Issue(s): Punisher #46
Cover Date: Mar 91
Title: "Cold cache"
Credits:
Mike Baron - Writer
Hugh Haynes - Penciler
Bob Wiacek, Bud LaRosa, Jimmy Palmiotti, Vince Evans, Rodney Ramos, Santiago Oliveras, Kevin Kobasic, Ariane Lenshoek, & Ed Lazellari - Inker
Kevin Kobasic - Assistant Editor
Don Daley - Editor

Review/plot:
Well that is a lot of inkers, huh? They are credited as the "Inking Squad of Death". A lot of these names are listed (in the lettercol for Punisher War Journal #28) as the group of artists that help out Mark Texeira when you see just the word "Tex" in the credits. But some of them (e.g. Rodney Ramos) are part of "Romita's Raiders", the group of Marvel staffers that make last minute art corrections.

The story has an old German named Rudolph Brunner approaching Microchip. It turns out Microchip's father (who was Jewish) was forced by the Nazis to work as a rocket scientist. Brunner, a former Luftwaffe pilot, says that he worked with Microchip's father on "Project Odinbolt", an early particle-beam prototype. The particle-beam device was fitted onto a Dornier bomber plane which was going to be used to attack New York, but the plane got caught in a storm over Greenland and has been frozen in a glacier ever since. Now, a group of Neo-Nazis from Germany are embarking on a quest to dethaw the plane to get the beam, possibly to sell it to Iraq. Brunner, who claims that until recently he was in East German Intelligence, doesn't want that, so he's come to Microchip (and he knows that Micro's partner is the Punisher).

To get a helicopter to go after the frozen plane, Punisher goes to a government contractor that builds equipment for the military. He has proof that the company uses bribes to get contracts from the company, and uses that (and violence) to get a top of the line helicopter from them.

And then Punisher, Micro, and Brunner go after the plane.

Complications arise when Brunner turns out to really be working with the Nazis, and when the government contractors, who had secretly been monitoring the expedition, decide they want the particle beam for themselves.

But the Punisher knows how to deal with complications.

Micro also helps out with a remote controlled toy helicopter.

At the end of the issue it's said that there were actually two Dorniers, and the second one will be defrosting in about a month.

A pretty unspectacular story with unspectacular art.

Statement of Ownership Total Paid Circulation: Average of Past 12 months = 227,766. Single issue closest to filing date = 214,200.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A