndicates.

Against his will, Frank gains three loyal friends in his neighbors, Joan the Mouse, Mr. Bumpo, and Spacker Dave. All end up helping him in his fight against the Gnuccis, partly out of self-defense as the criminals learn where Frank lives. Spacker suffers torture at the hands of the Gnuccis, unwilling to give up Frank's location.

In the end, the Gnuccis are destroyed, no longer a threat. Soap becomes police commissioner. Frank's friends find themselves wealthy with stolen Gnucci money and Frank himself has moved on. Joan and Spacker would play larger roles in Frank's life later. Bumpo suffers a medical accident ("something important fell out of his bottom") and must live in the hospital.

Collected editions

The series was collected in a trade paperback

Trade paperback (comics)

In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...

, along with Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, as The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (Marvel, hardcover, ISBN 0-7851-3384-4; softcover, ISBN 0-7851-0783-5; Panini

Panini Comics

Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy...

, softcover, ISBN 1904159214), which became the informal series title.

In other media

• Joan, Mr. Bumpo, and Spacker Dave were all portrayed in the 2004 movie The Punisher
  The Punisher (2004 film)
  The Punisher is a 2004 American comic book action film, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Thomas Jane as the antihero Frank Castle / The Punisher and John Travolta as the villain Howard Saint, a money launderer who orders the death of Castle's entire family...
  
  .
• Another version of the story runs through the 2005 Punisher
  The Punisher (2005 video game)
  The Punisher is a 2005 action game which stars the Marvel Comics antihero, The Punisher. After his family was murdered by the mafia, Frank Castle devoted his life to the punishment of criminals. Players take control of the vigilante hero to track down criminals and kill them...
  
  video game.