It’s the most wonderful time of the year for Marvel Omnibus fans – time for the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 13th Annual Secret Ballot! This post explains every Punisher omnibus that does NOT exist – all of which will appear as options on the 2025 poll.
For the next two weeks, I’ll be covering Marvel’s entire publishing history by mapping missing omnibus volumes to fill in every gap in your Marvel oversize shelf! That’s all leading to the kickoff of the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 13th Annual Secret Ballot on Near Mint Condition on April 28, 2025.
It has been slow-going for Punisher omnibuses the last few years, with the Disney-fied Marvel seemingly hesitant to promote some of its more violent comic books in prestige omnibus format. While we’ve had several Punisher reprints, including Punisher by Rick Remender a few weeks ago, we haven’t had a new Punisher solo omnibus since 2018!!!
If you’re not sure of what to vote for, stick around for a list of books vetted by a gang of the biggest mapping nerds on the internet with explanations from yours truly – keeper of the most-definitive guides to Marvel’s collected editions on the planet.
Or, if you don’t care about omnibuses, just use this post to learn about Marvel’s history and find some great comics to read!
This post covers the following speculated omnibus volumes:
- Pre-2000 Punisher
- Punisher Classic Vol. 1 (1986 & on) [follows Epic mapping OR integrates all series]
- Punisher from 1998 – 2012
- Punisher: Marvel Knights (1998 – 2006) [non-Ennis material; includes missing arc from Ennis omni]
- Marvel Knights: The Defenders of NYC (2000 – 2003 & 2018) [both Marvel Knights ongoings and Double Shots minis + 20th anniversary]
- Punisher War Journal by Matt Fraction (2007 – 2009) [fits before Remender]
- Punisher by Greg Rucka (2011 – 2013) [follows Remender]
- Punisher from Marvel Now to Present
- Punisher: The Modern Years Vol. 1 (2014 & on) [begins to collect Edmonson, Cloonan, Rosenberg, Duggan, Aaron, & Grønbekk]
Remember: These titles and mappings are a suggestion of how Marvel could assemble these books. They are meant to help you decide on your votes on the Tigereyes poll. Your vote on the poll is a vote in favor of Marvel creating a book with that title or covering that period, NOT an endorsement of a specific map. Maps are presented as a proof of concept and to help you build your personal reading list.
Want to check out all of the other voting options for the 2025 Tigereyes Poll? Check out my 2025 Tigereyes poll options overview page that explains the poll, how to vote, and every title that will appear – including links to all of the posts in this series.
Over-the-top comics posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics.
Punisher Omnibus Mapping: Pre-2000 Punisher
In a wild turn of events, we only have one omnibus of classic Punisher material – and it doesn’t even include any Punisher comics! That’s because the Punisher: Back to the War Omnibus collects all of his early appearances prior to scoring his first mini-series in 1986. The material had previously been collected in an Essential collection. See Guide to Punisher for more details.
I can see the appeal in having collected that material in omnibus first – both because it shows Frank Castle interacting with various Marvel heroes, and also because it paints him specifically as a morally-questionable anti-hero rather than the star of his own stories.
But, it’s still wild that it’s the only pre-2000 Punisher material we have collected, especially since some of his comics were drawn by Jim Lee.
Punisher Classic Vol. 1 (1986 & on) [follows Epic mapping OR integrates all series]
This omnibus could be one of two things, and rather than mapping them separately (and also mapping three additional Punisher omnibuses) we’re collapsing all of them them into a single option to act as a lightning rod for classic Punisher votes.
First, this could simply follow the Epic Collection mapping to begin collecting Punisher from his 1986 mini-series into his 1987 ongoing. That mapping only includes Punisher War Journal (1988) and Punisher War Zone (1992) if they directly cross over with his main series. Punisher (1987) runs for #104 issues, plus annuals and many OGNs, so that would take 3-4 omnibuses to complete.
If we take that approach, we’d need an additional three separate omnibuses to collect Punisher War Journal (1988) #1-80 and Punisher War Zone (1992) #1-41, plus their various Annuals, specials, and crossovers.
Alternately, this could take an X-Men approach and simply collect all of Punisher’s material into a single omnibus line. That would mean adding in every issue of Punisher War Journal (1988) and Punisher War Zone (1992). It would still take 6-7 total omnibuses to complete, but all of the books would have the incentive of being “the main line” of Punisher omnibus – with no books that are perceived to be off to the side or lesser than. Plus, that would give fans an obvious incentive to buy the omnibus line even if they already own the Epic Collections.
The challenge is that Marvel has to decide about this right away, because Punisher War Journal (1988) starts after Punisher (1987) #13 – right in the middle of what would be a first omnibus in either of these lines. However, a benefit of combining the lines is that this can seamlessly roll into the Punisher (1995) & “Over the Edge” material afterward, which is too small for its own volume.
