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Postal (Collected Editions) #1
Postal, Vol. 1
The first volume of Top Cow's bold new ongoing series POSTAL brings readers into the fictional town of Eden, Wyoming, a place founded by criminals for criminals. A place where, despite its inhabitants, no crime is allowed. Local postman Mark Shiffron has Asperger's, and through his peculiar eyes we see a town struggling to keep its fragile peace, a town on the constant brink of chaos. When a murdered woman's body is found on Eden's main street, Mark's need to solve her crime leads him into darkness and truth about the town he's known his entire life and the hidden realms of his own psychology.
Co-writers BRYAN HILL & MATT HAWKINS work with newcomer ISAAC GOODHART to take an unflinching look at the cost of justice and the price of redemption through a tale set in the murky soul of America's heartland.
Collects POSTAL #1-4.!
Co-writers BRYAN HILL & MATT HAWKINS work with newcomer ISAAC GOODHART to take an unflinching look at the cost of justice and the price of redemption through a tale set in the murky soul of America's heartland.
Collects POSTAL #1-4.!
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2015
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1043 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
January 24, 2022
Solid story with a lot of potential. Eden is a town funded and run by criminals. Our main character is the mayor's son, Mark, a postal worker with Aspergers. Each of our characters have their secrets except Mark. Mark sees a lot that others don't and uses his ability to help others. Goodheart's art is fine, but nothing exceptional.
October 29, 2019
Mark Shiffron is a postman in Eden, Wyoming, and like Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime, Mark has Asperger Syndrome. His mother is the mayor of their (secret) small town where no crime is “permitted,” populated entirely by fugitive criminals. When a woman gets murdered Mark is determined to find out who did it, something similar to what happens to Christopher in Curious Incident, crimes must be solved, and they become Asperger-ishly Sherlock Holmes (or is that redundant because Sherlock Holmes would seem to have Asperger?), obsessively detailed-oriented, closure-oriented. Matt Hawkins and Bryan Hill are the writers.
Mark is the main character, his mother is “driven,” and intense, Mark’s potential love interest, Maggie, a waitress, has “a past” and seems heart-of-gold, but really, the characters at this point lack depth, and the plot is pretty thin as well. Isaac Goodhart’s art is okay, solid, not remarkable. I am late in getting to this and want it to be good because I have a particular interest in autism, and it is just okay to pretty good so far. Maybe just under three stars, rounded up for including neurodiversity.
Mark is the main character, his mother is “driven,” and intense, Mark’s potential love interest, Maggie, a waitress, has “a past” and seems heart-of-gold, but really, the characters at this point lack depth, and the plot is pretty thin as well. Isaac Goodhart’s art is okay, solid, not remarkable. I am late in getting to this and want it to be good because I have a particular interest in autism, and it is just okay to pretty good so far. Maybe just under three stars, rounded up for including neurodiversity.
June 28, 2015
Ever heard of a novel called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time? Came out about ten years or so ago and became a bestseller. It was about a kid with Asperger’s Syndrome who sees his neighbour’s dog dead and decides to figure out who killed it and why.
Since then other popular characters with Asperger’s have sprung up like Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory and Don Tillman in The Rosie Project books (who’s arguably derivative of Sheldon Cooper).
Writers Matt Hawkins and Bryan Hill probably saw this popularity and decided “Me too!”. Postal is about a young man with Asperger’s called Mark, the postman of Eden, Wyoming, who finds a dead girl dumped in the street and decides to find out who killed her and why.
To be fair to Hawkins and Hill they do differentiate their tale with a few wild cards. Eden is a town of covert criminals headed up by Mark’s mother, Mayor Shiffron, and everyone has a secret - even Mark’s crush, Maggie the waitress. And Mark’s about to discover the dead girl was a message - intended for him! Duh duh duuuuuuuh!
Postal is actually a pretty decent comic. The main character with Asperger’s did strike me as a little contrived, particularly with regards his dialogue, though the occasional remark does put the condition into perspective:
“Asperger’s is like having a billion lights blinking at you all the time and the only way you can find peace is to name them all. But the more you name, the more lights that come. Doing things helps, things that force me to focus.”
