Punisher MAX Vol. 5: The Slavers

The fifth collected volume in Garth Ennis' re-defining run on the Punisher is yet another brutal and unrelenting crime yarn that lets the blood flow. The Slavers starts out as just another night for Frank Castle as he has some criminals in his cross-hairs, but things take a drastically different turn when a woman fires on them first. As the story unfolds, Frank learns of an international kidnapping and prostitution ring run by some very evil men, and before long, he's on a mission to take them all down; the only problem is that the NYPD is looking to do the same to Frank as well. While the Slavers is a step down from the last volume, Up is Down and Black is White (which is by far the best Punisher story ever written), this is still pure Ennis all the way, even though his once trademark black humor is barely here. Returning artist Leandro Fernandez provides some more solid pencil work, and he renders the blood and gore nicely. All in all, the Slavers is yet another excellent chapter in Ennis' Punisher saga, but be warned, this volume more than earns it's MAX title.

The package came and it was in perfect condition.

Frank Castle is back for volume 5 of the Punisher max series! Although the story slightly reminded me of the 'Taken' movie plot, Garth Ennis creates a darker image and an even better written story. Frank comes across a woman, who appears lost and frightened, but yet vengeful at the same time. By the time he gets to know her haunting past, cops are already plotting false claims of Punisher brutality. Only to wonder if the department is in the pocket of the overseas 'businessmen' who have started trafficking woman of almost any age. This book is intensely written and the art is good once again...I give this volume 4.8/5 stars! NEAR PERFECTION

I still recall vividly opening my first Punisher Max volume and being amazed. This was how Punisher should have been like all along. No crazy high-tech gimmicks or cartoony stories, just a man scarred deeply by the deaths of his family and reaping bloody vengeance.The art is superb, and I truly feel they captured the true essence of the Punisher. He is a man driven solely by His War and allows no room for compromise of any sort. Understandably, he is most assuredly psychotic, but to him, to sit back and do nothing is insanity in itself. You can't help but to admire a man with that sort of resolve.If you've read the other Max Volumes, then you'll enjoy this. If you haven't, I would still recommend this book.

I have every one of the Punisher Max graphic novels. This one was difficult to buy at a reasonable price, for some reason; I waited about a year. But, I believe it was about my favorite. The story was especially interesting and had a little more depth than the others.Actually, I may have shed a tear or two while reading.If you liked any of the others, you'll love this one. I did.

Awesome, super gritty, and brutal! Everything Punisher should be. The story is great I expect nothing less from one of the greatest comic writers of all time and the art is very good.

Been hunting for this for a long time, finally able to complete my Garth Ennis Max collection, max does a great job as always, ties together some of his older stories in a compelling way. Wish they would have stuck to the original artists but other than that its great

This is a good book. It ends one of the greatest mainstream comics series ever. If you are buying this you probably have the first 4 HC Volumes, or first 8 TPB volumes. You will not be wildly disappointed with this. However, it is deeply flawed- mostly from the art.I have major issues with Valley Forge.The art is horrible. On the seventh page of Issue 2 (Punisher #56), apparently the artist was too lazy to draw eyes on a character, so he placed two excellently composed black dots in their place.I would note that the character has eyes in the preceding and succeeding panel at the same distance and focus; this particular panel may just have been a little too inconvenient to give our character optical proficiency. Maybe Goran Palov's pencil-sharpener broke. Maybe he ran out of coffee. Maybe he is a lazy bastard. All I know is that I instantly noticed that someone who is, theoretically, being paid for their excellence in graphic character rendition decided eyes would be optional.Ennis also gets uncharacteristically lazy at points as well.Frank finds himself cornered on a roof, as usual. He drops his weapons. Anyone who has been following this series will expect a typically brilliant development from Ennis to get Frank out of his spot.Instead, the floor crumbles, for NO apparent reason, and the goon falls through the floor. BRILLIANT.BUT WHAT IS THIS? BACK TO THE ART. The goon falls through the floor and is hanging on to the roof while his body is dangling in the hole. We see the hole for EXACTLY FIVE CLEAR PANELS, and it is an EMPTY HOLE. But NO! An illusion! For on the SIXTH PANEL of hole depiction, a BAR MAGICALLY APPEARS.BRILLIANT! OUT OF THIN AIR!!!!I expected a cleaner and more professional effort. A sloppy way to end the series, especially when compared to the absolute excellence that has driven this series.I will note, however, that Marvel decided to make this book with a sewn binding rather than a glued binding, so kudos to them for that.

Garth Ennis has definitely tapped the right vein with Punisher. I would say that his take is the definitive version of the character. What’s great about this particular volume is that it delves into a very dark and disturbing real world trend, human trafficking. We also see the Punisher reach new extreme heights of violence as the human traffickers inspire in him a hate beyond his usual hate. This one is definitely a great read.

The 2 words that come to my mind when thinking about the Punisher are ''willpower'' and ''hate''. A group of Eastern European human traffickers(who are also trained soldiers) will understand just how powerful his hate is. Also, his relationship with the police will be different in this volume. This is part of the best Punisher run, according to critics (and I agree). It is also readable by people who know little about the main character.

Good stuff.

Frank Castle saves the life of an immigrant woman forced into prostitution. Upon taking care of her, he finds out the facts behind the people that enslaved her and becomes just about the most p***ed off he has ever been. Revenge doesn't come along more cold blooded as it does in this volume. E.g. The Punisher bludgeons a woman half to death by throwing her repeatedly against bulletproof glass before throwing her right through it.

This for me why Punisher Max completely obliterates its Marvel Universe counterpart. This story has pace, outstanding action, wonderful narrative. A dark tale of human trafficking and subjugation which delivers a punch to the reader. At the heart of this is Frank Castle who for me has really found his true home within The Max universe.A must read for any Punisher fans.