ADVANCE REVIEW: Postal #1

STORY BY:Â Bryan Edward Hill, Matt Hawkins
ART BY:Â Isaac Goodhart
COLORS BY:Â Betsy Gonia
LETTERS BY:Â Troy Peteri
COVER BY:Â Linda Sejic, Isaac Goodhart
PUBLISHER:Â Top Cow Productions
COVER PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE DATE:Â Wed, February 4th, 2015

Set in the small town of Eden, Postal harbours a dark secret it is a haven for criminals to escape prosecution. Each member of this town is a former criminal with a new identity hiding out in this tight knit community that the FBI have been unable to crack for some time.

This first issue centres on Mark, the son of the mayor who suffers from Asperger“s syndrome and allows writers Matt Hawkins and Bryan Edward Hill to introduce the reader to the town perfectly, with his almost childlike innocence we are introduced to the parts of the town and some of its colourful inhabitants, as this is a brand new world this allows the writers to gradually over the course of this first issue unveil the town slowly and introduce the concepts to them slowly as if Mark was processing them and this pulls the reader into this world more and more as the town is explored. His job running the post office also allows him to come into contact with pretty much everyone in the town as this is the only method for getting things in and out of the town makes Mark such a great main character, whilst highlighting the syndrome itself (something I have not seen in comics before) it also shows a great juxtaposition between Mark and the rest of the cast and really allows you to root for him.

The story itself sets up the rest of this first volume perfectly; the inhabitants of Eden make a grave mistake that may allow the FBI a way into the town. It“s not clear what the ramifications of these actions may have however, it is clear a mistake has been made. The book is tense all the way through and you are never quite sure what will happen next and after this stellar first issue I am dying to see where this story unfolds and what is next for the town of Eden.

Goodheart“s art complements this book well; making everything very drab and dreary perfect for this rendition of small town America, yet filling his panels with such tension. Â Even in something as simple as two characters talking in a cafÃ©, you can tell something is just under the surface of these characters waiting to get out and Goodheart captures this perfectly.

Overall Postal is a great first issue, providing an interesting mystery and well written characters that pull you into this town and refuses to let go. Readers will be left intrigued for days and I“m sure will be surprised at the twists and turns in this tale that will follow.

Author Profile

Matt Deery

Matt Deery is an avid comic reader from the UK, relatively new to the writing scene but, enjoying being part of the Comic Crusaders team and getting to talk about some the books that I adore. Will read almost anything Marvel, with Spider-Man and Iron Man being my all time favorite comic book characters and has recently found a love for Image and Valiant books and generally anything Sci FI or Espionage related. Check out my twitter @brujah69ad if you want to stop by and talk comics, video games or movies!