The Silver Coin, Vol. 1

The Silver Coin #1-5

by Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson

The story starts with a failing rock band whose fortune changes overnight when they find the mysterious Silver Coin. Next, it helps handle some mean girls at sleep-away camp. Follow the curious token as it changes hands over centuries—from Puritan New England to the scavenged junklands of 2467—and discover how much pain a cursed coin can purchase.

Eisner-winning artist MICHAEL WALSH (Star Wars, Black Hammer/Justice League) teams with all-star collaborators—CHIP ZDARSKY (STILLWATER), KELLY THOMPSON (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), ED BRISSON (Old Man Logan), and JEFF LEMIRE (GIDEON FALLS)—on this new ONGOING horror anthology series for mature readers.

Collects THE SILVER COIN #1-5

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Short Stories, Fiction

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2021

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Silver Coin is a horror anthology series all about a cursed coin and the bad things what happen to people who come across it. A guitarist, a teen camper, a burglar, some futuristic person, and belt buckle-hat people. It’s also completely pants!

Michael Walsh draws the entire comic, as well as writes the terrible final part, and is joined by Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson, and Jeff Lemire - a who’s who of the worst writers currently in mainstream comics. None of the parts were any good - they were all utterly rubbish.

How does a rock guitarist suddenly make it in a disco band? It doesn’t make sense. Also, music in comics never comes across, so Zdarsky’s story completely failed to convince. And the ending was just arbitrary nonsense. Which also applies to Ed Brisson’s story where a burglar just happens to have the coin and is able to get the drop on coppers for no reason.

Kelly Thompson’s story of a bullied teen camper getting her revenge on her tormentors was so one-dimensional and unimaginative, which is also the case with Walsh’s story - essentially a weak derivation of Robert Eggers’ 2017 movie, The Witch. Ooo, you mean the cursed coin was cursed by a witch - a witch’s curse? Who could possibly have thought that up?!

Jeff Lemire’s story was probably the worst, which is saying something considering the low quality throughout. He can’t write good sci-fi but he keeps plugging away at the medium anyway. His story was total gibberish - something about someone running from someone else and a virus. Ugh. Whatever.

Apparently enough people bought this crap so there’s gonna be a second volume but I’m drawing the line after this garbage first book. The Silver Coin, Volume 1 is one helluva crummy horror anthology.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was crap. People in different time periods randomly find a cursed coin, get possessed and kill people. That's the story. Michael Walsh draws, colors, and letters each issue while a guest writer pens each issue. The first issue or two were hand lettered and it showed. They were difficult to read as I guess Walsh doesn't know how to use a ruler. Walsh writes the origin which is a complete ripoff of the movie, The Witch. I expect better from Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson and Jeff Lemire than this drivel.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 2 out of 5]

A horror anthology that has a cursed coin as its premise, but only two stories really make use of the coin as an object, in the others it's grafted on to the story and could've literally been any other object.

Only the first story really works, the others have no point to them - coin makes people go mad and kill other people. That's it. There's no twist, no surprise.

Really disappointing.

(Picked up an ARC through Edelweiss)

[A.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m honestly surprised how much people disliked this, I thought this would be terrible from what I have heard about it, but this was a fine enough horror anthology.

Didn’t blow me away or anything, but I didn’t feel like I wasted my time with it either. Also got both volumes for the price of one, so maybe that is influencing my opinion, but I really didn’t mind this. My main gripe is that the last issue feels like a rip-off of both The Witch and Fear Street 1666. I didn’t love Brisson’s story either, but Zdarsky, Thompson, and Lemire all had creepy and enjoyable tales. Gonna check out the second volume for sure.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all Anthology series, you get some good you get some bad.

The first two stories are the best in the volume. The first dealing with a Rocker who will do ANYTHING for fame. It's pretty brutal ending to a tale of greed. Second is about a girl who watches to many slasher films and when she goes to sleep away camp things go very bad for her. Those are the two best. The following two are the weakest, dealing with a bunch of people who steal and murder and you find out what really happens when they rely on a special coin like the rest of the people to get things. Jeff Lemire comes in with a tale of the future that's more confusing than good. Luckily last story is better and shows the origin of the Silver Coin.

