Punisher: The End #1

Richard Corben's cover for this 2004 Marvel MAX one-shot says it all: a weathered, battle-hardened Frank Castle stands alone amid a landscape of skulls and smoldering ruins, clutching a shotgun with goggle straps hanging at his throat and desolation stretching behind him in every direction. The fiery, apocalyptic palette — all burnt orange and bruised purple — gives this Garth Ennis–penned story an unmistakable end-of-the-world gravity. If you've ever wondered how far the Punisher's war could ultimately go, this explicit-content MAX release poses that question in the starkest possible terms.