The last issue of Postal that we received before this one finished very strong leaving us the thought that Mark can possibly be just as bad if not more dangerous than his mother and father. The way he handled the situation with Molly Schultz proved this point. With so many things happening in and around Eden that are putting the town’s safety and secrecy in jeopardy daily Laura is going to need all the help she can get. As readers we know what’s coming and that is a crossover between Postal, The Tithe,and Think Tank, which are all amazing books on their own. What will happen when you put all these great characters in the same story? I personally cannot wait to get my hands on that crossover! But before that we have issue 13 of Postal, which may be the best single issue of this book to date.

If you have been reading Postal since the beginning, you may or may not recognize Rowan, who back in that issue was being briefed by the Mayor about how the town of Eden works. Like everyone else in Eden Rowan has a past, he in particular has a past which includes being a white supremacist. During which time he killed a kid of color by dragging them behind his truck. While in jail the mother of the kid would visit him and constantly write to him to let him know that she forgave him. This in the long run had an effect on Rowan as he went as far as protecting a black man who was being attacked in the shower by other white inmates. Somehow that past has now caught up with Rowan in Eden, the group of supremacists know about Eden and also know that Rowan lives there. They go as far as to send Rowan his brother’s head in a box. A meeting is set up outside of town for them to meet with Rowan. Laura takes him to an armory and gets him ready. As he is attacked at a farmhouse outside of Eden, Rowan recites a letter that he is writing to the boy’s mother he killed. Not only apologizing for his actions but also expressing how that moment in his life has left him empty as he looks for a way to make it right. Rowan is almost killed but is saved by Laura, who says that since he is part of Eden she has to protect him as well. They proceed to send Abner six heads of the men that tried to kill Rowan and the message that Eden was ready to go to war.

One of the reasons I really enjoyed this issue is because it be great on its own. Meaning I can give this to a person who hasn’t ever read Postal and they could still enjoy it without feeling like you needed to read the rest (although I would hope they would). In a very limited amount of pages we are given Rowan’s life story and how he got to Eden and the consequences of his choices. This was one man who although still dangerous was able to come to the conclusion that his actions were wrong and now needed a way to correct them. Bryan Hill I feel is sort of underlining a lot of the social issues we are faced with today. Extreme situations have caused people to react in extreme ways and you can’t blame people for reacting toward their feelings of anger and especially fear. We are all free to do or say what we want about any situation, but what we are chained to are the consequences of such actions. Rowan now lives with guilt and looking for redemption due to the choices he made, whether it was the cruel killing of a young black, or brutal beat down of one of his own in the prison shower. Now his actions have brought Eden to declare war against Abner, we will have to wait and see how this all is going to affect Eden’s fall. One other note completely off topic, but I just wanted to point out how calm and collected Mark was when he received the Rowan’s brother’s head, and also while standing by the six heads at the end. Mark the last few issues has really gotten a lot darker and cannot wait to see more of him. Also at the back of the issue there is a preview for Eden’s Fall which puts Jimmy face to face with Laura. If you’ve enjoyed the stories by Bryan Hill and Matt Hawkins this is definitely a must.

Publisher: Top Cow Productions, Inc. / Image Comics

Writer: Bryan Hill

Artwork: Isaac Goodhart

Colors: K. Michael Russell