Though it bears the same 12+ rating as most Marvel titles, from "Nova" and Ms. Marvel" to "New Avengers" and "Uncanny X-Men, Marvel's new "Punisher" series has a lot in common with its Marvel MAX predecessor.

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Under the creative team of writer Becky Cloonan and artist Steve Dillon, the all-new "Punisher" #1 offers a silent Frank Castle, who makes up for his lack of speech with a creative display of over-the-top, often incredibly bloody, violence.

Check out some of Punisher's relentless badassery in the first issue, below:

Cloonan spoke with CBR News about her new series, remarking on Frank Castle as a character she can push beyond his limits: "I found out really quickly that Frank is a character you can push to his limit and beyond. He won't break, and he doesn't have any safe words. As I've challenged him as a character, he's challenged me as a writer. And I think I've come out tougher for it -- and I know a lot more about guns now than I did one year ago! [Laughs]."

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She added, "I hope people get a few chuckles out of this book! It's a lot of fun -- in a violent, bullet-riddled, bleeding kind of way. I like to think this book walks a line between some very serious moments and situations, balanced by the gallows humor that accompanies them. And as an artist too, I'm trying to write scripts that will be fun to draw -- and Steve is knocking every page out of the park!!"

"Punisher" #1 is in stores today.