Before the skull, Frank Castle shipped off for Vietnam where his life changed forever. Surrounded by blood and death, the man who would become the Punisher witnessed the cruelty and awfulness the world had to offer, but also the power of violence.

Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov plan to explore these facets of Frank even further in the pages of the long-awaited, PUNISHER: THE PLATOON, debuting in October.

We talked with Parlov about tackling each script, drawing inspiration from everyday life and constructing a pre-Punisher Frank Castle.

Marvel.com: What is it about Frank Castle and his world that keeps capturing your imagination as an artist? 

Goran Parlov: I love the fact that he acts like a robot – the Terminator. Matter of fact, in the first issues I pictured him as the Terminator. He’s all business, emotionless… Or at least it appears so.

He works in binary code, 1 or 0, plus or minus…guilty or not guilty, as simple as that. I love his steady, emotionless face, but with eyes that burn – the stare that scares you.

I took that from “The Terminator.” The way Arnie stares at us, with that red eye. Wow, thats’s it, you just freeze! It’s even better when the endoskeleton does that. Frank, in my version, acts like the Terminator, thinks like him, walks like him.

Frank is the Terminator for me. Maybe the fact that I’d been working on the Terminator books right before I started my run on the PUNISHER MAX had some influence on me. Yeah, I am a big fan of the Terminator and it was just easy for me to adapt the things from the movies into the Punisher books.

Marvel.com: You mentioned that you often laugh when reading Garth’s scripts. How do you translate that reaction on your part onto the page?

Goran Parlov: It is very positive thing for me. It means that the thing works. If I am the first to laugh, I know many others will too.

Usually I never read the whole script. I read it as any other reader, page by page, day after day. This way I allow the script to surprise me. And the emotions it gives me in that moment, I put them on the page right away. It’s very immediate.

If I read the whole script, later I would only remember the emotions from when I first read it, not really feeling them. Yeah, sometimes I laugh, sometimes I am disgusted, some other time it’s something else. But I always like to use those immediate emotions that the script gives me.

Marvel.com: This is a pre-Punisher Frank Castle, so what sets him apart from his skull-wearing future self?

Goran Parlov: This is a Frank Castle before the “anger.” Before his family has been killed. So here he doesn’t carry that frustration with him.

I hope that will be noticeable.

Marvel.com: Your characters are so expressive. How do you achieve that? Is it purely out of your imagination and sketching?

Goran Parlov: Yes, for the most part. The rest comes from observing the world. Or TV. Or magazines. Or comic books. The important part is not to observe comic books only.

Marvel.com: Do you use a mirror or photo reference of yourself?

Goran Parlov: No, I never had that habit. I don’t even own a small mirror. I use photo references a lot, but I don’t copy them. It’s rare for me to find a photo that is exactly what I need. It’s almost a curse. Happens that I always have to draw an object from a slightly different angle than it is on a photo, so that excludes copying the photo. In almost 90% of cases it’s like that. I have the exact image in my head, and I don’t want to change the image just because the object on a photo is taken from a different angle. So I render the things in my head and draw them from the angle I want.

Marvel.com: Do you use in-person models or get your hands on physical objects for reference?

Goran Parlov: I don’t. Think I would feel uncomfortable having one in my studio. Or, at least not really focused on work.

As for weapon models, etc., I don’t have them. The only models I have are one Dodge Charger from “The Dukes of Hazzard” and a Ford Capri, a car owned by my father and still in my garage. And a Tin Tin rocket model! Two of them! A bigger one and a smaller one. I did a variation of that rocket in my Starlight book. The Dodge Charger, I used it in my Terminator book. I really like that car, but it was way before I bought the actual model. I love cars. And my dream would be a Punisher book with lots of cars. Something like The Punisher meets “Mad Max 2,” one of my all-time favorite movies.

Actually, now I remember… I had a small endoskeleton model that I borrowed from my friend. I used it a lot while working on The Terminator. And I took a hundreds of photos of it.

Marvel.com: What sort of approach did you take on character design for this book? It takes place in both the past and the present with soldiers in Vietnam who are later seen as veterans. Do you get your inspiration more from movies or television or just from people around you in Croatia?

Goran Parlov: Both, I think. One of the main characters has been inspired by Steve Buscemi, but after he went through all my filters he might have became completely unrecognizable. But the initial inspiration came from there.

