In June, Punisher co-creator Gerry Conway created a Black Lives Matter fundraiser called "Skulls for Justice" to reclaim Frank Castle's skull from a symbol of oppression to one of justice. The fundraiser was rooted in Conway's desire to stop the emblem's misuse by individuals, promoting a misunderstanding of what Frank Castle represents.
Conway reflected on how the campaign went and further commented on seeing Punisher's emblem be misused as a sign of "authority" during times of civil unrest -- such as Jan. 6's riot at the U.S. Capitol building -- on Word Balloon Comics' Podcast. "I totally get why there are some people, progressives on the left --with me... I’m a leftist progressive -- who perceives The Punisher as irredeemable. But I think that’s a misreading of the character," he said.
"As bad a misreading of the character as the police who’ve tried to embrace it as a representative of their own," he added. Conway said that his fundraiser, in part, was "an attempt to push back on the notion that The Punisher represents some kind of authority within the police or military."
"He’s a sign of social dysfunction," he added. "And is intended as a criticism of society in general, from the point of view of an outsider who hasn’t received justice from society, from the [parts] of society that are represented by the police and the military."
"Skulls for Justice" reportedly raised $70,000 for L.A.'s Black Lives Matter chapter through selling t-shirts that repurposed Frank Castle/Punisher's emblem into a symbol of justice and were primarily made by young artists of color. The featured image within this writing is created by artist Khalid Johnson and his design raised $1,550 for BLM.
Conway responded, as well, to calls for the Punisher's character to be canceled. "Comics, even today, are a reflection of the larger culture," he said.
"We’re all part of the same moment and, as a result, it’s a back-and-forth kind of dialogue," he said. "The strength of pop culture is that it is responsive to the moment in a way that high art and high culture is not. That’s not a good or a bad thing, you know what I mean, it’s simply a strength, because pop culture is commercialized. That means we have to actually address the things that people are consciously and unconsciously interested in," he added. "We can’t simply step back and be observers, we have to be engaged."
Marvel Comics previously addressed the controversy in 2019's Punisher #13 title, which saw Frank Castle chastising a group of police officers for wearing his symbol, telling them he's not someone they should be idolizing.
Source: Word Balloon with John Siuntres' Podcast, Skulls for Justice, Instagram