A vote for this book is a vote to get underway on collecting classic Punisher, no matter how Marvel decides to do it.
This would begin to collect Punisher (1986) #1-5 & Punisher (1987) #1-13 & Annual 1, Daredevil (1964) #257, and Marvel Graphic Novel (1982) #40 – Punisher – Assassin’s Guild OGN (1988).
After that, things get less clear. If this follows the Epic Collection mapping, it would likely continue to collect Punisher (1987) #14-34 & Annual 2-3, Classic Punisher (1989) #1, Epic Graphic Novel: Punisher – Return to Big Nothing (1989), Marvel Graphic Novel: Punisher – Intruder (1989), and Punisher: Kingdom Gone (1990).
However, if it merges all of the titles in the Punisher line, I think it would continue to collect Punisher (1987) #11-25 & Annual 2-3, Punisher War Journal (1989) #1-9, Shadowmasters (1989) #1-4, Classic Punisher (1989) #1, and maybe Epic Graphic Novel: Punisher – Return to Big Nothing (1989).
I’d absolutely LOVE to map this entire line (and improve the Guide to Punisher in the process), so I’ll make you a deal: if y’all can get this book into the Top 40 of the poll this year, I will map the entire line both ways!!!
Punisher Omnibus Mapping: Punisher from 1998 – 2012
We have just two omnibuses from this period. Punisher by Garth Ennis from close to the start of this period, where Garth Ennis took Punisher back to basics before that approach was spun off into the separate MAX continuity. And, Punisher by Rick Remender is from close to the end of this period with one of the most brutal and most fanciful takes on Punisher.
What’s left to collect? We could finish off this 15 year period with just three omnibuses!
Punisher: Marvel Knights (1998 – 2006) [non-Ennis material; includes missing arc from Ennis omni]
A vote for this book is to collect all of Punisher’s Marvel Knights material NOT by Garth Ennis into a single volume.
That begins with the fanciful take on Punisher as an avenging angel before Ennis grounds things again with “Welcome Back Frank.”
A vote for this book is a vote to collect all of the non-Ennis material from 1998 to 2006, much of which was branded as Marvel Knights. Not only has the majority of this never appeared in oversize hardcover – it’s just never been collected coherently, and much of it has never been recollected beyond its original trade releases of 20 years ago!
This would collect material explicitly under the “Marvel Knights” banner from Punisher (1998) #1-4, Wolverine/Punisher: Revelation (1999) #1-4, the “missing arc” of the Ennis omnibus with Punisher (2001) #8-12, then Punisher X-Mas Special (2006) #1, Spider-Man vs. Punisher (2000) #1 and material from Marvel Knights Double-Shot (2002) #4.
Then, after the conclusion of the material in the Ennis omnibus, this would continue to collect Wolverine/Punisher (2004) #1-5, Punisher: Silent Night (2005) #1, Punisher: Red X-Mas (2004) #1, Daredevil vs. Punisher (2005) #1-5, Punisher vs. Bullseye (2005) #1-5, Punisher: Bloody Valentine (2006) #1, and Punisher: X-Mas Special (2006) #1 to fill this out and complete the coverage of this period. Not all of this material was branded as “Marvel Knights,” but it all fits in tonally with Knights material that emphasizes a low-super approach to the streets of NYC.
This could also add Punisher War Zone (2009) #1-6, which is Ennis material that follows the subsequent Matt Fraction run but doesn’t fit in with its tone.
The Punisher by Garth Ennis omnibus starts during that volume and ends in the middle of that volume – see Guide to Punisher.
Marvel Knights: The Defenders of NYC (2000 – 2003 & 2018) [both Marvel Knights ongoings and Double Shots minis + 20th anniversary]
In 2000, Marvel Knights it launched a flagship title called “Marvel Knights” that was effectively a “NYC street-level heroes team-up” with a core cast of Daredevil, Black Widow, Punisher, & Dagger – but appearances by many more characters. That extended to brief second series in 2002 and spawned a pair of “Double Shot” team-up anthology mini-series that paired Marvel Knights characters with other heroes.
We’ve had a paperback complete collection of the initial 15-issue series billed as “Defenders of the Street,” but no collection of the other 14 issues. That’s a worth omnibus on its own, but it also makes sense to add Marvel Knights 20th (2018), which is a specific tribute to these titles. And, we could optionally also add Elektra: Glimpse & Echo (2002).
A vote for this book is a vote to collect all of the Marvel Knights team titles into a single book, some of which would be collected for the first time!
This book would collect Marvel Knights (2000) #1-15, Marvel Knights (2002) #1-6, Marvel Double Shot (2002) #1-4, & Marvel Knights Double Shot (2003) #1-4. It would also contain Marvel Knights 20th (2018) #1-6 as bonus material.
