The Punisher #22
The Punisher #22 is a triple-debut issue, introducing Chester 'Chet' Scully, Katherine Yakamoto, and the globe-trotting mercenary-terrorist Saracen (Muzzafar Lambert) to the Marvel Universe in a single story. Saracen proved the most durable of the three, returning across multiple Punisher titles and War Journal arcs before being killed off in the one-shot The Punisher: Empty Quarter — a span that underlines how productively this issue seeded the larger Punisher supporting cast of the late Copper Age. The 'Ninja Training Camp' premise also reflects a broader late-1980s cultural fascination with martial arts and ninja fiction, filtered here through the series' signature street-crime realism: Scully's camp is exposed as a fraudulent operation, not a genuine ninjutsu school, giving the story a quietly satirical edge. All three first appearances have since been collected in major Marvel trade programs, confirming the issue's lasting place in the continuity record.
In "Ninja Training Camp," Stan Lee and Sara Tuchinsky deliver a sharp, character-driven story set in the world of the Punisher, with Kieron Dwyer’s bold artwork bringing intensity to every panel. This 1989 issue pays heartfelt tribute to Frank Giacoia, honoring his legacy with a touching dedication, while spotlighting new voices like Lisa Trusiani and Renée Witterstaetter in the ongoing narrative. The cover by Erik Larsen and Scott Williams captures the series’ gritty edge, blending action with a grounded sense of purpose.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
By early 1989, writer Mike Baron — the architect of the Punisher's first ongoing series, launched in 1987 — was deep into a sustained creative run on the title that would last over five years. Issue #22 marked a penciling transition on the book: Erik Larsen, a young talent who had just broken into Marvel with fill-in work and who would later co-found Image Comics, joined Baron as the regular penciler for a stretch of issues beginning around #21–22. Larsen himself recalled in a Comic Book Historians interview that he accepted the Punisher assignment largely out of practical necessity, following Baron's panel-broken Marvel Method scripts closely. The issue was edited by Carl Potts with Marc McLaurin as assistant editor, under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco — the same editorial structure that oversaw the Punisher's rapid expansion into multiple simultaneous titles during that period.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Chester 'Chet' Scully (Earth-616), a fraudulent mercenary martial-arts instructor who operates a bogus 'ninja training camp' in Sloman, Kansas.
- First appearance of Katherine Yakamoto (Earth-616), daughter of authentic Japanese ninja master Hatsu Yakamoto, who infiltrates Scully's camp to expose his false claim of her father's endorsement.
- First appearance of Saracen (Muzzafar Lambert, Earth-616), a globe-trotting mercenary and terrorist who would go on to appear in The Punisher War Journal #25–27, The Punisher #47–48, and War Journal #33 before being killed in The Punisher: Empty Quarter.
- Written by Mike Baron and penciled by Erik Larsen, with inks by Scott Williams, colors by Gregory Wright, and lettering by Ken Bruzenak; edited by Carl Potts.
- Story title is 'Ninja Training Camp'; Frank Castle operates throughout under the assumed identity of 'Fred D'Amato.'
- On sale April 18, 1989; cover-dated August 1989; issued in both direct-edition and newsstand variants.
- Reprinted in Essential Punisher Vol. 3 (2009) and Punisher Epic Collection Vol. 3: Kingpin Rules (2019), as well as in international editions including Dutch, Swedish, and French-language collections.
- The issue carries a dedication to inker and illustrator Frank Giacoia, printed inside the comic.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Superaventuras Marvel #110 (1991), Punisher #1/1992 (1992), Essential Punisher #3 (2009), Punisher Epic Collection #3 (2019), Punisher : l'intégrale #1988-1989 (2024)
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