The Punisher made his debut in Amazing Spider-Man #129 by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and John Romita Jr. as a bad guy. However, Spider-Man soon figured out that Punisher wasn't a good guy, but he also wasn't a villain. He killed bad guys, which put him on the radar of many heroes over the years, while also presenting him with several great storylines.
Punisher proved to be so popular that he got his own series and he has found himself reinvented and re-explored numerous times throughout his comic book history. From his time in the war to his time hunting criminals to huge events with other heroes, Frank Castle has cemented his name as one of the most interesting characters in Marvel Comics.
The Exchange (2011)
Punisher Vol. 5 followed a dark period of Frank Castle's Marvel existence, storyline-wise. Prior to this issue, Punisher was entangled with superheroes and was part of the Dark Reign crossover event. In that series, Daken killed Punisher and chopped him into pieces, leading to the creation of Frankencastle.
Almost anything was considered an improvement on that and Greg Rucka's new solo series was better than expected. He brought back Punisher and gave him new villains in a group called The Exchange. This series worked so well because it wasn't about Punisher, but instead focused on how his actions affected other people.
Valley Forge, Valley Forge (2004)
There are some rules that even Frank Castle lives by. He won't fight a genuine hero like Captain America. He also won't kill American soldiers, even if they are possibly deserving. This played out in the storyline "Valley Forge, Valley Forge."
Frank is a Vietnam veteran and he has a true respect for people who serve in the military. This put him in a tough spot when the army sends special forces operatives out to eliminate Punisher once and for all. Seeing Punisher stop an entire group of elite soldiers and not kill any of them was something special.
Up Is Down, Black Is White (2006)
"Up Is Down, Black Is White" is a book in Garth Ennis's Punisher MAX run, which put Frank Castle in the middle of some deadly and very real predicaments. "In The Beginning" was one of Ennis's best storylines and this was the sequel to that, with the mob trying to get revenge on Frank after he crippled their organization.
This has a shocking and deranged moment when Nicky Cavella defiles Franks' family's graves and this sends Punisher into a rage. He ends up ambushed and needs help to make it out of this one alive. It is dark and disturbing in ways that Punisher fans came to expect from Ennis.
Punisher: Barracuda (2006)
"Barracuda" was a six-part series in Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov. This was a huge Punisher story because it pitted him against a villain who was very much Punisher's equal in the mercenary Barracuda. However, it was more than a story of two ace predators battling.
Punisher usually fights mobsters and drug dealers but in this series, he set his sights on corporate criminals, which was something far outside his wheelhouse. This forced Castle to try to work a very different angle to bring down villains that bullets could never stop.
Circle Of Blood (1986)
"Circle of Blood" is one of the oldest great Punisher stories, released in 1986 by Steven Grant and Mike Zeck. This one solo issue proved not only that Punisher deserved the series but also that Marvel could go dark in a time where it was rare.
The book deals with prison violence and shows how the people who go to prison can often leave more violent than when they went in. This is where Frank realized that his war against crime would never end because it just kept building.
The Cell (2005)
In Punisher: The Cell, Frank Castle did something interesting to find and kill his targets. In this one-shot by Garth Ennis and Lewis Larosa, Punisher allows the police to arrest him and send him to prison. Once behind bars, he goes to work.
This is a huge story where he starts to turn the various prisoners against each other and then helps lead them into a full-scale riot. The entire goal is to get Frank close to a mob boss safely behind bars, and when he finally reveals who he came for, things get really bad. This is a Punisher comic for those who want something dark.
In The Beginning (2004)
Garth Ennis reworked The Punisher in his Punisher MAX series and took great pains to remove Frank Castle from the world of superheroes. While this was initially controversial, it ended up becoming one of the best Punisher comic book series of all time, and "In The Beginning" was the start of that journey.
Ennis replays the tragedy of Frank's family's murder, putting the reader in his shoes, and making them ready for him to get vengeance. With the government task force hunting him down, this really started a new era for Punisher and is still a highlight of his history.
The Slavers (2005)
"The Slavers" was another Garth Ennis story and this put Punisher into a situation unlike any other. While Frank Castle mostly sought out bad guys and killed them, in this storyline, he had something deeper to accomplish. He had to save women in a slave-trading ring.
Punisher teams with a social worker trying to save girls on the streets. This was a rare case of Castle having to solve problems that bullets couldn't fix alone.
Welcome Back, Frank (2000)
Punisher was on a downward spiral after he died and returned as a supernatural angel of vengeance. It was one of his most embarrassing storylines and Garth Ennis returned with Steve Dillon to bring Frank Castle back to relevance. This was different from other Ennis stories because he added a lot of humor to this series.
The stories introduced a Punisher Task Force, which was two police officers tracking down Frank - yet remaining likable despite their jobs. The characters living in Punisher's building were all entertaining and there was a fantastic villain in Ma Gnucci. This was Punisher at his best.
Born (2003)
The most well-received Punisher story ever told was in the series Punisher: Born. This was the tale that really showed how Frank Castle became the stone-cold killer he became as this series focused on Frank's final tour of Vietnam.
There have been a few Punisher stories showing him in the military, but this was easily the most harrowing and tense of the stories. Things go very bad due to incompetent officers and an overwhelming enemy count, but this shows how Frank Castle thrives when there is nothing around him but utter darkness.