Tasks to focus the mind brings calm to people with Asperger’s. Interesting to know, assuming it’s accurate as I don’t know anyone with the condition. I’m still conflicted about Mark though - I don’t think he’s a brilliant character because he’s defined by his Asperger’s and not much else. In fact, Mark’s mum and Maggie both felt like characters I’d seen dozens of times before - Maggie the girl with a secret and a heart of gold, and Mark’s mum who’s the hardened older woman with a rough history.
Once the story reveals itself, that too comes off as quite contrived. Without going into details, the main question, that remained unanswered, was: why NOW after all these years - why not sooner? And the villain’s motivations didn’t make sense - how would he know what Mark’s mum held closest to her heart? He’s been away for years! And why didn’t anyone think to check that the villain was dead the first time around? If he’s so dangerous, wouldn’t you want to be sure?
Isaac Goodhart’s art isn’t bad but it isn’t that memorable either. It’s fine though, I didn’t have any problems with it.
Postal’s setup is intriguing enough to hold the attention even if there are some problems with the plot once you start thinking about it. That and the ending, which I really didn’t like for being too cutesy, dragged down the book overall. There’s going to be more apparently though I’m not sure if I want to read the next volume especially as this first one was just alright.
Since then other popular characters with Asperger’s have sprung up like Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory and Don Tillman in The Rosie Project books (who’s arguably derivative of Sheldon Cooper).
Writers Matt Hawkins and Bryan Hill probably saw this popularity and decided “Me too!”. Postal is about a young man with Asperger’s called Mark, the postman of Eden, Wyoming, who finds a dead girl dumped in the street and decides to find out who killed her and why.
To be fair to Hawkins and Hill they do differentiate their tale with a few wild cards. Eden is a town of covert criminals headed up by Mark’s mother, Mayor Shiffron, and everyone has a secret - even Mark’s crush, Maggie the waitress. And Mark’s about to discover the dead girl was a message - intended for him! Duh duh duuuuuuuh!
Postal is actually a pretty decent comic. The main character with Asperger’s did strike me as a little contrived, particularly with regards his dialogue, though the occasional remark does put the condition into perspective:
“Asperger’s is like having a billion lights blinking at you all the time and the only way you can find peace is to name them all. But the more you name, the more lights that come. Doing things helps, things that force me to focus.”
Tasks to focus the mind brings calm to people with Asperger’s. Interesting to know, assuming it’s accurate as I don’t know anyone with the condition. I’m still conflicted about Mark though - I don’t think he’s a brilliant character because he’s defined by his Asperger’s and not much else. In fact, Mark’s mum and Maggie both felt like characters I’d seen dozens of times before - Maggie the girl with a secret and a heart of gold, and Mark’s mum who’s the hardened older woman with a rough history.
Once the story reveals itself, that too comes off as quite contrived. Without going into details, the main question, that remained unanswered, was: why NOW after all these years - why not sooner? And the villain’s motivations didn’t make sense - how would he know what Mark’s mum held closest to her heart? He’s been away for years! And why didn’t anyone think to check that the villain was dead the first time around? If he’s so dangerous, wouldn’t you want to be sure?
Isaac Goodhart’s art isn’t bad but it isn’t that memorable either. It’s fine though, I didn’t have any problems with it.
Postal’s setup is intriguing enough to hold the attention even if there are some problems with the plot once you start thinking about it. That and the ending, which I really didn’t like for being too cutesy, dragged down the book overall. There’s going to be more apparently though I’m not sure if I want to read the next volume especially as this first one was just alright.
April 9, 2018
I didn’t know much of this story when I picked up this volume. All I knew was that it dealt with a town filled with criminals trying to live peacefully, but I had heard that it was great from various people, and it was, but I was not prepared for the interesting topics that were discussed here. I painted it to be a simple noir tale, it was much more than that. It follows a postal worker, Mark Shiffron, whose mother, Dana Shiffron, is the mayor of the town after the previous leader was “banished,” after the corpse of a young woman is found laying on the street, the story of a town filled with criminals where crime is not allowed. There is also something different and wonderful about Mark, he has Asperger, and it is through his eyes that we see everything. I don’t know much about Asperger, but after seeing the depiction in the comic and reading the extra material attached to the volume, I am sure it is a wonderful way to tell this story, having someone so observant when it comes to clues is simply necessary, and having him being so unobservant when it comes to other aspects (particularly people’s personalities) makes him even more sympathetic than he already was.
