Even in Salem in the time of the witch trials, a curse needs to feed… Your Major Spoilers review of The Silver Coin #5 from Image Comics awaits!
THE SILVER COIN #5
Writer: Michael Walsh
Artist: Michael Walsh with Gavin Fullerton
Colorist: Michael Walsh with Toni Marie Griffin
Letterer: Michael Walsh
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 11, 2021
Previously in The Silver Coin: This time around, the story reaches back to when the coin’s cruel curse was first minted. In a small New England village, a woman has been accused of witchcraft…
A COVENANT
The place is New England. The year is unknown. Rebekah Goode, a local medicine woman, oversees the delivery of a child who is sadly stillborn. As she leaves, her friend Martha arrives, begging for her help with a sick goat. Rebekah provides her with a paste to aid the goat’s infected eye, and agrees against her instincts to ward the creature with magic. Not long after, Cotton Dudley rides into town, intent on punishing a witch, even buying off witnesses with his silver coins. When Martha agrees that Rebekah uses “dark magic,” Miss Goode is hanged for the crime of witchcraft, but as she faces the crowd, she sees Martha and the coin that bought her testimony. “I curse it,” she intones, “Let it bring you horrors unimaginable.”
And then, that absolutely happens.
LOVING THIS ART
The biggest news of this issue is the announcement that The Silver Coin #5 isn’t the penultimate issue that it was solicited to be, as the book has become an ongoing series, and I couldn’t be happier. The five issues we’ve had have each been unique little poison pills, and even with this issue’s reveal of how the titular coin gained its curse, there’s still a lot of mystery to be had and ground to cover. This issue’s story is remarkably simple, but it builds the tension effectively, and teamed with some horrifying art, makes a truly impressive reading experience. The art is also very well-done, reminding me a bit of Tyler Crook and David Aja, but providing a truly shocking on-panel impalement, some body horror that will keep me from sleeping any time soon and at least one powerful kick from a horse.
BOTTOM LINE: HORRORS UNIMAGINABLE
To break it all down, I’m glad that The Silver Coin #5 is now part of an ongoing series, as Walsh and company have created a book that is versatile in its scariness and is like nothing else on the stands, with strong art and interesting stories earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. I can’t wait to see what Ram V, Vita Ayala and Josh Williamson have in store for us in coming issues.
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THE SILVER COIN #5
This issue feels like an avalanche, starting slow, then burying us all in overwhelming horror, with some well-drawn body horror that I don't want to talk about.
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Writing8
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Art9
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Coloring8
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.