I’ve been using Steve Buscemi as a starting point for a whole lot of characters during my professional career, but surprisingly all those characters went completely different in final versions that one would never say they all started from good ole Steve.

I don’t want to look at his photos all the time. Or to copy those. A drawing often loses its energy when it’s a copied photo. It is static, completely different from the rest of the book, because you try to copy all the information that’s there on a photo – the things that you would never draw if you didn’t see it on a photo. There’s too much graphic information there. You need to synthesize those and make them coherent with the rest. And if an artist is not very skilled, the result might be scarce.

So, back to Steve; I see him, I do few sketches and then the character evolves, all by himself, throughout the book. I don’t care if that’s not Steve anymore. Another one of the four has been inspired by one of the bosses at my previous publisher. Some of my friends might recognize themselves here and there. Things like that. You never know where an inspiration might come from. It just strikes you.

Marvel.com: Who are your biggest influences? I see some Alex Toth, some Moebius… a little Milt Caniff? Some Hal Foster?

Goran Parlov: Alex Toth, Jean Giraud – Moebius, Alfonso Font, Bernet, Frank Thorne, Frank Robbins, Ernesto Garcia Seijas, John Romita Sr, John Prentice, Jim Holdaway, John M. Burns, Romero, Angelo Stano, Sergio Tacconi, Duncan Fegredo, … and billions of others. Those are my top. But I actually often find myself learning something even from the artists that I consider bad. You can always pick something good even from the worst artist in the world.

PUNISHER: THE PLATOON #1 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov ships off on October 4.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on the aftermath of Harvey in Texas (all times local):

1917 to 2017: 100 years of Kirby.

Join us this month to celebrate Jack “King” Kirby’s 100th birthday by learning about the characters and stories he created that changed comics forever. To commemorate Jack’s centennial, we’ve sat down with the modern-day creators he influenced—and the decades of work he gifted us all.

Robbie Thompson could see something special in Jack Kirby’s artwork from the first moment he discovered it.

Having written SILK, VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT, DOCTOR STRANGE AND THE SORCERERS SUPREME, Thompson is set to take over SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL with issue #23. So he’s done his fair share of playing in the universe that Kirby helped create.

We celebrated Jack Kirby’s centennial alongside Robbie with a chat about discovering The King, loving Galactus, and adventuring with the Fantastic Four.

Marvel.com: Do you remember how you first discovered Jack’s artwork? Did you immediately enjoy it or did it take some getting used to?

Robbie Thompson: My brother and I used to get comics at the local drug store off a spinner rack—but for classic issues, we would get them from the local library. That’s where I first saw Kirby’s incredible work. They had copies of ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS, SON OF ORIGINS, BRING ON THE BAD GUYS, SUPER HERO WOMEN. All the artists in those collections are incredible, but Kirby’s work felt so singular. It became abundantly clear that he stood as a titan in creating the characters and universe my brother and I had grown to love.

Marvel.com: Does a particular Kirby book, arc, or series stick out in your mind as quintessential Jack?

Robbie Thompson: There’s almost too many to choose from! But I adore FANTASTIC FOUR; Kirby’s work on that series couldn’t have been more epic. There really wasn’t a book like it on stands at the time. It broke all kinds of ground and started the Marvel Universe. From character performances, to designs, to world-building, to layouts, Kirby created something timeless. The book has it all and it’s the one I revisit all the time. Plus, that’s where Kirby brought Galactus to life—and he’s one of my all-time favorite characters!

Marvel.com: When it came to creating new characters, few did it better than Jack and Stan Lee. But you’ve added a few toys to the Marvel sandbox yourself, so how does it feel adding to the stable they built?

Robbie Thompson: I feel incredibly fortunate to be standing on the shoulders of those giants and getting to play in the amazing universe they built. There’s a great quote from Kirby—it’s a perfect guiding light for playing in the Marvel Universe—which was, “I feel my characters are valid, my characters are people, my characters have hope. Hope is the thing that’ll take us through.” I love the hope in the Marvel Universe, and I’m so grateful to be playing a small role in it.

Marvel.com: In your mind, what about Kirby’s style and storytelling make him the person new fans keep discovering and older ones keep digging into?

