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by Dave Scrimgeour & Kevin McCluskey   Writer- Steven Grant Penciller- Mike Zeck Inker- John Beatty Letterer- Ken Bruzenak Colourists- Mike Zeck Ian Tetrault Phil Zimmerman Designer- Robbin Brosterman Editor- Margaret Clark Consulting Editor- Carl Potts Editor In Chief- Archie Goodwin synopsisFrank has a good time in Vegas. Visits a brothel. And a casino. Gets "lucky" in both. Dave So, here we are, on the next stage of the story. I like those first two panels on page 27. Mike Zeck can certainly create great visuals, and the brothel is certainly a vibrant looking place. The colours are equally superb.  The Best Little Whorehouse In Nevada. Kev I agree, it actually looks quite bright and cosy. It's certainly not dingy. Frank is certainly not above visiting a brothel, he has his needs after all. But even this, just reminds him of his wife. Dave Some great observational narration again from Frank, "This building smells the way women smell. Cats and plants, perfume and sweat." It's like his mind never stops working in a tactical manner. Kev Yeh, it's like he's constantly analysing whatever situation he's in, and as a result, we get this, almost monochromatic, flashback to Frank in happier times. The last of his happier times, in fact. His last night with Maria and their kids. Dave Yeah, it was the last night before he was no longer Frank Castle, and we get a glimpse of happy Frank, the family man, in this scene. He is pretty stuck in this reminiscence of Maria. It's like he knows he is about to have this dream. Kev Nice placement of the window frame and Frank's bag to cover the prostitute's modesty. Dave Yeah, I know. It's almost like something from 'The Naked Gun.' Kev Ha, ha! Never mind Frank Castle, it's "Frank Drebin, Detective Superintendent, Police Squad." Maria’s line, “When I think of how you used to be…” gives us a pretty big hint that Frank was already, shall we say, “troubled,” due to the effects of the war, and it was only the normality, and the love of their family, that gave him the hope to keep the demons at bay. Once they were removed from the equation, he reverted back to his old ways, and then some. Dave Well, we've already seen how hot-headed he was in 'Nam in the earlier segments, so this stability certainly calmed him, at this stage in the flashback scene. Kev Definitely. I’ve always found it curious that in ‘Circle Of Blood,’ and here in ‘Return To Big Nothing,’ Frank is shown to have a bit of a penchant for Asian women. Angela in ‘Circle’ and the prostitute he chooses here in ‘Return’ with the very flattering line, “You’ll do.” Is this a type that he has, due to his time served in those parts of the world? If so, Maria is depicted as being very different to that. And is that deliberate? Is it just yet another attempt by Frank to leave that part of his life in the past. Dave Yeah, it seems that he may well have a penchant for them, especially from his ‘Nam days. Or maybe brothels are just getting with the diversity and inclusion programme. Oh, wait a minute, it is the '80s here. Also, the visiting of brothels seems familiar, almost comforting to him, and as a symptom of depression, which he would be feeling amongst many other emotions, familiar and comforting behaviour is often sought out. Kev Absolutely. This does not feel like Frank's first visit to such an establishment, at all. I suppose he needs some comfort, some human contact, in amongst all his killing as The Punisher. “Only those who hurt get hurt.” Despite her fear of him, probably due to her knowing she was working in, what I’m assuming is, an illegal brothel, Frank clearly sees the sex workers as innocents. Or at the very least, victims of circumstance. Their clients on the other hand, not so much. And Frank thinks nothing of giving the prostitute he has chosen some of the brothel’s money to get her out of “the life." “Why not? It’s only money.” Dave I like his flippancy about money. He is nowhere near having any real attachment to the materialistic things in life. Kev He really doesn't, does he? Other than funding his war on crime, it means very little to him.  Frank's getting a little too into being in the brothel, with his sexy, finger-to-lips poses. Dave I also like how he quickly picks up on the prostitutes accent, as he is preparing for an encounter with the baddies. Kev I like that he picks up on her performance as well, man. I think that's a great little touch. All the women are playing roles. Fulfilling the fantasies of their male clientele. “In my world, women and children are not gunned down in public parks for what they might have seen.” This may have been allowed to happen in Frank Castle's world, but The Punisher is certainly not going to allow it to happen in his. Dave He is there just to wait on these guys turning up, which he knows will happen at some point. Kev Totally. He's just lying in wait for them, isn't he? Dave It shows how good a warrior/combatant Frank is. He has to use his mind as well, and of course, it doesn't take long for the henchmen to show up. Kev I daresay that these are techniques that he acquired during his tenure in 'Nam. Dave The colours on these pages in the brothel are great, alternating between Frank in the dark shadows and the bright exteriors of the brothel hall. Kev Yeh, the colour art is amazing in this. It's a gorgeous looking book. Dave That's a good panel of Frank standing atop the staircase, unseen, before he jumps straight into action.  