Masterful. Garth Ennis is the ultimate bad-ass comics writer, and Frank Castle, the Punisher is the ultimate bad-ass anti-hero. This book collects three one-shot comics. The first, the Tyger, drawn by comics legend John Severin, tells the story of Punisher's "origin", but it's a lot more complicated than the known tale of his family getting caught in the crossfire of a mob hit in Central Park. No, it goes back further than that, to when Frank was ten years old.

The second story, "The Cell" concerns Frank's intentional stay in a maximum security prison. How does he survive there? What's his plan? Certainly, this is a powerful turning point in his saga.

The third story is called "The End", and is drawn by Richard Corben, famous for all those lurid full-color sections he used to draw and paint for Warren Publications' black and white line in the early seventies. In many ways the vengeance Frank gets in this chapter is the most satisfying of all.

This book contains all the essential things one needs to know about the Punisher, told in an artful and gripping way. After reading this book, any other Punisher storyline will make perfect sense. ( )