The thing that I enjoyed was the pacing. It is quick and no-nonsense style, we are not given a breather to figure out what is going on, we breeze through the entire story, and it is only after we are finished that we can calm down and think over what happened. It makes me wonder that if they had so much information and mystery to drop on the first volume alone, there must be much, much more coming our way.
There was something I wanted to be more explored than it was, the characters. At the end of the book we get a couple pages detailing what some of the characters have done to be in the town, but much is retracted, and there is little to be told of each of them except that they are criminals and that is it. This does not speak true to me, people are always more than the crimes they commit, unless that person is The Joker or something just as sinister, and not giving us more information on them throughout the issues made the story lacking in the character development department. All we know is Dana is harsh and focused, Maggie has a heart of gold with a semi-interesting past, the sheriff is a weakling that may rise to the occasion at some point, the FBI agent is as interesting as a potato, and The Pastor, I have no idea about, he is too odd for me to take much of an interest in him.
The art was simple, and traditional, nothing to make a fuzz about. What I did appreciate with it was the dark colours used. For a town as this, those sort of colours make all the sense in the world.
To summarize, it is an intriguing and fast-paced comic that will leave you wanting to continue reading without taking a breath. It has an interesting and memorable main character, and some less memorable secondary ones, but the last issue is ambiguous enough to make anyone want to pick up the subsequent ones. I am that anyone.
The thing that I enjoyed was the pacing. It is quick and no-nonsense style, we are not given a breather to figure out what is going on, we breeze through the entire story, and it is only after we are finished that we can calm down and think over what happened. It makes me wonder that if they had so much information and mystery to drop on the first volume alone, there must be much, much more coming our way.
There was something I wanted to be more explored than it was, the characters. At the end of the book we get a couple pages detailing what some of the characters have done to be in the town, but much is retracted, and there is little to be told of each of them except that they are criminals and that is it. This does not speak true to me, people are always more than the crimes they commit, unless that person is The Joker or something just as sinister, and not giving us more information on them throughout the issues made the story lacking in the character development department. All we know is Dana is harsh and focused, Maggie has a heart of gold with a semi-interesting past, the sheriff is a weakling that may rise to the occasion at some point, the FBI agent is as interesting as a potato, and The Pastor, I have no idea about, he is too odd for me to take much of an interest in him.
The art was simple, and traditional, nothing to make a fuzz about. What I did appreciate with it was the dark colours used. For a town as this, those sort of colours make all the sense in the world.
To summarize, it is an intriguing and fast-paced comic that will leave you wanting to continue reading without taking a breath. It has an interesting and memorable main character, and some less memorable secondary ones, but the last issue is ambiguous enough to make anyone want to pick up the subsequent ones. I am that anyone.
July 3, 2022
3.5 Stars
This is the start of a compelling crime thriller graphic novel series with a person with ASD at the heart of the story. I don't think the representation is perfect but I can see that the author's heart was in the right place, highlighting Autism as a difference, not a disability. I liked the main character was smart and self aware rather than the brunt of the jokes. The actual plot was more action crime fiction than the stories I normally read but there were enough elements to make me want to read the next volume.
This is the start of a compelling crime thriller graphic novel series with a person with ASD at the heart of the story. I don't think the representation is perfect but I can see that the author's heart was in the right place, highlighting Autism as a difference, not a disability. I liked the main character was smart and self aware rather than the brunt of the jokes. The actual plot was more action crime fiction than the stories I normally read but there were enough elements to make me want to read the next volume.
June 20, 2022
An intriguing and compelling storyline narrated by a uniquely and accurately representative protagonist with Asperger’s.
The mystery wasn’t a mystery for long enough, but it was steeped in intrigue and surprise thrills for a certain amount of time before the answers were promptly revealed. After a while it was clear that the mystery was only the kickstarter the plot needed before it jumped into the main realm of mind games, subterfuge, and political power plays.
The protagonist Mark was complex, as was his rocky relationship with his mother. The strangely matter-of-fact yet poetic narrative voice he supplied really added to the curious tone of the comic and made for wonderful insight into how the mind of an individual with Asperger’s works. His relationship with the potential love interest Maggie added an interesting dynamic to the story.
The foundations laid down in this first volume were so certain that the story could really go anywhere from here and succeed, so it should be interesting to see what happens next in vol 2...
The mystery wasn’t a mystery for long enough, but it was steeped in intrigue and surprise thrills for a certain amount of time before the answers were promptly revealed. After a while it was clear that the mystery was only the kickstarter the plot needed before it jumped into the main realm of mind games, subterfuge, and political power plays.
