Reading order
Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essential Punisher, Vol. 2 | 1988 | Dan Abnett | N/A |
| 2 | Punisher | 1997 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 3 | Punisher vs. Bullseye | 2006 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 4 | Doctor Strange/Punisher: Magic Bullets | 2017 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
| 5 | Daredevil Epic Collection, Vol. 13: A Touch of Typhoid | 2016 | Dan Abnett | N/A |
| 6 | Punisher Epic Collection, Vol. 3: Kingpin Rules | 2019 | Dan Abnett | N/A |
| 7 | Essential Punisher, Vol. 3 | 1990 | Dan Abnett | N/A |
| 8 | Punisher Epic Collection, Vol. 5: Jigsaw Puzzle | 2020 | Dan Abnett | N/A |
| 9 | Punisher Epic Collection, Vol. 7: Capital Punishment | 2017 | Dan Abnett | N/A |
| 10 | Space: Punisher | 2012 | Dan Abnett | Buy |
This collection gathers Punisher comics material associated with Dan Abnett’s broader work within the Marvel universe, spanning from 1988’s Essential Punisher Vol. 2 through to later limited series and epic collections. The Punisher is Marvel’s vigilante antihero Frank Castle, a former Marine who wages a one-man war on crime after his family’s murder at the hands of the mob. The character has sustained numerous ongoing series and limited runs since his introduction in 1974.
The volumes in this collection include essential and epic retrospective editions collecting early 1980s material, alongside standalone limited series such as Punisher vs. Bullseye and the Doctor Strange/Punisher crossover Magic Bullets. The Kingpin Rules epic collection covers a period when Frank Castle’s war on crime brought him into sustained conflict with New York’s criminal hierarchy. The oddity of the collection is Space: Punisher, a 2012 four-issue limited series that transplants the character into a science fiction universe.
These volumes are best treated as standalone reading experiences rather than a coherent single narrative. The early essential collections cover the character’s formative years, while the later limited series and crossovers offer self-contained stories that work without reading everything in sequence.