It could make sense to add Elektra: Glimpse & Echo (2002) #1-4, even though that would also be in an Elektra book or an Echo book.
Punisher War Journal by Matt Fraction (2007 – 2009) [fits before Remender]
Matt Fraction ushered Punisher out of his Marvel Knights period and back into the wider and more super-powered Marvel universe. It digs right into that idea by opening with an arc that ties-in to Civil War!
This was relatively early in Fraction’s ascent as as favorite Marvel writer – at least half of it comes before he was writing Iron Man or X-Men. He was never a terrific fit for Punisher, but there are some fun stories in here.
A vote for this book is a vote to recollect Matt Fraction for the first time in omnibus.
This would collect Punisher War Journal (2007) #1-26 & Annual 1-2. It should also add Astonishing Tales: Wolverine/Punisher [Digital Comic] (2008) #1-6 written by current Marvel editor-in-chief C. B. Cebulski, which would otherwise be abandoned.
It could end with Punisher War Zone (2009) #1-6 by Garth Ennis, which also occurs prior to Remender’s run, but it is a tonally weird fit with the material in this book.
Punisher by Rick Remender Omnibus fits here, which is also known as “Franken-Castle” – and if you don’t know why that is, oh boy are you in for a fun ride! See Guide to Punisher.
Punisher by Greg Rucka (2011 – 2013) [follows Remender]
This book was #10 on last year’s Tigereyes poll! And, with four books from the Top 10 printed and Punisher back on screen in Daredevil: Born Again, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this book crack the Top 5 in 2025!
Rucka did an excellent job of threading the needle between a grounded, street-level Punisher and a Punisher who could go toe-to-toe with superheroes. Plus, many of the issues are drawn by Marco Checchetto – whose art was already strikingly gorgeous over a decade ago!
A vote for this book is a vote to collect Greg Rucka’s entire fan-favorite run on Punisher into a single oversize volume for the first time!
This would collect The Punisher (2011) #1-16 and Punisher: War Zone (2012) #1-5, plus material from Spider-Island: I Love New York City (2011) #1 and a crossover with Daredevil (2011) #11 and Avenging Spider-Man (2011) #6
Punisher Omnibus Mapping: Punisher from Marvel Now to Present
Starting in Marvel Now, Punisher has had a number of brief, almost-omnibus-sized runs. While we could map four of them into distinct omnibuses, they’d all be pretty brief and would split votes with each other. Our approach to mapping brief runs like this is to combine them into one or more omnibuses collecting the entire period in attempt to attract votes from fans of each the distinct runs.
Punisher: The Modern Years Vol. 1 (2014 & on) [begins to collect Edmonson, Cloonan, Rosenberg, Duggan, Aaron, & Grønbekk]
This is the start of omnibus line to collect Punisher from 2014 to the present day.
Would it divide these runs into multiple books focused on each writer? Or, would it simply gang them into a continuous run broken across just two volumes?
That’s a tricky call. Nathan Edmonson’s run on Punisher (2014) with artist Mitch Gerads is just long enough for its own omnibus, but Edmonson’s name won’t sell books (Gerads is much more well-known to fans). Becky Cloonan’s Punisher (2016) run with Steve Dillon before his untimely passing was a sombre affair that changed tone in a major way when it rolled into Matt Rosenberg taking over for Marvel Legacy.
Rosenberg is a name that might sell an omnibus based on some of his recent DC and indie work, and his run comes the closest to being an omnibus size out of all of this material. However, it’s followed by just eight issues of Gerry Duggan writing a very fantastical Punisher in the wake of War of the Realms. That is followed by Jason Aaron writing a brief, deeply brutal, and very supernatural run of Punisher (2022) that almost doesn’t make sense without being paired with Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil and as supported by a trio of one-shots by Torun Grønbekk.
A vote for this book is a book to crack into any of Punisher’s post-2014 content in omnibus, no matter how Marvel chooses to collect it.
This would begin to collect Punisher (2014) #1-20 and Black Widow (2014) #9 (by Edmonson), The Punisher (2016) #1-17 (by Cloonan), its extension into Marvel Legacy with #218-228 (by Rosenberg), The Punisher (2018) #1-16 (by Rosenberg), War of the Realms: Punisher (2019) #1-3 and Punisher Kill Krew (2019) #1-5 (by Duggan), Punisher (2022) #1-12 (by Aaron), & three one-shots by Grønbekk supporting Aaron’s run (Punisher War Journal (2022) Base (2023) #1, Punisher War Journal: Blitz (2022) #1, Punisher War Journal: Brother (2022) #1).
Punisher (2023) #1-4 does not star Frank Castle. We haven’t seen this new version of the Punisher pop up very often since his introduction, so it’s too early to know how to collect this series into omnibus.
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