The protagonist Mark was complex, as was his rocky relationship with his mother. The strangely matter-of-fact yet poetic narrative voice he supplied really added to the curious tone of the comic and made for wonderful insight into how the mind of an individual with Asperger’s works. His relationship with the potential love interest Maggie added an interesting dynamic to the story.
The foundations laid down in this first volume were so certain that the story could really go anywhere from here and succeed, so it should be interesting to see what happens next in vol 2...
January 10, 2017
3.5 stars . This was not bad at all but it could definitely use some more depth plot-wise.
March 3, 2016
Das überschwängliche Lob für POSTAL kann ich nicht teilen; weder Artwork noch Story haben mich mitgerissen.
Im Kaff Ganovenburg leben alle Gauner auf einem Haufen, die sonst keinen Platz in der Welt der USofA mehr haben. Hier bekommenn sie nicht die zweite, sondern die letzte Chance. Das herrschende Rechtssystem ist hier, nun, sagen wir mal recht eigen, für die Todesstrafe bedarf es keiner Gerichtsverhandlung. Und hier also wächst als Sohn der Bürgermeisterin, Mark auf, der unter dem Asperger Syndrom leidet. Niemand außer der Kellnerin Maggie kann den sonderbaren Jungen leiden. Die Tatsachen des Lebens in Form von Gewaltorgien und Familiengeheimnissen, die Mark in den vier hier gesammelten Heften erfährt, würden jeden "Normalo" aus der Bahn werfen. Ob es an seiner Krankheit oder an der Unterstützung von Maggie liegt, dass Mark aus der Schmiede der Gewalt gehärtet hervorgeht?
Ach ja, Ganovenburg heißt im Comic Eden ;)
2,5 Sterne.
Im Kaff Ganovenburg leben alle Gauner auf einem Haufen, die sonst keinen Platz in der Welt der USofA mehr haben. Hier bekommenn sie nicht die zweite, sondern die letzte Chance. Das herrschende Rechtssystem ist hier, nun, sagen wir mal recht eigen, für die Todesstrafe bedarf es keiner Gerichtsverhandlung. Und hier also wächst als Sohn der Bürgermeisterin, Mark auf, der unter dem Asperger Syndrom leidet. Niemand außer der Kellnerin Maggie kann den sonderbaren Jungen leiden. Die Tatsachen des Lebens in Form von Gewaltorgien und Familiengeheimnissen, die Mark in den vier hier gesammelten Heften erfährt, würden jeden "Normalo" aus der Bahn werfen. Ob es an seiner Krankheit oder an der Unterstützung von Maggie liegt, dass Mark aus der Schmiede der Gewalt gehärtet hervorgeht?
Ach ja, Ganovenburg heißt im Comic Eden ;)
2,5 Sterne.
August 6, 2016
This was pretty good. A little reminiscent of Stephen King or something equally weird.
Basically a town full of criminals that want to keep their existence low key and try to live normally. But you know how that goes.
Not sure if I want to bother with the next volume. I don't know that I actually got anything out of this. But I did like two of the characters well enough.
Basically a town full of criminals that want to keep their existence low key and try to live normally. But you know how that goes.
Not sure if I want to bother with the next volume. I don't know that I actually got anything out of this. But I did like two of the characters well enough.
Read
April 13, 2018I'm thinking 3.5 I'm not sure whether to round up or down, so I am not going to add a star rating yet.
This is a pretty cool graphic novel. I liked the story-line for the most part, although a few parts seemed a tad far-fetched. The main character is interesting because he has Asperger's Syndrome, so his narration of the story is definitely unique. The ending is a perfect set-up for the next volume, which I kinda like; sometimes graphic novels end more definitively, with the next volume starting off a little in the future. That tendency sometimes throws me off, so this was a refreshing change.
This is a pretty cool graphic novel. I liked the story-line for the most part, although a few parts seemed a tad far-fetched. The main character is interesting because he has Asperger's Syndrome, so his narration of the story is definitely unique. The ending is a perfect set-up for the next volume, which I kinda like; sometimes graphic novels end more definitively, with the next volume starting off a little in the future. That tendency sometimes throws me off, so this was a refreshing change.
September 24, 2017
Mark is a very complex character, rarely found in comics.
