The Silver Coin #15 // Review
There have been many who have been pulled into the dark gravity of a single cursed disc of metal. Fourteen stories have been told before. Now writer/artist Michael Walsh dives into a deeper look at the nature of the disc as he brings The Silver Coin to its fifteenth and final issue (for now). Walsh is assisted in color by Toni Marie Griffin, but for the most part, this is Walsh sending off the series with a dramatically dark and surreal look at someone who has spent a great deal of time with the cursed coin and had his life warped in the process.
Louis had gotten the coin in the smoking remains of a house that had burned to the ground. It spoke to him. Called him by name. Now it’s visiting him with dark visions and darker words. Anyone who knows horror knows to stay the hell away from this type of thing, but Louis accepted it into his life and became consumed by it. Anyone who knows horror knows how this is going to end. It’s not going to be pretty. It’s going to go through some very, very dark nightmare territory before it gets there.
Walsh ties up the series with a big conclusion that might feel like a bit of a largely dissociated rush of nightmare imagery for those who aren’t familiar with much of the rest of the series. The anthology format for most of the series had featured stand-alone stories that fit really sharply into a larger format. The attempt to wrap up everything at this stage feels just a little rushed. And without the resonance of a single, coherent build-up and conclusion, the fifteenth issue isn’t nearly as compelling a narrative as much of the rest of the series.
Walsh’s visuals are remarkably clear in the fifteenth issue. Given the opportunity to pace his own story, Walsh manages some striking moments with the layout that make for a gorgeously grotesque experience. There’s a strong feeling of Cronenbergian horror filtering through the nightmare that Louis is living. There’s a particularly terrifyingly surreal moment that takes place as Louis walks through the familiar backdrop of a Home Depot. Throughout the chapter, Louis’s face is drawn in stern, heavy shadow. He’s overcome with darkness and views the world through the mask of the flesh. Sometimes horror rests in a shadowed face. Sometimes it explodes off the page.
Fifteen issues. That’s all that the Silver Coin has for now. It’s had some very powerful moments in the course of its run. It’s disappointing to see the coin roll into a spin and fall on its back for an indefinite period of time. The coin is patient, though. It could be picked up again next year. Or maybe a couple of years from now. The eye of the coin blinks. Perhaps there’s some satisfaction in that eye. Maybe it’s somewhat aware that it’s found a bit of an iconic place on the comics page.
