Written by Chuck Dixon. Art by Ed Barreto and Klaus Janson.
Marvel Comics (Marvel Knights Division)

Cover: This cover is cool but sorta blah. Joe Q provides another great cover, but there’s nothing happening. All the characters are just sorta posing, that’s cool I guess. But not that spectacular.

The Story: Not much is known at this point but here’s what I got so far. The Punisher finds a group of Russian mob guys completely destroyed and a very weird looking hole in the building. Realizing that he needs help, he searches out DD and hopes he can bring the FF or somebody. We cut to a church where the Black Widow is trying to get a priest to absolve her sins. A couple of goons bust in hoping to score some cash, but they messed with the wrong church. Not only is the Widow there but the very cool Dagger is also in the house. They bust up the guys and head back to the Punisher. We cut to China and Shang Chi is busting up some Chinese Mafia guys real good. But the same guys who killed the Russians bust in and steal the girl that Shang Chi is protecting. Back in NY the gang goes to the scene of the crime. Then well, uh, just read the books.

The Writing: Not great in this issue. Some cool fights but otherwise the plot is sorta blah. The dialogue, but this issue's plot is sorta just nothing.

The Art: Ed’s art is good but it's a little dark for my liking. It’s heavy on the black lines and it’s a bit messy. It’s good stuff I’m sure, just not to my liking. Oh and The Punisher looks fat.

Overall: I thought it was good but not great. If I were you I'd wait till the next issue. This issue isn’t very much.

Rating: 6 out of 10. Decent but not worth the $4.50 (Canadian)