Robbie Thompson: I think there’s really something for everyone in Kirby’s work if you love design, architecture, world-building, crazy technology, cosmic adventures, incredible characters with layered performances, romance, intrigue, suspense. He could do it all. He defined and then constantly redefined what could be done in a comic book as an art form—that’s what made him a legend.

Plenty of Kirby’s work has been adapted, and will be adapted for years to come; I can’t wait to see all the Kirby love in “Thor: Ragnarok.” His work defines pure comics—I think that’s what sets Kirby apart and what keeps him timeless. He did things that simply can’t be recreated in another art form. He was an absolute genius and I’m thrilled each new generation keeps finding and appreciating his legacy.

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more throughout Kirby Month and beyond! And join the conversation on all of our social channels with the hashtag #Kirby100.

For over 50 years, Spider-Man has been a sensational standout in the Marvel Universe, and this year, the web-slinger swings onto the silver screen once more in “Spider-Man: Homecoming”! In celebration of his memorable history, we present Spidey’s spectacular step-by-step story!

Trying to wrap up a case with Daredevil in PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #26, Spidey becomes blinded by the Masked Marauders and must rely upon the Man Without Fear’s help to continue the fight in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #27 and then defuse the villain’s H-Bomb in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #28.

After a battle with Jigsaw in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #188, our hero needed a long rest, but duty called and he aided Ms Marvel versus Silver Dagger in MARVEL TEAM-UP #77, Wonder Man against the Griffin in MARVEL TEAM-UP #78, and a transformed Mary Jane Watson to take down an ancient sorcerer in MARVEL TEAM-UP #79.

Marvel Team-Up (1972) #77

• Published: January 10, 1979
• Writer: Chris Claremont
• Penciler: Jeff Aclin, Howard Chaykin

Professor Smythe returned in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #189 to attempt revenge on J. Jonah Jameson once more, and used Jameson’s own son the Man-Wolf against him in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #190 and the last of the Spider-Slayers in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #191. To make matters worse, he also strapped both Spidey and the publisher to a handcuff bomb in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #192 before his ultimate defeat.

A strange entity known as Carrion attacked Peter Parker in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #29, and stood revealed as a decaying clone of Professor Miles Warren in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #30. The White Tiger lent his might to Spidey to defeat the creature and its “spider-amoeba” in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #31. When Doctor Strange became a werewolf in MARVEL TEAM-UP #80, Clea asked the webslinger for help, but it fell to the Devil’s own daughter Satana to make a mortal self-sacrifice to free the Sorcerer Supreme from the curse in MARVEL TEAM-UP #81.

Spider-Man clashed with the buzzing Fly in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #193, and, waiting in the wings, Mysterio schemed his latest mind-game for the hero in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #194, which coincided with the introduction of the wily Black Cat into the wallcrawler’s personal universe. A brainwashed Black Widow required aid in MARVEL TEAM-UP #82, so Spidey swung in to rescue her from S.H.I.E.L.D. in MARVEL TEAM-UP #83, invade a helicarrier with Shang Chi in MARVEL TEAM-UP #84, and save the President of the United States in MARVEL TEAM-UP #85.

Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #194

• Published: July 10, 1979
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 13, 2007
• Penciller: Frank Giacoia, Keith Pollard

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Dr. Curt Connors accidentally created the Iguana in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #32, prompting a swift Spidey response in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #33, and a knock-down double match with both the Iguana and the Lizard in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #34. Later, the webslinger managed to convince the Mindworm to reform in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #35, right before he faced the reconstituted menace of Swarm in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #36 and SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #37.

The wallcrawler fought alongside the grounded Guardians of the Galaxy in MARVEL TEAM-UP #86, the beleaguered Black Panther in MARVEL TEAM-UP #87, and the irritated Invisible Girl in MARVEL TEAM-UP #88.

Marvel Team-Up (1972) #86

• Published: October 10, 1979
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 28, 2016
• Writer: Chris Claremont, Allyn Brodsky
• Penciler: Bob McLeod

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Spidey renewed his ongoing struggle with Mysterio in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #195 and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #196, his longtime feud with the Kingpin in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #197, then entered into another re-match with Mysterio in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #198, which led to his powers being taken away by the bubble-headed baddie’s chemical spray in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #199.

