In this penultimate issue of Punisher: The Platoon, Garth Ennis continues the story of Frank Castle’s first platoon under his command. Artist Goran Parlov and colorist Jordie Bellaire back Ennis up in this glimpse into The Punisher’s history.

Flashbacks galore fill this issue, as the surviving soldiers of the platoon talk with author Michael Goodwin about their experiences in a swampland of Vietnam, looking for another platoon that has gone missing. Coming across the corpses of the team, it’s decided that they’ll bag the fallen soldiers, and get them back on home soil. Having been spied on by a North Vietnam Army soldier, the small group of Marines are ambushed by a large battalion of the N.V.A.

Having to fight their way out, the men are quick to listen to their leader, and follow his directions to a tee. Their stories regale how Castle treated his troops, and took his role as commander seriously. Willing to lay his life on the line for his men, it’s shown that trait has been with him since the beginning.

Ennis provides you with an interesting take on Castle’s past. Looking through the eyes of old men reliving some of the most traumatizing and harrowing moments of their lives, a story unfolds giving glimpses of the man that will eventually become The Punisher. Sleek and streamlined, the fifth installment of this series doesn’t ease up on the tension told from the perspective of men well past their prime.

Parlov and Bellaire help Ennis with the men’s look into the past with well drawn backdrops, making the forest look like the warzone that it is. Bright and colorful explosions, flashes of gunfire, and fear caught in the soldiers eyes are captured beautifully on the pages of this book.

Firefights, yelling, cursing, and blood splatter grace the panels within this book. Then again, with “Punisher” in the title, would you expect less?

Grade: B+