The Punisher # 1 2001 NM-

The Punisher #1, released by Marvel Comics on June 13, 2001, kicked off the 37-issue ongoing series under the mature Marvel Knights imprint.

Written by the legendary Garth Ennis, illustrated by Steve Dillon, and featuring iconic covers by Tim Bradstreet, this issue serves as the direct sequel to their critically acclaimed 2000 limited series Welcome Back, Frank. This creative team successfully stripped away the character's prior supernatural elements, grounding Frank Castle back into his gritty, ultraviolent, street-level war on crime. 

This response includes an image carousel highlighting the creative era:

Issue #1 Plot Breakdown & "Army of One" Hook

• The Status of Frank's War: Following the destruction of the Gnucci crime family in the previous miniseries, Frank Castle continues his relentless crusade against the New York City underworld under the alias "Mr. Smith". 
• The Return of Martin Soap: The hapless, incompetent detective Martin Soap—who had accidentally blundered his way into becoming police commissioner at the end of the previous run—finds himself demoted right back to detective. 
• An Unholy Alliance: Soap is put in charge of a completely defunded "Punisher Task Force" consisting solely of himself. Depressed and contemplating suicide, Soap is cornered by the Punisher. Instead of killing him, Frank offers Soap a deal: Soap will feed Frank internal police database intelligence on criminals, and Frank will eliminate them—allowing Soap to take credit for the busts. 
• The Shadow of the Cyborg: While Frank secures his new inside man, the issue sets up the looming threat of the "Army of One" story arc. It introduces the shadowy machinations of a rogue paramilitary agency led by General Kreigkopf, who have illegally salvaged S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to resurrect Frank's most resilient foe, The Russian, as a heavily modified cyborg.