The Punisher Presents: Barracuda Max #5

The finale of this five-part MAX limited series arrives with a cover that says everything you need to know: the massive, grinning Barracuda stands triumphant atop a pile of defeated bodies, bristling with a machine gun and ammunition belts, while a smaller goggle-wearing figure in the foreground clutches their own heavy weapon amid scattered shell casings and a very confused chicken. Goran Parlov's cover art balances gleeful over-the-top carnage with a darkly comic energy that perfectly suits the story title — "Baptized in a Barrel of Butcher Knives" — and the anything-goes spirit of Marvel's MAX imprint. Garth Ennis and Parlov close out their 2007 collaboration on a note that promises the series hasn't held back a single thing.