Comics Fondle

So, Barracuda is much better than “Barracuda,” the story its a sequel to, which ran in Punisher MAX. Maybe not, actually. That story was Ennis’s first disappointing arc on Punisher MAX (after “The Slavers,” though, anything would have been a disappointment… but “Barracuda” was definitely more of one than it had to be). The limited series, however, is okay… better than expected. It’s toned down outlandish Ennis, almost a modernized version of his Rifle Brigade series (the okay first one, not the atrocious second). There’s a porn star, a transvestite and other assorted folks. It’s a big cast, usually played for laughs and I’m shocked Marvel hasn’t sold the movie rights to… I don’t know rappers these days. A rapper looking for a big movie hit. It’s actually astounding they haven’t.

But it’s an empty, shallow series–Ennis is funny, everyone knows Ennis is funny… my wife doesn’t even read comic books and she probably thinks he’s funny (if she was listening when I told her scenes from Chronicles of Wormwood anyway), but so what? Ennis the artist, the guy trying for something new, he’s the interesting Ennis. The big problem with Barracuda is the title character. He’s an indestructible badass. In Punisher MAX, he signaled the end of the series’s reality. (The following arc quickly brought it back). In this one, he’s better suited, because of the wacky supporting cast. Except for the guy named Big Chris who looks like Christopher Walken. If Ennis and Marvel aren’t thinking movie deal, it’s clear Goran Parlov is picking up the slack.

The issues pass inessential–I can’t imagine mustering the interest to read one every month (the most amusing scenes even tend to come in the middle, which makes them seem light)–and the whole thing reads like a cashing in for Marvel as opposed to a solid limited series. A new brand, the Punisher MAX imprint or something… but it’s mediocre enough not to be a complete mistake. Except, in the end, Ennis makes it perfectly clear he doesn’t care about any of the characters and the whole thing is just a bridging story–absolutely inessential.

At least it made me feel all right about not caring about any of the characters… but I do have to wonder why Ennis is making his protagonist much like a psycho bad guy from Preacher (he intimates cannibalism no less).

Maybe I just answered my movie rights question.

C

Technorati Tags: Comic Book, Garth Ennis, Goran Parlov, Marvel Comics, Punisher, Review

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