POSTMASTERS #1 – Review

POSTMASTERS #1, from Source Point Press and Kickstarter on February 9th, 2022, imagines a post-pandemic world where the unvaccinated have mutated and a dwindling Postal Service delivers the mail to keep the last flickers of hope burning.

The Details

• Written By: Garrett Gunn, Christina Blanch
• Art By: Ruben Mocho
• Colors By: Ruben Mocho
• Letters By: Dave Lentz
• Cover Art By: Ruben Mocho
• Cover Price: $5 (digital pdf)
• Release date: February 9, 2022

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Was It Good?

POSTMASTERS #1 is the latest crowdfunded campaign published by Source Point Press from creators Garrett Gunn and Christina Blanch, writers of the Good Boy series.

Taking a “ripped from the headlines” approach to post-apocalyptic material, Gunn and Blanch borrow heavily from the setting and the themes of The Postman (1998) in a world where society is devolved into a frontier wilderness after the unvaccinated conspiracy theorists refused to listen to the science. If that description sounds like a lot of current year COVID rhetoric, you would be correct.

As reviewers, we get a lot of comics crossing our desks. Invariably, creators will tend to inject what they see on the news or social media into their creations with varying levels of success. The better comics take the elements of what creators see and hear and interweave them into something surprisingly original. The lesser comics hit you in the face with the creators’ opinions on the topic with all the subtlety and nuance of a fire hose on full blast. This comic is a fire hose on full blast to the face followed by a kick to the groin to make sure you get the point.

Again, we get a lot of comics arriving on our desks, and we try our level best to ignore what’s happening in the real world to give each comic a fair assessment, but admittedly, this one was tough.

The premise is not bad. Society has devolved after a pandemic. The worst of humanity’s flaws come to the surface as survival is the priority, and hope in a future worth living for is dwindling. A small but determined group of postmasters make their increasingly large rounds to keep a semblance of society going and maintain a sliver of hope for those they serve. Gunn and Blanch set the stage well by projecting the decay and desperation of the world. You can feel a sense of looming dread that whatever civility is left will soon disappear.

What’s not clear is exactly why society has fallen apart. The heavy-handed narration spells out how the unvaccinated have mutated along with the virus, but the mutations appear to be purely aesthetic. Unless ugliness precludes individuals from working, especially in a tech-focused world, the source of societal collapse isn’t spelled out very well.

This is also our first exposure to Ruben Mocho’s art. To say Mocho’s renderings show a heavy Manga influence would be a massive understatement. That’s not a bad thing as Mocho’s mangaka style maintains a mild Western influence for unique visuals that feel new and familiar at the same time. This is one of the better examples we’ve seen of a Western artist drawing from Manga’s influence without creating a poor copy of it.

Overall, this first issue looks great, especially if you’re a Manga fan. It has an interesting, post-apocalyptic premise, and if you can get past the incredibly heavy-handed COVID rhetoric, there’s a lot to like for fans of the “lone warrior of the wasteland” type of story.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

A pandemic has overrun the world. Early vaccine takers survive, leaving some with diminished lung health. Conspiracy theorists resist taking the vaccine, and the longer they resist, the more the virus mutates. Eventually, the unvaccinated mutate right along with the virus, sprouting deformed facial features.

Somehow, society collapses, as a result of the unvaccinated mutants, into something resembling frontier times. Traveling is done on foot and Internet communication is all but gone. The Postal Service continues to run and provide a small amount of connection between towns, villages, and safe zones. Postmasters are under constant threat from the unvaccinated and scavengers in the wilderness. This is the story of one such postmaster named 37.

One day, 37 is tasked with delivering a special letter. Given the way the letter is addressed and the distance to the delivery location from the mail depot, all the postmasters believe it’s a trap. However, the drive to do his duty compels 37 to get the letter delivered, no matter the risk.

We conclude the issue with a dangerous trek, a brutal encounter with scavengers, and the arrival of a very sharp ally.

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