Postal

Postal is an American comic book series created by Matt Hawkins, Bryan Hill, and Isaac Goodhart and published by Top Cow Productions, a partner studio of Image Comics. The first issue was released in February 2015 and new installments were released on a near-monthly basis until its conclusion at issue 25 in January 2018. The characters and setting were also part of a three-issue limited series, Eden's Fall, in the Fall of 2016. Two one-shot issues were published as an epilogue in February and March 2018. A second volume of the comic is planned for 2019. The series has been collected in seven soft cover volumes and a television adaptation is in development for Hulu. The story is set in Eden, Wyoming, a fictional town where ex-convicts secretly live together in peace. Residents must abide by the mayor's strict rules, and any crime is severely punished. Mark, the lead character, has Asperger syndrome and is both the mayor's son and the town's mail carrier. His violent father, who founded the town before being exiled from it, returns for revenge on Mark's mother and the town. As his parents struggle to influence him, Mark becomes more independent and assertive. When his mother triumphs over his father, she retires and Mark assumes her role in Eden. Postal debuted to mixed reviews from critics who found it to be contrived and predictable. As the series progressed, reviewers drew attention to the story's exploration of complicated moral issues. By its conclusion, both the writing and art were noted for their improvement. Publication history The concept behind Postal was created by Matt Hawkins, who is also the president of Top Cow Productions. He drew inspiration from television shows Northern Exposure, Twin Peaks, and True Detective. When Hawkins asked Bryan Hill to co-write the story, Hill accepted because he thought the quiet drama of the story would be challenging, saying that quiet drama does not come naturally to him. Hawkins based the lead character on his college roommate, a smart man with Aspergers whose behavior was mocked by other students. To ensure he wrote the condition authentically without being offensive, Hill researched the condition and spoke with people who have dealt with it. The two writers chose to work with Isaac Goodhart, who had won Top Cow's annual talent hunt contest in 2014, because of his artistic style. In a 2016 interview, Hill described Postal as "a Norman Rockwell painting, if there was blood in it."