It's rather suspenseful not knowing whether his Asperger condition is going to be beneficial or bring him trouble.
Honestly not sure where all this is going but I'm eager to find out.
It's rather suspenseful not knowing whether his Asperger condition is going to be beneficial or bring him trouble.
Honestly not sure where all this is going but I'm eager to find out.
March 29, 2024
3.5 ⭐️. I felt the main characters were promising, but at times the story did not seem to flow. I have the second graphic novel in this series so will be interested to see where it goes.
July 6, 2018
A very different Comic, with the lead character a strange young man who is a postman in a town that is not that normal, Eden is a town of criminals, where they come to behave!
nice story line,
good art
great lead character and some twists and some cliffhangers that will no doubt be covered off in up coming issues.
decent book.
worth a read as it is slightly different!!
nice story line,
good art
great lead character and some twists and some cliffhangers that will no doubt be covered off in up coming issues.
decent book.
worth a read as it is slightly different!!
October 3, 2015
Another Matt Hawkins hit.
A town of criminals living peaceful faces its past.
Intriguing,funny and has a cast of interesting characters.
A town of criminals living peaceful faces its past.
Intriguing,funny and has a cast of interesting characters.
March 5, 2018
This book is on the border for me between two and three stars. A generic crime noir is made mildly interesting by the lead and his romantic interest. I'll give it another volume to fully win me over.
August 11, 2016
Bullet Review:
I rather enjoyed this. No, I greatly enjoyed this. From the first page, it really hooked me, and I couldn't stop reading. I liked the characters (Mark, Roy, Dana, Maggie), even if they were a bit stereotypical (particularly Maggie). The story is also pretty intriguing; I definitely want to know what happens next.
My coworker picked out a good one for me finally! :)
I rather enjoyed this. No, I greatly enjoyed this. From the first page, it really hooked me, and I couldn't stop reading. I liked the characters (Mark, Roy, Dana, Maggie), even if they were a bit stereotypical (particularly Maggie). The story is also pretty intriguing; I definitely want to know what happens next.
My coworker picked out a good one for me finally! :)
October 19, 2015
I'll probably check out the next volume because I like the main character, but there were a few too many stereotypes in this story, and I'm not sure I like the direction or level of darkness. One more should decide me.
December 30, 2015
A interesting start, with lots of twist. however, the twist are pretty easy to see coming.
August 5, 2022
I didn't agree with the portrayal of Autism in the main character. Very stereotypical in a negative way.
September 25, 2022
DNF about 70% thru. Extra star for the *idea* of the main character- but his actual execution was meh.
All the characters talk in the same trite (action movie-ish/noir-ish) way; the dialogue is excruciatingly boring, especially when it’s meant to sound sharp and tense.
The art is fine, except for the fact that all the women always have their hair theatrically whipping around them, like they’re each forever standing in their own personal wind tunnels.
Everything just…dragged on- and I gave up without even caring how it ended.
All the characters talk in the same trite (action movie-ish/noir-ish) way; the dialogue is excruciatingly boring, especially when it’s meant to sound sharp and tense.
The art is fine, except for the fact that all the women always have their hair theatrically whipping around them, like they’re each forever standing in their own personal wind tunnels.
Everything just…dragged on- and I gave up without even caring how it ended.
October 18, 2017
I'm glad to be finally branching out to other graphic novels that aren't the Saga series. I liked the premise of this graphic novel, and I liked that I was branching out to a different genre: more spooky, scary, murder and mystery.
POSTAL brings readers into the fictional town of Eden, Wyoming, a place founded by criminals for criminals. A place where, despite its inhabitants, no crime is allowed. Local postman Mark Shiffron has Asperger's, and through his peculiar eyes we see a town struggling to keep its fragile peace, a town on the constant brink of chaos. When a murdered woman's body is found on Eden's main street, Mark's need to solve her crime leads him into darkness and truth about the town he's known his entire life and the hidden realms of his own psychology.
Collects POSTAL #1-4
I will start by saying this: since I do not suffer from Asperger's so I cannot say whether the representation in this graphic novel series is a positive representation or whether it is problematic.
When I first started reading this volume, I wasn't that keen on the characters and the plot felt a bit messy. But as the storyline continued, things started to fall into place and plot points started to make more sense. The premise of the book is amazing: a town full of criminals where they are left to their own devices and are hidden from the rest of the country. I was fascinated by how a town full of criminals would live together and it was fun to read about it.
