In “’Til Dawn,” an American GI in World War II faces his fear of killing enemy soldiers while keeping watch. The Silver Coin #12 is written by Stephanie Phillips, drawn and lettered by Michael Walsh, colored by Toni Marie Griffin and Walsh, with a backup story by Adam Gorham.
Mark Turetsky: The horror anthology format opens itself up to so many different types of stories. Here we’ve got something new to this series: a straight-up war story.
Ritesh Babu: Yes! I was surprised by that, in a rather pleasant way. The basic motif of the coin in infinitely varied settings and time periods provides the freedom to do pretty much anything. Which means we get a neat little period piece horror story set during war time in 1945.
Mark: And here’s the thing I need to ask: Is the coin really necessary in this story? I get that it’s the premise of the comic, but Phillips even posits a non-supernatural explanation for how this very thing could happen.
Ritesh: That’s a good question. While I was surprised and taken by the setup and the potential of how a Silver Coin story might play out in a war story context, I must say I was disappointed. It felt like one of those issues wherein it could’ve just been any war or horror story in general rather than a Silver Coin story. It doesn’t feel as engaged with the premise and the themes the book’s been finding new ways to explore on a regular basis. It’s the weakest installment by far for me. I wasn’t surprised at any point, and it felt pretty by the numbers, I’m afraid.
Mark: I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was disappointed by this. I enjoyed it for what it was: a very atmospheric war story. The art, as always, is that great mix of moody and expressive. And while it doesn’t connect too much thematically with the stories of the last arc or so, I think in terms of imagery it’s pulling from the same well. The eye trauma, the increasing intensity and blood. If this were just a one-off issue unrelated to The Silver Coin, I think I would still dig it.
Ritesh: Visually, it still absolutely delivers, yes. Walsh is as good as he’s ever been. I do adore that opening with the three vertical panels zooming in on the slowflake. That’s such a striking visual, as it leads us onto a bloody corpse. That’s a great first page. And in general, the book does nail the tone and visual sensibilities it’s known for, while also capturing the sense and spirit of how this kind of war tale should look and play. There’s never a moment where I went, “I don’t believe that” looking at what Walsh put down.
The thrill of the issue for me, definitely, is in seeing the visual cues and stylistic touches of the title smuggled into a war story.
Mark: I’ll also call out the great pacing to it. The way the second firefight overtakes the intensity and viscerality of the first one (which starts out pretty visceral and intense), and how that gives way to dawning realization at the climax, and the perfect calm of the final page, drenched in white snow. I’d call out the visual homage to The Shining, but it’s not so jarring that it feels at all out of place. I also appreciate that there isn’t even a hint here that The Coin caused the war. It’s a parasite. It takes advantage of the evil in the world.
Ritesh: Yeah, I’m glad there isn’t. That would really cheapen things, and I think the creative team understands that well enough. Any and all urban fantasy texts going “this very real, big and horrific event steeped in real history and politics actually happened because of our made-up genre magic nonsense” is never good. So definitely glad it went nowhere near that. It’s just a pure isolated small story of a person in a circumstance, and the horror is of the individual here, in these icy mountains.
Mark: Well, I’m looking forward to reconnecting with you next month, when Johnnie Christmas writes a story set during the Y2K panic. Do you remember Y2K, Ritesh?
Ritesh: Oooh, yes! I’m definitely curious and excited about that one. And I do not remember it as much as I’ve read about it, given I was too young at the time. But in any case, certainly looking forward to that next issue and what it brings!
Mark: It turns out that growing old is the real Silver Coin.
Mark Turetsky
Ritesh Babu is a comics history nut who spends far too much time writing about weird stuff and cosmic nonsense.
