Sites set on The Punisher

"Walking Dead" alum Jon Bernthal absolutely killed it as Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, in season 2 of Netflix's "Daredevil" series. Bernthal brought grit, believability and emotional depth to a character that has seen a steady rise in popularity since first being introduced in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974). The Punisher, with his skull-centric costume and propensity for violence, is nuanced and has a disturbing origin story (his wife and children were murdered in front of him). Bernthal, with a little help from 13 hours of character development, captured the character better than any of the other actors had before him (though we also have a soft spot for fellow comic book fan Thomas Jane, who played Castle in 2004's "The Punisher").

Jon Bernthal

Bernthal's gripping performance reminded us of all the things we love about The Punisher. So, naturally, we'll take this opportunity to highlight a few Punisher collectibles you may not know about.

The Punisher #1-5 (1986)

"The Punisher" limited series #1-5

This phenomenal five-issue limited series from writer Steven Grant and artist Mike Zeck (the team of Jo Duffy and Mike Vosburg handled creative duties for issue #5) really introduced the comic-reading public to Frank Castle, prior to his long-running regular series. Zeck's covers are especially good and have been reproduced as posters and graphic-novel covers many times over.

The Punisher mini bust, Bowen Designs (2004)

Punisher mini bust by Bowen Designs

The awesome sculpting team over at Bowen Designs produced several Punisher full-size statues, but our favorite is still this killer mini bust. Limited to 5,000 pieces, the bust presents Frank on a skull-themed base with his handguns on-the-ready. Bowen also released a chrome-based "modern version."

Marvel Preview #2 (1975)

Marvel Preview #2

The Punisher's first appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man #129, but his origin was first told in this uncommon Marvel magazine. Marvel Preview #2 gives the reasoning behind Frank's violent crusade and is still one of the earliest Punisher appearances.

Expect Bernthal to return as The Punisher, either in future episodes of Daredevil or in his own Netflix series. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other Punisher goodies to set your sights on.