Coffee and a Comic Blog

Today’s Coffee ☕ and a Comic 📖 is The 'Nam #53 “The Long Sticks: Part Two” Cover Date: February 1991 “Mark of the Executioner” is right. Frank Castle has crossed the point of no return. Picking up right where issue #52 left off, this conclusion is all grit and reckoning. What started as a cold, precise sniper’s-eye view now bleeds into chaos, jungle justice, Castle-style. There’s no turning back once you take the shot. And by now, Frank’s not just surviving. He’s hunting.... This issue leans hard into what would ultimately define Castle post-war: a man set apart. The calm of the first part gives way to brutal action, but not without a strange sense of reflection. Castle’s grief, his rage.... it all simmers under that stoic exterior Creative Team: ✏️ Roger Salick 🖌️ Mike Harris (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks) 🎨 Jade Moede (colors), Phil Felix (letters) 🧑‍💼 Ed Lazellari (asst. editor), Don Daley (editor) 🧠 Tom DeFalco (Editor-in-Chief) This wraps up the two-parter with The Punisher’s full-on immersion into The 'Nam before he ever became the skull-wearing vigilante back home. But the seeds? They’re all here #Punisher #TheNam #VietnamWar #MarvelComics #FrankCastle #80sComics #90sComics #ComicCollectors #NowReading #BackIssueBin #GrittyComics #CoffeeAndAComic #TodaysRead #NCBD #ComicBookHistory #JungleWarfare #MikeHarris #JimmyPalmiotti #JohnnyCash #veteranstories

Today’s Coffee ☕ and a Comic 📓 is The 'Nam #52  “The Long Sticks” 📅 Cover Date: January 1991 Frank Castle enters the jungle, and The 'Nam for the first time in this issue, and you can feel the shift the moment he hits the page Tasked with hunting down a deadly NVA sniper known only as “The Monkey,” Castle is dropped behind enemy lines with orders and little else. The story follows his perspective, as he crawls through the brush, studies the terrain, and moves with the cold precision that’ll one day define the Punisher There’s no skull emblem yet, no roaring vengeance, just a Marine who already operates differently than the men around him. Quiet. Calculated. Efficient. You get the sense that Castle’s war didn’t start her.... and it won’t end when the orders do. This is the start of the “Punisher Invades The 'Nam” arc, and it made enough noise to earn a second printing. Issue #52 is all buildup, tension, and psychological warfare. Frank Castle in the jungle, doing what he does best: stalking death and getting ready to return it Creative Team: ✍️ Writer: Roger Salick 🖊️ Pencils: Mike Harris 🖌️ Inks: Jimmy Palmiotti 🎨 Colors: Jade Moede 🔤 Letters: Phil Felix 📋 Assistant Editor: Ed Lazellari 🧠 Editor: Don Daley 👔 Editor‑in‑Chief: Tom DeFalco #TheNam #Punisher #FrankCastle #VietnamWar #MarvelComics #BackIssue #ComicCollector #ComicHistory #80sComics #90sComics #NowReading #KeyIssue #FirstAppearance #CoffeeAndAComic

Today’s Coffee ☕ and a Comic 📓 is The 'Nam #51 “Stone Age” 📅 Cover Date: December 1990 💀 Cover tagline: "Till Death Do Us Part" Naturally the next book in this 'Nam series would be this one, especially today, with the cover showing skeletons getting married in a haunted church Doug Murray returns to script with Herb Trimpe back on art duties. This issue kicks off with a heavy dive into Vietnam’s long history of occupation, colonization, and war, juxtaposed with a surreal, gothic sequence that sets a dark tone for the new arc That cover though? Two skeletons, arm-in-arm in their wedding best. It’s eerie. It’s iconic. And, I guess… kinda appropriate for today 💍🖤 Call it grim irony or just Doug Murray’s way of saying “welcome back”. This issue doesn’t waste time setting the tone. In The 'Nam, even wedding vows come with casualties, where even “I do” comes with a body count ✍️ Writer: Doug Murray 🎨 Artist: Herb Trimpe ✒️ Letterer: Phil Felix 🎨 Colorist: Bob Sharen 🧠 Editor: Don Daley 📢 Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco #TheNam #VietnamComics #SkeletonWedding #ComicBookHistory #DougMurray #HerbTrimpe #80sComics #CoffeeAndAComic #NCBD #WarComics #TillDeathDoUsPart #ComicBookLoveStory