Books like The Punisher MAX, Vol. 8: Widowmaker

Score: 3.64 out of 5Grade: 73% (B) | GoodDespite the book losing its focus in the final act, there’s a lot of fun to be had with this book. We have some new character standouts, some characters that don’t find their place until the end, and some characters we expected to see a lot more of. Here is my review for The Punisher MAX Vol. 8: Widowmaker:The Good:I loved the idea behind this story! All the widows of the bad men that the Punisher has killed come out looking for revenge. Great! It also alluded to how the tragedy of Frank’s family being murdered parallels that of Frank when he takes matters into his own hands and rids the world of bad men. I also appreciate that the widows actually had a plan to kill Frank, rather than the common (and idiotic) plan of just riddling him with bullets.All the banter back-and-forth between the widows was great. They may have their differences, but one thing they have in common is the goal of killing Frank Castle. I always love some good trash talk! I enjoyed some of the widows more than others, but overall they all had their place. Annabella, the “boss widow”, was one cruel lady. I really enjoyed She-Punisher! Badass, brutal, looking for her own revenge – you really begin to sympathize with her as a character and she’s definitely the standout in this book. When she throws on the Punisher gear, oh baby, you know people are going to die! I also liked the parallel between her and Frank – they’re more similar than they are different.There is some great art in this book! Some one-pagers were really well done. There’s even a chapter with some non-linear storytelling which was used effectively. It enhanced the narrative and made things more interesting rather than the normal linear fashion.The Bad:The thing I disliked the most was the execution of such a great idea. The last act really missed the mark for me. Everything just happened too quickly and too conveniently. I finished the book feeling underwhelmed and unsatisfied. Most of the widows go down quickly, and the altercation with She-Punisher and Annabella was probably the only part I really enjoyed. It just wrapped up everyone’s story arc, all at once, in a nice and tidy bow.This also doesn’t even feel like a Punisher book. If anything, Frank is more of a supporting character in this one. Maybe it would have been off-putting to see Frank murder a bunch of women, so that’s why they introduced She-Punisher. But regardless, Frank should have been more involved than he was considering this is part of The Punisher MAX Series. I’m not saying Frank was boring or useless, he had some standout sequences, but he was wounded for most of the story. The Frank Castle that I know wouldn’t let a single gunshot wound slow him down. For most of the book, I was not a fan of Detective Budiansky. This guy came out of nowhere with very little introduction and I just didn’t care for him. Oftentimes, his character slowed the story down, but it’s when he starts getting involved with the other characters does he suddenly becomes more interesting. Conclusion:Despite the execution of a fantastic idea not quite hitting the mark, I still had a lot of fun with this one. It falls apart towards the end and we don’t really get as much Punisher as I would have liked. But She-Punisher more than steps up to the plate. This book has some memorable moments, great art, and some solid writing, but then again, if you’re looking for some Frank Castle punishing, look elsewhere.