Punisher #9

Frank Castle stands in the shadows of a bullet-riddled alley, his skull emblem catching what little light breaks through the darkness — Tim Bradstreet's cover art gives the Punisher a cold, measured menace that feels entirely at home in Marvel's MAX imprint. A partially visible figure to his right adds a quiet tension to the scene, hinting at the gritty street-level world Garth Ennis and Leandro Fernández are building in "Kitchen Irish Part Three." If you've been following this 2004 MAX run, issue #9 keeps the atmosphere firmly in place.