Benjamin Percy Pushes Punisher to the Extreme in Blood-Soaked Red Band Series (Exclusive)

Punisher‘s war on crime is finally getting the graphic treatment that it deserves. When it comes to violent characters in the Marvel Universe, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one on the same level as Frank Castle. Punisher brings the pain to street-level thugs, while sometimes crossing paths with the more heroic members of Marvel’s superhero community. After some time spent as the leader of The Hand and abandoning his classic skull logo, Punisher is going back to his roots in a new series from writer Benjamin Percy. But this isn’t your typical Marvel series – Punisher is embracing explicit content for a red band comic.

ComicBook spoke to Benjamin Percy about Punisher: Red Band, a five-issue limited series that comes polybagged for explicit content. We talked with Percy about finally getting to pen a series starring Punisher, how this comic picks up after Frank Castle’s time with The Hand, his memory loss following his resurrection, the type of threats readers can look forward to, teaming with his Hellverine collaborator Julius Ohta, and much more. We can also exclusively reveal interior pages for Punisher: Red Band #1 by Ohta, as well as the cover and solicitation for October’s Punisher: Red Band #2.

ComicBook: It’s about time you got to add Punisher to your long list of hairy psychopaths you get to write at Marvel. How does it feel to write Punisher in a Red Band series, especially one that appears to reset his status quo following his time with The Hand and subsequent resurrection?

Benjamin Percy: Hell yeah. Guess you could say I’ve been gunning to write The Punisher for a long, long time. I’m thrilled to honor the legacy of the Frank Castle I grew up with—and push him in a wild new direction. He’s back in black, and the skull on his chest represents the scar inside him and the scars he’ll leave on the world—but this is a new chapter, and I’m putting all of my furious energy and a whole keg of gunpowder into it. Is there any other character at Marvel who demands a Red Band rating more than Frank Castle? We’re going hard, because that’s the raw pain and unflinching brutality demanded of us. You’re supposed to hurt alongside Frank and whatever criminals wander through his crosshairs.

We have Punisher without any of his memories, but he’s already back to his old tricks of bloodshed and seeking vengeance against the filth of the Marvel Universe. What can you tell us about this building mystery, and the type of threats readers will see Frank Castle face?

This is not your New York. This is a version of New York that will be filtered through Frank’s mind, so expect rusted signs, graffiti-looped alleys, broken glass and dirty needles, a constantly overcast sky. And blood. Lots of blood. It’s a setting that might feel reminiscent of ’70s crime flicks. Gritty. And grounded in street-level trouble.

I’m not going to give too much away, but as you can see from the preview pages, Frank Castle wakes up with several bullets lodged in his body—on a burning ship with fentanyl in the hold—surrounded by dead bodies. And the harbor police are racing toward him. He does not know his name or his history. But he knows how to block a punch, break an arm, pop a fresh clip into an uzi. The reptilian part of his brain—the rawest form of Frank—is still there. We’re kicking things of with a Jason Bourne scenario, and the mystery of how he ended up in this situation—and how he’s going to fight his way out—are the sinister focus of this kickoff storyline.

Joining you on Punisher: Red Band is Julius Ohta, your artistic collaborator on Hellverine, and what we’ve already seen from the initial announcement looks great. What is it like to continue that collaboration with Punisher, and what is Ohta bringing to the project that you’re excited for fans to see?

Julius is a badass. If you’ve read Hellverine, and if you’ve seen the page where someone’s hair gets caught up in a motorcycle’s spokes—resulting in a splattery aftermath—you know why he’s the right man for the job. He writes dynamic action scenes, moments of horrific violence, but underlying this is hard-hitting emotional truth. Sometimes, though, I’ll write, “I’m sorry,” into the script, because I’m asking him to go to such a dark place.

There’s an elevated reality at work here. One of the things we discussed early on was how our New York is one populated with everyday people, but like the world of Dick Tracy, Frank and the villains have a heightened physicality to them that plays into the grotesque.

To wrap up, what can fans look forward to in future issues of Punisher: Red Band?

I’m not saying how they’re involved, but Kingpin and Tombstone both play a central role in the series. And we’re introducing some cool new characters too, including the hard-boiled Detective Pluto.

PUNISHER: RED BAND #2 (OF 5)

• Benjamin Percy (W) • Julius Ohta (A) • Cover by Marco Checchetto
• VARIANT COVER BY PAULO SIQUEIRA
• LOCK AND LOAD!
• The Punisher is back and as dangerous and lethal as ever! But who or what has reignited Frank Castle’s one-man, all-out war on crime?! And just how long until they come to regret their decision to pluck Frank Castle off Weirdworld for use as the perfect killing machine?!
• On Sale 10/15

Punisher: Red Band #1 goes on sale September 10th. Let us know your thoughts on the series in the comments below!