The Silver Coin #4

The Silver Coin #4

Image Comics 2021

Written by Jeff Lemire

Illustrated & Lettered by Michael Walsh

Coloured by Michael Walsh & Toni Marie Griffin

The year is 2467, and the old world has been buried beneath the junk of a new civilization. From the trash, a scavenger discovers ancient treasure—a coin. The price it carries, however, is unimaginable.

!Comic House may have redefined the Anthology genre but THIS series has reinvented it altogether. One common thread, the coin, is the focus of each stand along story per issue and I love this. Short stories for me are a double edged sword, one I get into them they are over but at least a full issue story feels more complete to me and I like how they have that page to be one and done told. I love the innovative feeling this series brings to the anthology series and how the potential through it all is just incredibly well rendered. Give creators an outlet and let them run with it and you’ll see some of today’s finest storytelling because it’s passion and love that they have for it that shines trough. I think its great that we are seeing traditional takes being thrown out the window for new innovative and creative ideas that push the boundaries on what is familiar.

I am loving the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job fleshing out the characters. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story we are engaged in the story while being fascinated and slightly grossed out at the same time.

I have to say that I am enjoying how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge, grow and strengthen by the end of the issue. I love how regardless if the layers work with the main arc or not they all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved extremely well.

The interiors here are really very strong. The linework we see is clean, crisp and strong with its varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail work is fabulous. I love how we see the composition within the panels bringing us depth perception, a sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkable eye for storytelling. The colour work is interesting and well rendered. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is well done.

There are those series that come along and not only change how you see a series can be done but will also change the way think about how comics can be told. That we live i a time where creators are constantly pushing the boundaries of change in order to keep the medium fresh, interesting and exciting it is nice to see a story like this one come along that shows us how to do it all. I do like how we see the coin and the evolution of possessing it does or how it influences your actions.

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This story is incredibly well written and has dynamic characterisation with some great interiors that has a subtle creepiness that sneaks up on you and leaves you shivering.