The Punisher War Journal #1

Name: The Punisher War Journal #1
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Nov 1988 · Marvel · 1.50 USD; 2.00 CAD; 0.50 GBP

📊 ~102,720 copies sold its debut month

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“An Eye for an Eye Chapter One Sunday in the Park”

★ 1st appearance — Yuriko Ezaki★ 1st appearance — Phillip Richards★ 1st appearance — Hector Montoya

About this Issue

Punisher War Journal #1 marks a pivotal expansion of Frank Castle's publishing footprint: it was the first-ever spin-off series built around the Punisher character, born directly from the character's extraordinary late-1980s popularity at Marvel. The issue also serves as one of the most detailed early retellings of the Castle family's Central Park murder — delivered in a distinctive sequence of wide-and-narrow panels running along the bottom of each page — giving new readers a grounded entry point while deepening the mythology for existing fans. Beyond its narrative function, the issue is a historically significant early showcase for Jim Lee, then working as inker under writer-penciler Carl Potts, years before his watershed run on Uncanny X-Men would make him one of the defining artists of the 1990s. The series it launched ultimately ran eighty issues and pushed Marvel to greenlight a third Punisher ongoing title, demonstrating just how consequential this debut was for the entire franchise.

writer, artist Carl Potts · artist, inker Jim Lee · colorist John Wellington · letterer Jim Novak · cover Carl Potts, Scott Williams

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $7

CGC 9.8 · 893 in census $78*

CGC 9.6 · 528 in census $40

CGC 9.4 · 331 in census $33

CGC 9.2 · 151 in census $28

CGC 9.0 · 120 in census $25

CGC 8.5 · 100 in census $20*

Show all 17 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 48 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 32 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 16 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 10 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 6 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 · 5 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 · 1 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

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 $104 1 listing

CGC 9.6 ▾ $65–$99.88 3 listings

CGC 9.6 $65 CGC 9.6 $84.99 CGC 9.6 $99.88

PGX $100 1 listing Raw — NM $6.95 1 listing Raw — NM- $45 1 listing Raw — VF/NM $8.99 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $5.39–$59.99 7 listings

Raw / ungraded $5.39 Raw / ungraded $9.49 Raw / ungraded $12.6 Raw / ungraded $17.7 Raw / ungraded $19.99 Raw / ungraded $25 Newsstand $59.99

Verified matches for The Punisher War Journal #1 · eBay asking prices, seen 24 days ago

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History

Carl Potts, who had previously served as an editor on the main Punisher ongoing series, transitioned into the writer-penciler role for this new title, with the then-rising Jim Lee handling inks on the debut arc. The series was greenlit because Marvel recognized that the Punisher's readership had grown large enough to sustain a second monthly title — the publisher had already been strategically deploying the character in guest appearances across other books to boost their sales, and the commercial logic for a dedicated spin-off had become undeniable. Editor Don Daley and editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco oversaw the launch, with the issue going on sale July 5, 1988, carrying a November 1988 cover date. The debut storyline, titled 'An Eye for an Eye,' was structured as a three-part arc connecting a then-contemporary Contra arms-dealing plot back to the original mob hit that claimed the Castle family's lives.

Trivia · 8 facts

First issue of the Punisher's first-ever spin-off series, which ran for 80 issues from November 1988 through July 1995.
Written and penciled by Carl Potts, with Jim Lee as inker — one of Lee's earliest major Marvel assignments before his career-defining work on X-Men.
Cover art by Carl Potts and Scott Williams; the issue shipped in both Direct Edition and Newsstand Edition formats.
Story title: 'An Eye for an Eye, Chapter One: Sunday in the Park' — Frank Castle revisits the Central Park anniversary of his family's murders while pursuing mobster Hector Montoya.
First appearances in this issue include Hector Montoya (the mobster held responsible for the Castle family deaths), Rikichi, and Yuriko Ezaki, per the Marvel Database.
Daredevil (Matt Murdock) appears in cameo only in issue #1; Microchip (David Lieberman) appears as a supporting character throughout the arc.
The Punisher's origin is retold across the issue's pages in a recurring panel strip format — an unusual design choice that distinguished this series' approach to Castle's trauma.
Issue #1 was reprinted in Punisher Magazine #14 and collected in the 1992 trade paperback 'Punisher: An Eye for an Eye,' in Punisher War Journal Classic Vol. 1 (2008), and in 'Punisher War Journal by Carl Potts and Jim Lee' (2016), as well as receiving a True Believers reprint edition in November 2018.