The Punisher is a comics character.
Punisher . The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru , with publisher Stan Lee green-lighting the name . The Punisher made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man # 129 ( cover-dated Feb. 1974 ) . The Punisher 's brutal nature and willingness to kill made him a novel character in mainstream American comic books in 1974 .