Postal: Mark #1 Review

Gone Postal 

Written by: Matt Hawkins
Art by: Raffaele Ieneco
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: 21 February 2018
Reviewer: Andrew McAvoy


My last review of the Postal series was for issue 25. Turns out that issue was planned as a concluding installment of a long-planned 25 issue run. I loved it. After the series conclusion to the regular POSTAL series, this issue is a one-shot story showing Mark’s fate in the town one year later. There are a few of these one-shots planned and Laura will be given the standalone treatment next. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though...


This book is pitch perfect for an HBO or Netflix adaptation. It is sublimely self-contained in terms of story and it is really gripping with its murderous family and small-town vibe. This issue, although a post-script to the series is actually a pretty good starting point because it pitches itself to a new audience providing a brief and compressed version of the story to date within its first few pages.

The issue also has a new artist at the helm since the last issue I reviewed. I really thought that issue's art was brilliant, particularly the coloring. This issue's art, by Raffaele Ieneco, is of an equally high standard, and a similar style although the coloring is a lot more gothic. In fact, there is a generally gothic feel about this issue in terms of both story and art, not least because of the old raven (or it could be a crow - whattamI an Ornithologist here?!) swooping about while the plot follows his flight.

The crux of the issue is unfinished business between father and son. Mark and Isaac have significant amounts of bad blood that Mark attempts to call time on in this issue. This is Mark taking care of business; he is more confident and more secure in himself than we have seen him in the past - he wants to kill Isaac off, literally, and create an Eden, and a son, free of his father's influence.

Bits and Pieces

Pretty much the perfect one shot for anyone who has been tempted by this title but didn't want to dive in during the main series. Stands well as an issue in its own right, but I bet you want to go back and check out the rest of the issues after reading it, I know I did.

9/10