I am planning on reading the rest of the series because I'm very curious as to how the town carries on working out and IF it does actually work out. I'm also very curious about Mark's mom. She's very mysterious and is the keeper of what seems like a lot of secrets and I do want to find out more about Mark's dad.
Another thing that I really liked about this graphic novel was that it included file extracts on the criminals, which gives it that extra dimension.
The artwork is amazing and Isaac Goodheart does a brilliant job in conveying the world of Eden to the reader.
POSTAL brings readers into the fictional town of Eden, Wyoming, a place founded by criminals for criminals. A place where, despite its inhabitants, no crime is allowed. Local postman Mark Shiffron has Asperger's, and through his peculiar eyes we see a town struggling to keep its fragile peace, a town on the constant brink of chaos. When a murdered woman's body is found on Eden's main street, Mark's need to solve her crime leads him into darkness and truth about the town he's known his entire life and the hidden realms of his own psychology.
Collects POSTAL #1-4
I will start by saying this: since I do not suffer from Asperger's so I cannot say whether the representation in this graphic novel series is a positive representation or whether it is problematic.
When I first started reading this volume, I wasn't that keen on the characters and the plot felt a bit messy. But as the storyline continued, things started to fall into place and plot points started to make more sense. The premise of the book is amazing: a town full of criminals where they are left to their own devices and are hidden from the rest of the country. I was fascinated by how a town full of criminals would live together and it was fun to read about it.
"Asperger’s is like having a billion lights blinking at you all the time and the only way you can find peace is to name them all. But the more you name, the more lights that come. Doing things helps, things that force me to focus."
- Bryan Hill and Matt Hawkins, Postal Vol.1
I am planning on reading the rest of the series because I'm very curious as to how the town carries on working out and IF it does actually work out. I'm also very curious about Mark's mom. She's very mysterious and is the keeper of what seems like a lot of secrets and I do want to find out more about Mark's dad.
Another thing that I really liked about this graphic novel was that it included file extracts on the criminals, which gives it that extra dimension.
The artwork is amazing and Isaac Goodheart does a brilliant job in conveying the world of Eden to the reader.
December 4, 2018
Eden, Wyoming is a town populated by criminals of all shapes and sizes. They have turned their lives around and have made the small town seem like any other. Though they do execute the people who have done them wrong. The priest, the mayor and the sheriff don't shy away from making undesirables go away.
Their quiet world gets shaken by a dead body. Mark the mailman has Asperger's Syndrome and is attracted to Maggie the waitress, the closest thing he has to a friend. They want to investigate the crime. This will bring about a major shift in the small, quiet town that will leave several people dead in the coming power struggle for leader of the community.
Their quiet world gets shaken by a dead body. Mark the mailman has Asperger's Syndrome and is attracted to Maggie the waitress, the closest thing he has to a friend. They want to investigate the crime. This will bring about a major shift in the small, quiet town that will leave several people dead in the coming power struggle for leader of the community.
February 23, 2020
Fun, but not very memorable
June 2, 2015
The mystery of Mark's father gets a bit less mysterious and the story is really going somewhere now. In the previous issues, it was building up to something and it still is, but you can see that we're almost over the hill and getting the story it was building up to in the first 2 issues. The art is great, I love the coloring. And Mark as always shines. He's a great character and his interactions with people and the world around him are great to see! I highly recommend this series and look forward to where the story goes from here. Onto issue 4.
Merged review:
I love this comic! It's gritty, the characters are well written (all with a hidden past), there is a bit of the supernatural in this too, some mystery and detective work. This story kind of makes me think about Preacher by Garth Ennis which is my all time favorite comic/graphic novel! I like the character development Mark and Maggie are going through. Mark is going down a darker path. He gets more responsibility from his mother which is great and I can't wait to see what this will bring in the next issue.
Merged review:
I really like the art and use of colors. The first page sets the tone with a little preaching by the town's reverend. The second page makes for an interesting start of the story. A church full of people with a man on his knees held at gunpoint by the reverend.
