The Punisher War Journal (1988 series)

The Punisher War Journal is an American comic book series published from 1988 to 1995 by Marvel Comics featuring the character Frank Castle, also known as the vigilante the Punisher. It was the first ever spin-off for the character and the first series of the title The Punisher War Journal. It lasted for 80 issues and featured varying artists, including early works of Jim Lee  and writers, most notably Carl Potts who had worked as an editor on the main Punisher series before.

Background
The series was made due to the character's immense popularity at the time. Marvel had previously used the character in guest appearances to boost the sales of other titles, but decided to publish a second ongoing title for the Punisher which became this series. Mike Baron, the series' editor and one of the writers, expressed in a 1988 interview that the character's popularity came at a time when American citizens were especially angry with society's failure to punish evil.

Plot
The series consists of several story arcs, including "An Eye For An Eye", "Firepower Among The Ruins", "The Sicilian Saga", "The Kamchatkan Konspiracy", "Pariah!" and "Last Entry" which were confined within the series itself and other arcs such as "Acts of Vengeance", "Dead Man's Hand" and "Suicide Run" which were part of larger Marvel events. The final arc, "Countdown" was a crossover between all the ongoing Punisher series at the time.

Reception
The series was hugely popular upon its original release. Because of the series success Marvel put together a promo tour for the creators of the books. They visited numerous comic book stores in California and Hawaii and interacted with the fans there. Its popularity also prompted Marvel to publish a third ongoing Punisher series named The Punisher War Zone. Though the popularity fell later in the run as it did with the two other Punisher titles at the time, The Punisher and War Zone due to extensive overexposure of the character at the time. The series greatly contributed to the characters independent success outside of being a supporting character. The series, especially Potts' writing. influenced Charles Forsman's series Revenger. The series featured the first meeting of Wolverine and the Punisher in issue 6, named "On The Track Of Unknown Animals", which was described by Blair Marnell of Comingsoon.net as a memorable meeting, and was voted as the 75th greatest issue of any Marvel series ever in 2001. Greg Burgas of Comic Book Resources praised Lee's artwork.

Content
While still under the Comics Code Authority the series featured bodily violence which had not been previously used in Marvel comics publications. The series also featured more guns, explosions and highly sexualized women.

Issues

 * 1) An Eye For An Eye, Chapter 1: Sunday In The Park, November 1988
 * 2) An Eye For An Eye, Chapter 1: Tie A Yellow Ribbon, December 1988
 * 3) An Eye For An Eye, Chapter 1: A Dish Best Served Cold, February 1989
 * 4) Sniper, March 1989
 * 5) Crucible, April 1989
 * 6) On The Track Of Unknown Animals, June 1989
 * 7) Endangered Species, July 1989
 * 8) Damage, September 1989
 * 9) Guilt Trip, October 1989
 * 10) Second Shot, November 1989
 * 11) Shock Treatment, Mid November 1989
 * 12) Acts Of Vengeance: Contrast In Sin, December 1989
 * 13) Acts Of Vengeance: Confession, Mid December 1989
 * 14) Blind Faith, January 1990
 * 15) Headlines!, February 1990
 * 16) Panhandle, March 1990
 * 17) Tropical Trouble, April 1990
 * 18) Kahuna, May 1990
 * 19) Trauma In Paradise!, June 1990
 * 20) The Debt, July 1990
 * 21) Deep Water, August 1990
 * 22) Snowstorm, September 1990
 * 23) Firepower Among The Ruins, part 1, October 1990
 * 24) Firepower Among The Ruins, part 2, November 1990
 * 25) The Sicilian Saga, part 1: Get Out Of Town, December 1990
 * 26) The Sicilian Saga, part 2: Cry Uncle, January 1991
 * 27) The Sicilian Saga, part 3: Saracen With The Clock!, February 1991
 * 28) Meat, March 1991
 * 29) Crash And Burn, April 1991
 * 30) Spin Cycle, May 1991
 * 31) The Kamchatkan Konspiracy, part 1: Pipeline, June 1991
 * 32) The Kamchatkan Konspiracy, part 2: Blowout, July 1991
 * 33) The Kamchatkan Konspiracy, part 3: Fire In The Hole, August 1991
 * 34) Blackout, September 1991
 * 35) Motivation, October 1991
 * 36) Let Them Eat Cake, November 1991
 * 37) Controversy, December 1991
 * 38) Terminal Velocity, January 1992
 * 39) Slay Ride, February 1992
 * 40) Good Money After Bad, March 1992
 * 41) Armageddon Express, April 1992
 * 42) Ten-To-One, May 1992
 * 43) Adirondack Haunts, June 1992
 * 44) Barbarians, July 1992
 * 45) Dead Man's Hand, part 3: The Vegas Idea, August 1992
 * 46) Dead Man's Hand, part 6: Hot Chrome And Cold Blood, September 1992
 * 47) Dead Man's Hand, part 9: Say Goodbye To Vegas, October 1992
 * 48) Walk Through Fire, part 1: Backs To The Wall, November 1992
 * 49) Walk Through Fire, part 2: A Gunfight, December 1992
 * 50) Unfriendly Skies, January 1993
 * 51) Walk Through Fire, part 3: Sidewinder, February 1993
 * 52) Heart of Ice, March 1993
 * 53) Heart Of Stone, April 1993
 * 54) Surface Thrill, May 1993
 * 55) Bad Boyz, June 1993
 * 56) 24 Hours Of Power!, July 1993
 * 57) Blood Money, August 1993
 * 58) Blood Red Moon, September 1993
 * 59) The House That Hate Built, October 1993
 * 60) Dogged, November 1993
 * 61) ________ Part of Suicide Run, December 1993
 * 62) Suicide Run, part 4: Standing In The Shadows, January 1994
 * 63) Suicide Run, part 7: Known Associates, February 1994
 * 64) ________ Part of Suicide Run, March 1994
 * 65) Pariah!, April 1994
 * 66) Pariah, Part 2: Last Exit, May 1994
 * 67) Pariah, part 3: Nailed, June 1994
 * 68) Pariah, part 4: Bad Turn, July 1994
 * 69) Pariah, The Conclusion: Strict Time!, August 1994
 * 70) Last Entry, prelude: Warm Bodies, September 1994
 * 71) Last Entry, part 1: Road To Death!, October 1994
 * 72) Last Entry, part 2: Truck Stop Women!, November 1994
 * 73) Last Entry, part 3: A Journal Of The Plague Years!, December 1994
 * 74) Last Entry, part 4: Deadstop!, January 1995
 * 75) Last Entry, part 5: Conclusion!, February 1995
 * 76) Stone Dead, March 1995
 * 77) Bound By Blood, April 1995
 * 78) One Wicked Day, May 1995
 * 79) Countdown: 3: House Of The Dead, June 1995
 * 80) Countdown: 0: The Last Bad Man, July 1995