Bred by an alien race to be a warrior caste and possessing alien DNA, the Inhumans exist as humans possessed of incredible and otherworldly powers when exposed to the substance known as Terrigen. Living secretly, for the most part, among their fellow man, the Inhumans forge their own destiny as a separate society. Dig into the history of the Inhumans with these Marvel Unlimited comics in preparation for “Marvel’s Inhumans” heading to IMAX and ABC this fall!

In the wake of Secret Wars, the Marvel Universe took an eight month jump forward resulting in a number of interesting changes and additions. UNCANNY INHUMANS and ALL-NEW INHUMANS, both written by Charles Soule, chronicled the adventures of two different groups going through very different things.

UNCANNY INHUMANS – co-written by Ryan Stegman with art by Steve McNiven, Brandon Peterson, Kev Walker and Carlos Pacheco – focused on Medusa and Black Bolt, still separated at the time, trying to find any and all Inhumans still missing from the evacuation in INFINITY. In further fallout from his previous choices, he and Medusa remained separated as she retained control of the Inhuman monarchy. 

Uncanny Inhumans (2015) #1

• Published: October 21, 2015
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: April 25, 2016
• Rating: Rated T+
• Writer: Charles Soule
• Cover Artist: Steve McNiven

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For Black Bolt, that involved battling Kang the Conqueror to get his son, Ahura, back. He also wrestled with his own feelings for Medusa who had begun an affair with Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. Still, everyone came together to defeat Kang and save Ahura from a lifetime of manipulated violence designed to wipe all Inhumans from the timestream. 

Uncanny Inhumans (2015) #8

• Published: May 11, 2016
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 14, 2016
• Rating: Rated T+
• Writer: Charles Soule
• Penciller: Kev Walker
• Cover Artist: Mahmud Asrar

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Meanwhile, ALL-NEW INHUMANS starred Crystal, Gorgon and some of the NuHumans as they split time between following the Terrigen Cloud and investigating the Skyspears. Not only did these devices appear out of nowhere, but they enhanced Inhuman powers and seemed to have some ancient writing on them that promised genocide. 

All-New Inhumans (2015) #1

• Published: December 02, 2015
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: June 06, 2016
• Rating: Rated T+
• Writer: James Asmus, Charles Soule
• Cover Artist: Stefano Caselli

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THE INHUMAN CONDITION

KARNAK, by Warren Ellis, Gerardo Zaffino and Roland Boschi, ran for six issues and chronicled the shatterer’s attempts to find a seemingly innocuous Nuhuman at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s request. An AIM splinter group called International Data Integration and Control kidnapped the boy and seemed to think him some kind of messiah. Using his ability to find the fault in all things, Karnak utilized as much philosophy as he did brutal physicality in finding the young man. Once the Magister of the second Tower of Wisdom came face to face with Adam Roderick, he realized that the kid sported far more power than anyone suspected. With that, Karnak set out to save reality!

In our last entry, check out how the Inhumans play major parts in two huge events Civil War II and IvX!

WASHINGTON ― After the deal was done, it was time for some New York-style ribbing.

On October 4, SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL #22 features an awe-inspiring twosome that cannot be missed. No, not the ones in the masks—writer Elliott Kalan and artist Todd Nauck!

Kalan and Nauck have sent Spidey and the Merc to face off against the mad game designer Arcade in a custom deathtrap known as Murderworld. At a time when Spider-Man and Deadpool’s partnership stands on shaky ground, this smart-talkin’ team-up will be tested like never before.

We caught up with Elliott to hear more about what lies ahead for the super duo.

Marvel.com: What made you decide to use Arcade as the newest enemy for the Wallcrawler and the Merc with a Mouth?

Elliott Kalan: You can never really predict or completely figure Arcade out. He’s a mostly amoral madman, but at the same time he’s very attuned to other people’s psychologies and weaknesses—and apparently has the massive financial resources to build, like, an entire personalized theme park of death.

So, for Spidey and Deady, the excitement came from figuring out how Arcade sets up his park to prey on their particular weaknesses and insecurities. And then finding out how Spider-Man and Deadpool resist and overcome that. Also, Arcade loves a good joke—just like our two stars. His sense of humor can just be a little off. A little homicidal.

Marvel.com: What made Madripoor the right setting for this tale?

