The story was well-received, and it inspired Marvel's then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to greenlight a comic based on stories of soldiers in Vietnam in 1986. According to Larry Hama, Jim Shooter approached him with a mock-up of a comic book cover made from a G.I. Joe cover, with 'The 'Nam' as a title and basically said, "Make a comic out of this." Hama then asked Doug Murray to put together a pitch. Murray himself has said that he was surprised Shooter decided to make this comic a thing, but felt maybe he wanted to experiment a bit.
Murray would be reunited with Michael Golden for this new war comic. At the time, Golden was due to start work on Batman for DC Comics. However, Golden had grown kind of bored with drawing superheroes. Naturally, he was very receptive to the idea of doing something different.
The 'Nam would actually go on to be quite successful. In fact, the first issue of the book outsold X-Men. Yeah. Think about that. The X-Men. They were arguable Marvel's most popular superteam at the time, if not their most popular characters...and their book got outsold...by a book about soldiers in the Vietnam War. That's crazy. Even crazier? The book would last seven years, going from 1986 to 1993. The series would put out 84 out of an intended 100 issues. The book would get critical acclaim, and even be honored by a veterans' organization called The Bravos. The 'Nam was also unique as unlike many other titles produced by Marvel, it was not intended to be part of the Marvel Universe. Many issues would show soldiers owning Marvel comic books, explicitly establishing that various Marvel mainstays like Captain America, Spider-Man, and Iron Man were fictional in that book's world.
Under Murray's pen, the book's tales would be told in real-time. Basically, for every month between issues, a month would pass in the book. He did this to convey the soldiers waiting to return home from Southeast Asia. According to him, every soldier there had a calendar to keep track of how long they had left in Vietnam. His run told the tale of Private First Class Edward Marks as he witnessed real events during the war. Doug Murray would leave the book after twelve issues due to editorial changes. If his run wasn't cut short, Murray intended Marks to return to Vietnam as a reporter, witnessing the usage of Agent Orange.
By the 1990s, sales of the book were struggling. The writer at the time, Don Lomax (himself also a Vietnam veteran) and editor Don Daley decided to have the Punisher appear in the title. This made some sense. Punisher was popular at the time, and it was established that the character himself served in Vietnam. Despite this, the title would conclude in 1993, with issue #84. Issues #85 and #86 were still made, though. However, they would not go unpublished. They would be released as part of a Punisher special: The Punisher in the 'Nam: Final Invasion in 1994. The appearance of the Punisher in the book surprised readers as The 'Nam was, as I said earlier, not intended to be set in the Marvel Universe.
The comic that we're going to look at is the first time Frank Castle appeared in the title, showing his days serving his country before he would don his black outfit with the skull logo on the chest. This is The 'Nam #52!
The cover is a Jorge Zaffino piece. It's basically a man screaming at me. I'm assuming that it's Frank Castle. What is he screaming? A vow of vengeance? An epic battle cry? His pizza order? The coloring and the pencils give the cover a gritty look, and I think it gives the impression that Frank is going a little nuts. I have to admit, the corner box logo amuses me. It's the Punisher's skull logo wearing a lopsided Vietnam-era Army helmet. I have no idea why it amuses me, it just does.
"The Long Sticks"
Writer: Roger Salick
Penciler: Mike Harris
Inker: James Palmiotti
Colorist: Ed Lazellari
Letterers: Phil Felix (pages 1-5), Jade Moede (pages 6-20)
Editor: Don Daley
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The time: Somewhere between 1965 and 1973. The place: Duc Pho, South Vietnam. A helicopter touches down in a Marine Corps base. 800 yards away, a Vietnamese sniper watches the landing through the scope of a sniper rifle. The sniper is camouflaged by the trees and foliage.
A general emerges from the helicopter, and the sniper takes aim. As the unsuspecting Marine salutes and talks to the lieutenant sent to greet him, the sniper kisses a small monkey skull hung around his neck, like he's hoping for some luck. He takes aim with his Soviet sniper rifle, the SVD Dragunov...and fires.
The 7.62 mm round hits its target: the general's neck. The sniper smiles proudly at his work, then slips away to perform another mission. Three days pass. At Hill 55, the news is brought to Captain James. James figures that the Colonel was killed by a sniper known only as The Monkey. He points out a map that has several pins on it. Each pin represents a man that the Monkey has killed. The Monkey has become such a problem that the brass is sending a man to brief him on it. The Monkey may be a good sniper, but the Marine Corps got a man who is no slouch himself behind a sniper's scope: One Sergeant Frank Castle.
So, where is our resident future criminal killer at? Well, he and his friend Corporal Morris are doing a bit of sniping.
They spot a Viet Cong sniper using an improvised outhouse. Frank's got a bead on him. The outhouse was about 2500 yards away. The rifle of Frank's choice? An M-2 .50 cal Browning. He liked the gun as its bullets allowed for a stable trajectory for about 3000 yards. Frank makes the shot and takes out the sniper...and sets a new sniping record.