Just like Bob in the Palmer residence in Twin Peaks. Kev I agree. Some of Mike Zeck’s choice of “camera angles” are just outstanding. Dave They are. That panel when he looks straight at the reader, "Anyone else? Good, let's talk." Kev Yeah, that's a classic '80's, Mike Zeck, Punisher pose, right there. Dave And the "one down ", "two down" is very systematic. Also, I keep thinking of the Netflix trailer where he says something along those lines of "One batch, two batch." It was the trailer for Daredevil season two, wasn't it? Kev I think you might be right there, yeah, Daredevil season two. This is a good action scene here. It's swift and brutal. Dave Zeck makes Punisher look like a big imposing figure. His presence is really strong the way he draws him, and the poses are great. Kev Yeah, Zeck draws Frank as a big dude, with a proper bodybuilder's physique. If Lenny is “A kid. Not much older than Castle’s would have been.” this would put Frank at least a decade into his Punisher run. It’s interesting that Frank was considering letting him go, because of his youth. To give him a chance to change and live a better life. “But that’s Castle’s thinking. And Castle’s dead.” The caption boxes, the internal monologue, are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, but it’s telling that Frank has compartmentalised, not only events in his life, but also aspects of his personality. And trauma is a wonderful tool for causing those kinds of fractures and building those walls. Dave Yeah, he has another crisis of conscience here with Lenny, and the sex worker looks traumatised by his behaviour towards her. Frank shows some sympathy, and yet still concludes that she needs to toughen up if she wants to remain in the prostitution business. But again, the pace of this story moves quite rapidly, bursting quickly into the action, and deftly moving along into the next set piece. Kev Yeah. Interestingly, this young woman looks a lot more like Maria. This might be why Frank is so sympathetic towards her. Dave Yeah, his sense of right and wrong kicking in over his personal crisis. Kev Yeah. She certainly takes any decision about Lenny's future out of Frank's hands, by putting one right, by the looks of it, in Lenny's throat.  Blam! This, text-on-the-walls, interior decoration fad is going too far now. Dave And he did give her some money to get out of the brothel. Kev True. Enough to get her out of "the life" and go back home. That’s another amusing little touch with Frank and the dealer at the roulette table, and Frank betting on Big Nothing. Dave The choices of locations in this segment are interesting, from a brothel to a casino. All money orientated places, and pleasure filled as well. Although, casinos are more about the pleasure of winning big money. Kev Yeh, I suppose Vegas is synonymous with gambling, and it's got quite a reputation for sex work as well. Or so I've heard anyway. Not that I'd personally know, of course. I just watched 'Showgirls.' Dave I love Frank's technique of scamming the croupier. Even Derren Brown wouldn't have tried this. Although, Frank has the muscle to get away with it. And all throughout this, we continue to get Frank's internal philosophies. Kev Ha, ha! Yeah. "I'd stake your life on it." "So blinded by the glitter, they can't see the blood oozing from the walls." That's an excellent line. Pure poetry, that one. Dave That casino henchman, the one who is talking to a seriously stressed out Snow, in the office on the bottom panel, his tash is something else. Kev Ha, ha! He reminds me a little bit of Dennis Farina, that guy. Dave Haha! Actually, he does, yeah. Good call. He is sporting the Dennis Farina tash look.  I'd love to stay and chat, but I really moustache. Kev I had forgotten just how much of a game of cat and mouse this story becomes, with Gorman fleeing the scene, and Frank pursuing. Dave Frank is so good at waiting, patiently, and this gives him the element of surprise, as he strikes unexpectedly. Kev Yeah, I love how he's basically baiting a trap for Snow. "He'll come to me." Dave And when Frank turns to Snow, and Snow realises who Frank is, he just goes into hysterical panic. Frank really is a hunter. Kev Yeah, Snow knows he's knee deep in shit as soon as he realises it's Frank. All his macho, tough guy bravado drains away very quickly. "Control leaks from him like acid,...." Dave I love the narrative about "control." This shows how much Frank is psychologically tuned-in to the art of warfare. Grant’s writing is great, he has such a great understanding of The Punisher as a character, and with each piece of narrative he adds more depth to him. I have said it before, and I'm saying it again, the narration by Frank is what makes these Punisher stories work so well. It's his insights, philosophies and observations, along with his actions as well. He is much more than just a mindless war machine. Kev Definitely. It's total Sun Tzu 'Art Of War' stuff, isn't it? I know a lot of people are critical of caption boxes for internal monologue in comics these days, but it was all the rage in the late '80s, and I think Grant uses it so well here. It's like a voice-over in a noir film. It's so effective. Dave And so necessary also, to help layer the character. Kev Yeah, it really does help add so much depth to the character, doesn't it? Dave Yeah. And we're straight out the backdoor on the chase, mowing though two guys easily, and then Frank even has the presence of mind to attach a chain to back of Snow's car, in the eventuality of an attempted getaway. Kev Totally. Like you said earlier, man, Frank set that trap and just waited for Snow to walk straight into it. Cracking stuff. Dave Snow is totally shitting it when Frank just calmly comes up to the car and says, "Let's talk."  "You're suffering from minor, women's whiplash." Kev Definitely. And it looks like Snow's nose might be broken from smashing it into the steering wheel as well. Ha, ha! Dave And then a quick shift back to undercover Frank. Kev Yep, back to his undercover investigative schtick. But that's a story for another day. There were only really two scenes in what we’ve covered here. Dave True, but as set pieces go, they were actually cracking scenes. It shows that you don't need to overload stuff. Just make what you are working on work. Kev Definitely. It's the second act. It's the connective tissue. Dave So far, this has been a great follow up to ‘Circle of Blood,’ and judging by the content of this, I reckon it won't disappoint in the unofficial third act. (D) & (K) Next: The Bait AND The Switch.  "You got no guts. And you, you're a dead man."
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