SDCC 23: Marvel introducing new Punisher this fall

Frank Castle is gone, vanished after the events of the recent Punisher arc. In his place is retired SHIELD agent Joe Garrison.

Who is The Punisher?

Love it or hate it, the recent Punisher stories have had a seemingly lasting impact on the character in the Marvel U. Frank Castle, after taking up leadership of The Hand and gaining mystical abilities, is all but gone. So what do you do when the biggest and most vicious vigilante in the world disappears? Well, find a replacement of course.

That replacement is Joe Garrison, a retired SHIELD and black ops agent, who’s set to take up the mantle of The Punisher. Though, it seems like Garrison will be a pretty different one, if the high-tech hardware on the cover illustration is any indication.

In this action-packed new PUNISHER saga, Frank Castle has disappeared, but evil will always need to be punished. With all-new threats rising to claim innocent victims, criminals will need to beware of a dangerous vigilante hunting them from the shadows. Enter a new Punisher: retired S.H.I.E.L.D. black ops agent Joe Garrison. But what brings him back into action? What put Joe Garrison on his path of vengeance? And when the smoke clears, will he even make it out alive?

Marvel Comics press release

As for the creative team who’s set to intro Garrison, it’ll be led by artist Dave Wachter and writer David Pepose, who’s previously worked on Savage Avengers and Moon Knight: City of the Dead. According to the latter, Garrison is not meant to displace Castle, but be the “Danny Ketch to Frank’s Johnny Blaze”.

“The man might be different, but the punishment remains the same,” said Pepose. “I wanted to introduce the Danny Ketch to Frank’s Johnny Blaze.”

…

Pepose continued, “I asked myself ‘How do we build a bigger table? And how do we invite as many readers as possible?’ For existing fans of the Punisher and for new fans, this is a story that’s not going to sacrifice any of the attitude, any of the action, and we are not letting the pedal off the metal.”

Marvel Comics press release

Strap in, this is bound to be interesting. Punisher #1 arrives on November 8th, 2023, with a cover from Rod Reis and a variant from Mico Suayan.