The Punisher Presents: Barracuda Max #1

Barracuda steps into the spotlight with this 2007 Marvel MAX five-part limited series, written by Garth Ennis with art by Goran Parlov. The cover — penciled and inked by Parlov — puts the massive, grinning Barracuda front and center, draped in a gold chain, toting an assault rifle with a bandolier of spent shells scattered at his feet, a red car and a smiling woman in a gold bikini completing the swagger-soaked scene. Ennis and Parlov bring the same raw, unflinching energy here that MAX readers have come to expect, and this opening chapter promises a very different kind of lead character taking center stage.