The Punisher #4

Nov 1987 · Marvel · 0.75 USD; 0.95 CAD; 0.40 GBP

📊 ~47,096 copies sold its debut month

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“The Rev”

★ 1st appearance — Microchip Junior★ 1st appearance — Microchip

About this Issue

The fourth issue of the Punisher's first ongoing solo series is the debut of Microchip — the tech-savvy logistics expert and closest thing Frank Castle ever had to a best friend — making it the foundational issue for the Castle/Lieberman partnership that would define the character for nearly a decade. By giving the Punisher a grounded, morally complicated support figure explicitly modeled on the James Bond archetype of Q, writer Mike Baron dramatically expanded the storytelling possibilities of what had been a one-note vigilante concept. The issue also marks the simultaneous first appearance of Microchip's son, Louis Frohike (Microchip Junior), whose subsequent fate deepens Lieberman's tragic arc. Taken together, these introductions laid the infrastructure — literally and narratively — for the Punisher's explosion into one of Marvel's bestselling franchises of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In "The Rev," Frank Castle infiltrates the Church of the Saved, a cult led by the charismatic Reverend Sammy Smith, aided by Microchip's forged identity. After being shot and left for dead, the Punisher is miraculously healed by Smith’s unexplained abilities—only to uncover a chilling truth when he discovers the videotape he was sent to retrieve proves Smith’s own guilt. Written by Mike Baron and illustrated by Klaus Janson, this 1987 issue delivers a tense, morally charged story with a haunting cover by Klaus Janson.

writer Mike Baron · artist, inker, colorist Klaus Janson · letterer Ken Bruzenak · cover Klaus Janson

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $7

CGC 9.8 · 89 in census $101

CGC 9.6 · 56 in census $46

CGC 9.4 · 29 in census $32

CGC 9.2 · 15 in census $27

CGC 9.0 · 12 in census $26*

CGC 8.5 · 18 in census $25

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CGC 8.0 · 7 in census $23*

CGC 7.5 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 2 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

More listings for this title

FINE $2.49 NM $5.94 VG · Newsstand $14.95 The Punisher #4 (Marvel Comics November 1987) $2.99

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 4 total · seen 21 days ago

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History

The Punisher's first ongoing series launched in July 1987 under writer Mike Baron and artist/colorist Klaus Janson, edited by Carl Potts — the same editor who had shepherded the character's breakout 1986 'Circle of Blood' miniseries. Issue #4 fell just four months into that run, titled 'The Rev,' as part of a two-part story pitting Frank Castle against a Jim Jones–style cult leader. Baron and Janson conceived Microchip as a Q-figure to give Castle a logistical anchor, deliberately borrowing the spy-fiction archetype to justify how a lone vigilante could sustain an expensive, high-tech war on crime. The issue was published at cover price $0.75 and ran 36 pages.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Microchip (David Lieberman), tech specialist and long-running ally of the Punisher, created by writer Mike Baron and artist Klaus Janson.
First appearance of Microchip Junior (Louis Frohike), Microchip's son, who is introduced as a student at Cal Tech and later killed in the series.
The character of Microchip was deliberately conceived as a 'Q'-type figure inspired by the James Bond franchise, serving as the Punisher's weapons builder, vehicle supplier, hacker, and financial launderer.
Story title is 'The Rev' — a two-part arc beginning here in which Castle goes undercover inside a dangerous cult led by the charismatic but murderous Reverend Sammy Smith.
Full creative credits: writer Mike Baron; pencils, inks, and colors by Klaus Janson; letters by Ken Bruzenak; editor Carl Potts. This is part of the Punisher's very first ongoing series (vol. 2), launched July 1987.
In-issue continuity note: Microchip's name in this debut appearance is given as 'Lowell Bartholomew Ori' — later stories firmly retconned and established his name as David Linus Lieberman.
The issue was reprinted in Punisher Magazine #5 (December 1989) and later collected in Punisher Epic Collection vol. 2: Circle of Blood (Marvel, 2018).
Microchip went on to appear in live-action adaptations: portrayed by Wayne Knight in Punisher: War Zone (2008) and by Ebon Moss-Bachrach in Season 1 of the Netflix series The Punisher (2017), where the character was substantially reimagined as a former NSA analyst.