Elliott Kalan: Madripoor is one of those places on the Marvel map that gives you a chance to escape the standard world of New York, for example, and get away with things you normally wouldn’t be able to.

I’d hoped to do a Madripoor story when I wrote SPIDER-MAN & THE X-MEN—I tried to hit as many X-Men locales as I could. But I only managed to fit the school, the Savage Land, the Mojoverse, outer space, Mr. Sinister’s laboratory, and the mental plane into my six issues…

Madripoor feels like a strange place for Spider-Man to find himself in; it’s so fundamentally criminal a place—as least as it’s been written. Yet what better place for Arcade to set up shop than a nation that’s never had the highest respect for the law?

Marvel.com: How did you come up with Arcade’s death traps? And how did collaborating with Todd Nauck bring that to life?

Elliott Kalan: It proved difficult for me to come up with death traps for Arcade—until I started thinking about it in game metaphors. Arcade’s work often takes the form of a game—a video game, a pinball game, and so forth—so I had like a mental block until I realized, “Oh, in issue #21, this can be like a board game, and one trap will lead somewhat directly into the next.”

And then in issue #22, I thought, “Okay, enough of that…now let’s just get super crazy.”

Todd was instrumental in making everything happen. There are a few moments where I wasn’t even sure how things would work out visually, then Todd said, “Oh, you mean like this?” And it felt like he reached into my brain and put it on paper—only a thousand times better. There’s a moment in issue #22 involving Deadpool, a fighter plane, and a dinosaur where Todd just went ahead and made my dreams come true.

Marvel.com: How was the overall collaborative experience with Todd? Were there elements in the script you knew you’d be able to pull off with him as your artist?

Elliott Kalan: Todd’s amazing. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time—and having recently learned he’s also a fellow fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I knew we’d get along. I fully trusted him to be able to take everything I handed him and tell the story as clearly, dynamically, and gorgeously as possible. He really made a bunch of my half-baked concepts shine. Todd gave me the freedom to get as big and crazy as I wanted, but also to not to be afraid of adding as much dialogue as I needed. I really I hope I get the chance to work with him again in the future.

Marvel.com: In your mind, what are the essential traits that truly bring Spidey and Deadpool to life on the page? And by personally revisiting Spider-Man with this story, did you alter your approach to him since writing SPIDER-MAN & THE X-MEN?

Elliott Kalan: My take feels essentially the same because I’ve been living with Spider-Man as a moral and ethical guidepost since I picked up WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #90 (with the hologram cover) at age 10 and began my tutorship in his philosophy.

To me, the essence of Spider-Man is having a strong moral and ethical code but struggling with them emotionally. He’s constantly in the process of striving to be the best—but he often fails because to choose one moral value means inadvertently turning your back on another. He is truly the greatest of all Marvel heroes because he’s humanly weak and his choices are difficult to make, but he makes them anyway.

And I see the essence of Deadpool as someone who decides to become Spider-Man after a lifetime of being the exact opposite of that. He strives to do better, but gets weighed down by years of sin and, frankly, a knowledge of how much easier life can be when you don’t follow the rules. It’s harder to navigate morality for him, and when he sees someone like Spider-Man he sees an impossible ideal—but he still finds the strength to attempt to get closer to that ideal.

Both Spider-Man and Deadpool are emotional and moral strivers constantly coming to terms with their failure to be perfect and refusing to let that failure stop them from trying. But don’t let all this heavy talk fool you, this story is basically about Arcade throwing killer robots at them.

Marvel.com: How might you pitch this storyline to readers who aren’t sure if they should pick these issues up?

Elliott Kalan: Face front, True Believers, this titanic two-parter is chock full of Mighty Marvel Milestones! Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and everyone’s favorite Merc with a Mouth are pushed to the limits by the amusing atrocity of Arcade! Arcade as you’ve never seen him before—a glimpse of his private life, and with multiple different haircuts! A robo-wolverine! Tigers! Dinosaurs! Tidal waves! Thinly veiled satire! Plus, the first appearance of the Sensational New Marvel Discovery who’s sure to be everyone’s favorite Character Creation of 2017: the blade-wielding apex assassin who could only be called The Stinger! Don’t miss it, folks, this one has it all!

Marvel.com: Yup, that works.

SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL #22, by Elliott Kalan and artist Todd Nauck, hits on October 4!