The Punisher #21

Part two of "Brotherhood" arrives with a cover by Tim Bradstreet that puts Frank Castle front and center — stone-faced, assault rifle in hand, his skull emblem stark against the deep red background. Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Marvel Knights run had firmly established this as one of the grittiest corners of the Marvel Universe by 2003, and this issue carries that uncompromising tone right through Bradstreet's atmospheric, shadow-drenched portrait. If the first chapter set the stage, this middle chapter promises the tension is only tightening.