I like the protagonist, Joshua! It's great seeing the world through his eyes. The story seemed kind of straightforward in the beginning aside from the scène in the church. A little american town with it's typical problems and quirky inhabitants. But then at the end of this first issue we see the reverend actually shooting the man he was holding at gunpoint at the beginning of the story. The man held at gunpoint was a criminal, as are all the town's inhabitants we learn throughout this issue. And what made it even more interesting, is after the story you get some files/profiles of the different inhabitants of Eden. The irony, a town filled with criminals named after paradise. By reading these profiles, it looks like this town is under surveillance.
Where will this story go from here? Highly recommend this one!
Merged review:
This second issue reveals a bit more about the town, it's mayor and the murder victim of the first issue. This issue made the story even more mysterious by adding a cover up and an almost supernatural murderer. A couple of people have more to them than meets the eye. I really like the character of Mark. It's a lot of fun following the story through his eyes and trying to figure our what exactly is going on. The art and colors are beautiful and suit the story very well! This is turning out to be a very interesting series.
Merged review:
I love this comic! It's gritty, the characters are well written (all with a hidden past), there is a bit of the supernatural in this too, some mystery and detective work. This story kind of makes me think about Preacher by Garth Ennis which is my all time favorite comic/graphic novel! I like the character development Mark and Maggie are going through. Mark is going down a darker path. He gets more responsibility from his mother which is great and I can't wait to see what this will bring in the next issue.
Merged review:
I really like the art and use of colors. The first page sets the tone with a little preaching by the town's reverend. The second page makes for an interesting start of the story. A church full of people with a man on his knees held at gunpoint by the reverend.
I like the protagonist, Joshua! It's great seeing the world through his eyes. The story seemed kind of straightforward in the beginning aside from the scène in the church. A little american town with it's typical problems and quirky inhabitants. But then at the end of this first issue we see the reverend actually shooting the man he was holding at gunpoint at the beginning of the story. The man held at gunpoint was a criminal, as are all the town's inhabitants we learn throughout this issue. And what made it even more interesting, is after the story you get some files/profiles of the different inhabitants of Eden. The irony, a town filled with criminals named after paradise. By reading these profiles, it looks like this town is under surveillance.
Where will this story go from here? Highly recommend this one!
Merged review:
This second issue reveals a bit more about the town, it's mayor and the murder victim of the first issue. This issue made the story even more mysterious by adding a cover up and an almost supernatural murderer. A couple of people have more to them than meets the eye. I really like the character of Mark. It's a lot of fun following the story through his eyes and trying to figure our what exactly is going on. The art and colors are beautiful and suit the story very well! This is turning out to be a very interesting series.
February 19, 2019
Probably more like a 3.5 star read, but I'll round up. The art was good, the premise is incredibly intriguing, and the characters... Well, you kinda either love 'em or want to smash them in the face with a two-by-four. Which, generally, I think is a good thing. If you don't establish some strong hatred towards people in the comic other than the obvious villain then it gets pretty boring really quick. It just needs to be somewhat balanced so you don't end up hating absolutely everyone. But when they establish an evil character, you know about it reeeeaal quickly and with no shortage of venom.
Take the Mayor, for instance: I know for a fact that she isn't going to die any time soon, but if I could reach into the page and strangle her with my bare hands I would gladly take the chance - to hell with upcoming plot points she'd be involved in. Fuck her. Like, with something sharp and rusty, maybe. Anyway.
I warmed up up to Mark pretty damn quickly, even though, yes, what has now become the 'Asperger's trope' in recent media is present here. I think it's generally done well though. The overwhelmingly genuine nature of his existence is such an incongruence to the rest of the town that it's almost laughable. He says what he means and he means what he says. And, unlike most people, he wants to get to the bottom of an issue instead of just making it go away. I also generally like Maggie; she's undoubtedly got more than a little spunk and I'm interested to see where the writers take her character.
The writers/artists also pull no punches when it comes to sex and violence in text or in art, so if that's not your cuppa tea, I'd run the other way - screaming optional, of course.
Honestly, this wasn't the best first volume of a new series I've picked up, but it certainly caught my attention and held it until the end. I read it in one sitting and did not want to be disturbed. I'll be continuing with this one when I can.
Take the Mayor, for instance: I know for a fact that she isn't going to die any time soon, but if I could reach into the page and strangle her with my bare hands I would gladly take the chance - to hell with upcoming plot points she'd be involved in. Fuck her. Like, with something sharp and rusty, maybe. Anyway.