He's brought to Captain James's office. James asks him what he knows about The Monkey. Frank's knowledge is little, but he does know he's probably the very best sniper the Viet Cong have got. As such, James wants Frank to take a classified, and very dangerous mission: Take out The Monkey. As for why this mission is classified? Well, The Monkey's home has been found. It's an NVA headquarters...in Laos. I'm guessing that there's potential for an international incident here if something goes wrong.
Soon, Castle and Morris are on their way to Laos. Morris is to keep an eye on Castle, and they are to avoid the Viet Cong at all costs. The helicopter can wait three days. After that, they're gone. Castle assures them not to worry. If they're not back in time...they're likely not coming back.
The two men find the base. The only way Castle can get a shot is by doing some crawling on the grass for about a thousand yards. He'll scout the area tonight, then shoot The Monkey tomorrow. Morris thinks he's crazy. Frank tells Morris to meet him on the treeline. Castle then begins the slow crawl. It's a tough job. Castle can't leave any evidence he is there, or he'll get spotted. This had led him to take five hours to crawl 800 yards. The future Punisher encounters a bit of a problem.
A bamboo viper. Venomous snakes native to Southeast Asia. And the Viet Cong will be the least of Frank's worries if that gets its fangs into him. He and the snake engage in a staring contest. It seems like an eternity that the two stare at each other...ultimately, the snake gives up and slithers away. I kind of liked Frank being a bit freaked out by the snake. For all of his grit and toughness, he's still only human. Also, he hasn't reached Punisher levels of crazy yet. Frank is able to sneak his way towards the compound, where he encounters The Monkey, who is busy cleaning his sniper rifle.
Frank tries to sneak in closer, but a Viet Cong patrol is right near by. The future Punisher silently hopes that they don't look in his direction...but decides against it. After all, as Castle himself said, "Nobody listens to a soldier's prayers". As such, he takes out his silenced .45 pistol and shoots them. The camp is still quiet. It's like nobody noticed the soldier's actions. Castle takes the shot with his sniper rifle at The Monkey.
The camp goes into battle stations, and Castle flees into the trees. Heh. I'm a poet and I don't know it. Castle finds Morris, seemingly asleep. The soldier is understandably angry about it. He just took out The Monkey, the NVA are firing more rounds at him than at a target at a redneck's shooting range, and he's sleeping?! But Morris is not in Dreamland, he's in the afterlife. Got impaled by a bamboo shoot. Castle feels a gun at his back.
Wait...if The Monkey's right there, then...who did Frank shoot?! How?! Is The Monkey like Wolverine or something?! Is he an Immortal?! Castle shares my confusion, but the answer is actually pretty simple: A double. Castle sniped a body double. The Monkey uses doubles to confuse American snipers that hunt for him. The Monkey and his men lead Castle to a cave that they use as they use as a home base. The big Marine is well aware that they will likely torture him for any info they can get about his mission and all that. They enlarged the cave and stocked it with weapons and equipment likely stolen from the American troops. They take the future Punisher to a cage which is going to be his new home.
The Monkey decides to taunt Castle a little bit by asking if he wants to know his next target. Who is it?
Yes, The Monkey plans to put a bullet in the neck of Captain James. You see, James had been like a father to the future vigilante, and it understandably angers the man. Frank refuses to hear The Monkey's bragging and boasting. He takes off his shirt and tears it up. A guard comes by to check on Castle...and he's shocked by what he has found. The story ends with Frank Castle having seemingly hung himself, possibly out of despair over being unable to save his mentor.
This comic was pretty good. It's pretty cool seeing Frank Castle's military days before he became the Punisher. It's a great opportunity to see what could have helped form the Punisher...or at the very least, see where he picked up the skills he uses as the Punisher. We get the idea that Frank is already a very deadly and very effective man when he's got a gun in his hand. The Monkey is a bit of a one-dimensional character, but the usage of a body double is actually rather clever. Also, it's a Punisher story, those don't need overly-complex bad guys.
I think the ending was kind of obvious as a fakeout. I mean, yeah, we all know ol' Frankie isn't the type give up and die easily, so there's got to be a trick to it. Also, I would have liked a bit more exploration of the relationship between Castle and James. The story hints that James mentored Castle, so I would have liked to have seen more interaction between them.
I had no complaints about the art. One detail I liked was that some panels that showed snipers aiming made it look like we were looking right down the sniper's scope. It was a cool detail that I really liked.
If you want to read this for yourself, I suggest you hunt down the 2018 trade paperback The Punisher Invades 'The Nam. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, spread it around! And if you want to give this blog some additional support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar! See you next time, where we find out if Frank Castel truly did die in 'The Nam...
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