Simply the Best: The Coming of the Anti-Hero

When the movie Dirty Harry hit theaters in late 1971, Clint Eastwood's portrayal of the cynical, unorthodox title character really seemed to hit a nerve with the general public. Weary of escalating urban crime and chaos, movie audiences found the ruthless Harry Callahan to be a no-nonsense antidote to the increasingly bureaucratic and therapeutic response of the criminal justice system.

Well, at the time, I was obviously much too young to even watch Dirty Harry, much less perceive the shift in the socio-political winds. However, in the smaller microcosm of superhero comics (which I'd stumbled into the summer of '73), the debut of The Punisher on the mindblowing cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974) seemed to signal a change in tone that even an eight year-old kid like me could pick up on. 

Sporting one of the best-designed costumes in all of comicdom, the deadly skill and steely concentration of the mysterious mercenary are obvious in this jaw-dropping Gil Kane cover (inked by John Romita Sr., who'd also designed the Punisher's costume). Kane's trademark perspective-twisting anatomy skills are put to good use here as Spider-Man literally twists in the wind trying to escape the Punisher's deadly aim...which didn't look likely with those cross-hairs directly over his heart!

In addition to the rather startling sight of the Punisher (against a blazing yellow background, no less), the layout of the cover has some cool "under the radar" stuff going on.

In the left-hand example below, note how a "V" shape is formed by the Spidey corner icon following an invisible angled line to the Punisher's head, to his shoulder, then directly to the center of the cross-hairs...with the perspective of the background buildings forming the second angle of the "V" shape.  So, while the Punisher is the "star" of the cover, the eye is still riveted to the topsy-turvy title character.

In the example on the right, note how the direction of the Punisher's shot lines up perfectly with the high-powered bullet's impact "blast" on the building behind Spider-Man. Despite the switch in perspectives, the visual connection between the rifle shot and the background impact blast elegantly and efficiently makes it clear that the Punisher is the one shooting at Spider-Man.  In fact, if the impact blast had been placed somewhere else, it's very likely the viewer wouldn't get as clear of a "read". A wonderful, yet deceptively simple cover design.

For the next several years following his debut, the Punisher's appearances were few and far between...making the character all the more mysterious and fascinating. Sadly, the appetite for darker, morally ambigous characters grew steadily through the late 70's, the 80's, and beyond...to the point where a once-intriguing figure like the Punisher became lost in a sea of thuggish pseudo-heroes and disaffected loners. But back in late 1973, this dangerous mercenary who'd declared a war on crime far deadlier than even Batman's was every bit as controversial and intriguing as his debut cover.

Comments

[suedenim]

That blast effect really *shouldn't* work, should it? But it does!

I love the way John Romita, Sr. draws the Punisher, by the way. He's got a great, distinctive face that's perfect for a guy who's not your typical "hero."

[Al Bigley]

Great cover.

A number of today's comic artists have taken a crack at this cover as an "homage" and failed miserably over the past few years. Most can't even draw a figure properly holding a rifle!

Al Bigley

[zubzwank]

The Punisher, who I have never liked, came along during a non-comics-reading-period for me.

A few comic heroes had anti-hero elements before him, though.

Spidey was originally wanted by the law, as were Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

The Hulk was a hero only by accident sometimes and was always being chased by authorities.

The Thing, in his very early days, was sullen
and potentially traitorous. He became our
loveable, blue-eyed bashful later.

(Note how all these are Marvel characters)

DC's guys were all stalwarts back in the day,
except maybe for Rorsha...er, I mean the Question.

Other companies, I don't know. Herbie, maybe?

[Servo]

Thanks for bringing up this cover. Along with the Amazing Fantasy cover and the Gwen Stacy cover, I always felt it was an iconic cover for Spider-Man. In retrospect, this is one of those covers that marks the change from the Silver Age to the Bronze Age in superhero comics to me.

Also, as you mentioned, The Punisher seems to be one of those cultural trends that Marvel loved to tap into in the 70's. Although he moved beyond it, The Punisher seemed just as faddish in his creation as Dazzler(Disco), Shang-Chi & Iron Fist (Bruce Lee/Martial Arts) and Power Man (Blaxploitation).

Oh Marvel Comics, you and your amazing attempts to be topical.

[Wes C]

Great article Mark!
The composition is spot on. I've seen this cover countless times (who hasn't) and never made the rifle, bullet blast connection. You're right even moving the blast a little bit would have thrown the whole thing off.

It's amazing how good composition doesn't draw any attention to itself. It's so "right" that it seems almost invisible. Whereas bad composition screams at you from across the room.

I wish more artist would focus on the foundations of composition over slick photo realistic finishes and gimmicky effects.

Do you have any more post like this planned for the future?

As far as the Punisher is concerned: I loved the character when I was 13-15 (thank you Mike Zeck!), but he was my first experience with a character being waaaay over exposed.
Couldn't care less about him now.

But for an angsty teen in the mid-late 80's, he was awesomeness defined.