All this year I'll be posting Punisher comics. Most of them will be from the pre-Ennis era, but some will be from the Ennis era. Expect at least 1 storytime per week.
In 1994 Marvel went to the owners of the Caspar the Friendly Ghost IP and pitched them a crossover between Caspar the Friendly Ghost and Ghost Rider. The proposal was denied, and when it was announced at a meeting one of the Marvel staffers joked "I guess we'll have to do The Punisher vs. Archie then!" Marvel's bigwigs thought this idea was BRILLIANT and took it to Archie Comics, who, in possibly the single most logic-defying decision in comics industry history, actually greenlighted the crossover.
The issue's formula was really interesting. Legendary Archie artist Stan Goldberg would draw the Archie characters, and legendary artist period John Buscema would draw anything related to The Punisher. All characters were written completely 100% in character just like they normally would be in their own series. You'd never think in a million years that this could make for a coherent comic, but they somehow pulled off a comics miracle because both series blend FLAWLESSLY, to the point that they just seem like they naturally belong together.
2 versions were published. 1 by Marvel (titled "The Punisher Meets Archie") and 1 by Archie (titled "Archie Meets The Punisher"), each with a completely different cover, but otherwise the exact same comic.
I'll be posting The Punisher Meets Archie, because that seems to have a slightly nicer looking scan, but I'll also include both covers, so you won't miss out on anything.
You can also read a bunch of other Punisher team-ups and crossovers that I've been storytiming this week in these threads:
Captain America: Wolverine: Batman: Black Widow: THE PUNISHER MEETS ARCHIE
Isn't that literally Hellcat in the light red dress before she got ported over to Marvel?
Jonathan Sullivan
>>Graffiti. Defacement of public property. >>Cooper dies. Tonight.
Colton Young
Well, Patsy Walker was pretty much an Archie knock-off to begin with, so most likely.
Adam Gomez
This haircut doesn't really suit Frank? The Shield was created by a precursor of Archie comics. The team you're referring to is called "The Mighty Crusaders"
Colton Collins
I’m glad I live in the timeline where this comic exists
Oliver Foster
This is singlehandedly my favorite page in all of comics-dom.
Jace James
Of the 5 intercompany Punisher crossovers (this, the 2 Batman ones, Witchblade, and Painkiller Jane) how would you rank them?
Owen Edwards
Classic spoof of a classic cover.
Jayden Cruz
This is a fantastic cover.
Ayden Smith
Isn't Logan's right hand facing the wrong side? His claws seem to come from the upper right but his left hand comes from the lower left of the picture.
Sebastian Jones
...
Josiah Nelson
I've been waiting for this storytime for a LONG time.
Hudson Bell
duuuuuuuuuuude...
is that seriously from archie vs predator?
Jaxon Cox
do you have punisher v spider man?
Easton Smith
kek
Tyler Perez
Hellcat is the one wearing the green dress
Jace Sanders
That last panel of Frank makes me think of Bernthal a little, even though this comic was from the 90's
Hammerhead frank >Gotham City The most faggy goddamned thing in the USA
Joshua Hall
OK, Sup Forums. CAN YOU NAME WHERE ALL THESE CITIES ARE FROM?
GOTHAM AND RIVERDALE ARE OBVIOUS. WHAT ABOUT THE REST?
Jeremiah Jenkins
One of the best pages ever.
Liam Gray
Is that guy anyone in particular? Or is he just a random generic character?
Jonathan Price
>War Wagon
lol wut
Levi Roberts
OK, so who all have we got here? Aside from the obvious Josie and the Pussycats, there's: >Katy Keene >Millie the Model >Patsy Walker >Hedy Wolfe >Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Is that everybody?
Landon Gomez
Dino Manelli and Junior Juniper are both members of The Howling Commandos.
