REVIEW: Postal #13

Creator:  Matt Hawkins
Writer:  Bryan Hill
Artist:  Isaac Goodhart
Colorist:  K. Michael Russell
Letterer:  Troy Peteri
Review:  Art Bee

In the 2015 Hammy Awards Postal was my pick for Best New Comic, and it was one of three (Manifest Destiny and Darth Vader were the other two) considered for comic of the year this year. When this comic hit the scene, it completely blindsided me. I was oblivious to what it offered but was pleasantly surprised. Postal is the complete package.

The setting and plot of Postal is stated best in Hill’s own word at the beginning of this issue:

”The town of Eden, Wyoming, was founded in secret as an off-the-grid haven for criminals. Either to establish a new identity or escape from the outside world.” 

This town’s mayor is Laura Shiffron, the widow of the founder,Isaac. The central character of the series is Mark Shiffron, Laura’s son, who has Asperger’s Syndrome. Mark serves a particular niche in this isolated society as Post Master and a problem solver. Eden’s success stands on a knife edge with internal control on one side and staying hidden from the outside world on the other. Currently Laura’s biggest concern is the latter.


Eden is a great name for this fictional town. The name symbolizes two great images in the reader’s mind. The first image is a beginning, and the second a fall into sin. The choice of the town’s name was a great one for Matt Hawkins. The name alone creates its own setting.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Mark Shiffron. He is an underdog with a huge, warm heart trapped in a cold shell of a body. In first story arc Mark was the focus, and that was the right move on Hill’s part. This character is very lovable and a solid base on which to build an amazing story.

Goodhart’s artwork is better than average. I like it, but it does not stand out to me. What I do like about his artwork is the consistency. Each character looks the same all of the time with no noticeable distortions, even in action sequences. With the deliverance of this issue, we are introduced to the comic’s new colorist, K. Michael Russell, who delivers a fantastic array of shading and colors. Together the two create pages that produce adequate imagery for the story.

Postal has become a staple on my pull list for over a year and has not failed to deliver. Issue 13 is a great point to jump into the series. Antiheroes are one of my favorite category of characters, and Eden is a conglomerate antihero in itself. Give it a chance and you may just fall in love with it as well.