I warmed up up to Mark pretty damn quickly, even though, yes, what has now become the 'Asperger's trope' in recent media is present here. I think it's generally done well though. The overwhelmingly genuine nature of his existence is such an incongruence to the rest of the town that it's almost laughable. He says what he means and he means what he says. And, unlike most people, he wants to get to the bottom of an issue instead of just making it go away. I also generally like Maggie; she's undoubtedly got more than a little spunk and I'm interested to see where the writers take her character.
The writers/artists also pull no punches when it comes to sex and violence in text or in art, so if that's not your cuppa tea, I'd run the other way - screaming optional, of course.
Honestly, this wasn't the best first volume of a new series I've picked up, but it certainly caught my attention and held it until the end. I read it in one sitting and did not want to be disturbed. I'll be continuing with this one when I can.
January 13, 2021
It's an intriguing start, but I'll admit it now: I thought this was based on the video game of the same name. So I kept wondering when someone was gonna go apeshit and start blowing motherfuckers away.
There are even some parallels. Ish. In one the town is called Eden, in the other it's Paradise. Guns are involved? I guess that's about it.
Which is probably for the best. This book has a story, where I'm not sure there's a whole lot more story to Postal than what's in the game. The second game has more...I'm not gonna say "story," let's just say it's a collection of things that happen.
That might be why video games don't always make great movies. There's a plot, of sorts, but really it's just a thing that happens, then another thing that happens. It's a subtle difference, but it's there. It's like the opening to The Last Crusade when Indy is on the circus train. A thing happens, then another thing. It's fun for a sequence, but it couldn't carry an entire movie.
Anyway, this comic has nothing to do with the video game by the same name. But it's fun anyway, so give it a whirl.
There are even some parallels. Ish. In one the town is called Eden, in the other it's Paradise. Guns are involved? I guess that's about it.
Which is probably for the best. This book has a story, where I'm not sure there's a whole lot more story to Postal than what's in the game. The second game has more...I'm not gonna say "story," let's just say it's a collection of things that happen.
That might be why video games don't always make great movies. There's a plot, of sorts, but really it's just a thing that happens, then another thing that happens. It's a subtle difference, but it's there. It's like the opening to The Last Crusade when Indy is on the circus train. A thing happens, then another thing. It's fun for a sequence, but it couldn't carry an entire movie.
Anyway, this comic has nothing to do with the video game by the same name. But it's fun anyway, so give it a whirl.
December 31, 2020
Rather odd little book. Eden is a town full of criminals--why? Well, just because, I guess. I never really understood the point of this place. It's not witness protection, though maybe a bit similar? Because everyone's a criminal, there are pretty strict rules in place to make sure things stay safe and the status quo is respected. So when a murder takes place, everyone is thrown for a loop, including the mayor's son, a boy with Asperger's syndrome, who takes it upon himself to start investigating the death. The artwork here is kind of messy. Not sure if I like this enough to read more, though this first arc doesn't really resolve much.
August 19, 2015
I really liked the cover. Yeah, I know . . . don't judge a book. I do. I totally do. I'm not sure how I feel about the plot . . . a town of criminals. A postman with asperger's who is also the mayor's son. She basically hates her own son. An evil dad that comes back and a side plot about some girl getting worked over by the FBI. I don't know. Honestly, it would probably be a huge hit on HBO, but I'm not so sure I'm into it. I will look at the next issue and we shall see. Otherwise, the graphics are quite good and the writing is pretty good as well.
October 12, 2018
A town made of criminals seems to be living just fine with their second chance to life - until a body is found.
A very strong #1 issue, art is okay (sometimes too digitized), the plot is one of those "we slowly learn more of the town's secrets" but so far, it's not really making a lot of sense. The main character is likeable and easily the one reason I would keep following this series. (A postal worker with Asperger's and a strong sense of duty). Plus a friend of mine absolutely loved this series, so I'll be following this one further.
A very strong #1 issue, art is okay (sometimes too digitized), the plot is one of those "we slowly learn more of the town's secrets" but so far, it's not really making a lot of sense. The main character is likeable and easily the one reason I would keep following this series. (A postal worker with Asperger's and a strong sense of duty). Plus a friend of mine absolutely loved this series, so I'll be following this one further.
March 11, 2016
loved it. interesting and original setup + cool off-beat characters + perfect pacing and sequential storytelling = perfect, suspenseful entertainment (in the vain of southern bastards and straight bullets, but better).
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