Matt Fraction explains where Punisher War Journal #4 comes from:

It’s not a fill-in, per se: We ran in to a unique situation with the delays due to CIVIL WAR where we were chugging along, and Mike Deodato had a gap in his schedule and, since we had so much lead time, I wrote this issue and the next concurrently just so we could have Mike as a guest artist. And, man, when you see it, you’ll remember why Mike Deodato is Mike Deodato in the first place.

(Also, please notice: Dr. Doom’s little roundy cape things are worn OVER his suit jacket. GENIUS.)

(Also also: Ariel is back with #5, doing his own colors, and is with us for the foreseeable future. This was a guest-artist thing for us and NOT a fill-in thing. Ariel is god’s own unstoppable comics machine and if I wrote twice as fast I still couldn’t outpace him.)

Anyway. It starts as a kinda goofy, kinda sweet story that takes a bleak turn or ten, and tries to speak to what the whole series is really about. Meaning– this is what a character like Frank Castle actually means to a place like the Marvel Universe, post-CIVIL WAR. I’m pretty pleased with the way it all came out and came together.

Also included: Matt’s original solicitation for the issue, which almost explains why it wasn’t used. “The D-List comes out in force to pay its respects, not just for a fallen friend, but for a lost way of life. Even SPIDER-MAN swings by– get it?– to say goodbye. Raise a glass, friends, and join us in this year’s MUST SEE funeral, attended by the very dregs of supervillainy! HOT! AWESOME! SAD!” Who wouldn’t have wanted to read the book after that?

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