Neil Gaiman put forth an interesting spin on the Marvel Universe in Marvel: 1602; the heroes and Marvel mythology that we've grown with since the early 60s was adapted to tell a story set in the early 17th century. I have no idea where he came up with the idea which is pretty much true of everything of his that I've ever read but it played out fantastically.
With the Noir series, at least those which I have read to date, Marvel had managed to perform another successful time-shift; take modern-day Marvel characters and adapt their physical appearance, costume, and stories to 1930s Prohibition / Depression era America.
The Punisher was an excellent choice for this adaptation; the character's backstory and actions are already dark, so shifting it to the time of gangsters was a masterstroke. Bringing along villains like Jigsaw enhanced the telling. And the ending ... I won't spoil it here with anything that would hint at it, BUT it hints at a whole new storyline. Perhaps surprisingly, however, I hope Marvel never gets around to telling it there are so many ways that someone's imagination can take the tale that it would be a shame to provide one and only one "official" version.
RATING: After some internal debate, 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars. It wasn't perfect, but tt was a well-told story that will stay with me for awhile; that IS my definition of 5 stars.
With the Noir series, at least those which I have read to date, Marvel had managed to perform another successful time-shift; take modern-day Marvel characters and adapt their physical appearance, costume, and stories to 1930s Prohibition / Depression era America.
The Punisher was an excellent choice for this adaptation; the character's backstory and actions are already dark, so shifting it to the time of gangsters was a masterstroke. Bringing along villains like Jigsaw enhanced the telling. And the ending ... I won't spoil it here with anything that would hint at it, BUT it hints at a whole new storyline. Perhaps surprisingly, however, I hope Marvel never gets around to telling it there are so many ways that someone's imagination can take the tale that it would be a shame to provide one and only one "official" version.
RATING: After some internal debate, 4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5 stars. It wasn't perfect, but tt was a well-told story that will stay with me for awhile; that IS my definition of 5 stars.