Overall fun book for spooky tales, but not amazing. A 3 out of 5.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cursed coin wreaks havoc on those who find it in five stories that are set apart by decades and even centuries (from the 17th to the 25th). There actually isn't much imagination here, just an inevitable descent into gore over and over again.

[Whitney (The Cover Collector) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A silver coin traveling from person to person throughout time with the goal of fucking up lives...

I really enjoyed the first story about the guitarist, but the rest felt so random and just...not good. We did get a glimpse into the origin of the coin, but it felt unimportant. I feel like this is a series that wasn't expected to do well and then they decided to prolong when it did. The next arc tells me this is the truth since the original writers brought in new writers to freshen things up. Will this work or will they just rehash already stale ideas? Stay tuned for the next volume to find out! :/

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Silver Coin is a perfectly decent little horror anthology, all wrapped around a mysterious evil coin that bestows powers or madness on the individual holding it. There are few surprises here, just fun shocks and gore. The art is perfect for the stories being told - the stories themselves are perhaps too short and not quite connected enough. You can see the threads linking the stories, but the whole never emerges. Still, a fun, fast read.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are horror anthologies the only kind to be even a little memorable? I see a lot of them, few of them try to tie them all together like this, even if it is rather loose. Which does present them all with great display and anticipate what comes next.

I see a lot of writers attached to this like Lemire and Zdarsky and the quality I've come to respect is top notch. I mean there's a cyberpunk story from Lemire that's unlike anything I've ever seen from him. It feels like people are coming in to experiment with themes and genres they don't usually go into.

Hence why some issues stood out a few more than others. The opening Zdarksy story did that for me with the classic rock n roll Faustian tale with a little more emotional context than normal. It feels like the lead guitarist wants more out of his life by connecting in some way to his mother. I can only imagine what the titular Silver Coin did for and to her.

Then there's that Cyberpunk story by Lemire that was very similar in structure to Thompson's story; but for my bias his was better. There's a genuine moral ambiguity that's common in the best cyberpunk stories. And how people in this kind of world have already commodified their souls so what's a curse other than another augmentation to them? All of which leaves you wondering on what comes next.

Gotta say though, the origin of the MacGuffin is a familiar one. But that's the same with the other stories; the emotional context brings out the best in the familiar.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this horror anthology. There are some pretty heavy hitters lined up to pen these short stories so I was intrigued.

This kind of reminded me a bit of the 80's "Heavy Metal" cartoon movie where there is an ominous, cursed/sentient green glowing orb that messes with everybody it encounters through the ages. What a great movie wonder if it still holds up hahaha

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first of a new horror anthology of short stories that centers around a cursed silver coin and came recommended to me by staff at my favorite comic book store. Each story is written by a different author, although all the art was drawn by Michael Walsh and he also penned the last story.

The Ticket by Chip Zdarsky

In 1978 a rock band of three seems to catch a break when the guitarist discovers the coin and uses it as a guitar pick, making their music powerful. But at a concert, he is unable to stop playing and soon the bar with everyone inside goes up in flames. This was the best story of the five.

Girls of Summer by Kelly Thompson

A teen goes on a killing spree against the cruel girls in her summer camp cabin with an ax that has the coin embedded in it.

Death Rattle by Ed Brisson

Three delinquents in 1986 accidentally kill a retired fireman when they were robbing his cabin, and burn down his cabin afterward to hide the murder. But of course, things go wrong and the police are soon on their trail. The woman in the group suddenly has the coin, although I have no clue how she obtained it (perhaps during the robbery) and chaos ensues.

2467 by Jeff Lemire

The coin is still around in the far dystopian future and is discovered by a scavenger outside the city limits. There is a virus and non-corporeal beings- I’m confused.

Covenant by Michael Walsh

This last story that should have been the first- was about the coin’s origin. Set in the Pilgrim/Salem Witch Trial era, a healer is accused of witchcraft by a zealot. Angry at him and the friend who didn’t help her, she curses them both, and the coin begins its journey.

I liked that the artwork by Walsh was consistent, for he gave it a subdued and melancholy look that matched the tone of the stories. However, l feel like this collection was a fail. I believe it should have moved forward chronologically and a few of the stories made no sense. I question if I will look for volume two. (Actual review 2.5/5)

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual issue reviews: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5

Total review score: 2.85

[Todd Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this concept. Follow a cursed coin as it finds news owners over the years. Great read! One of the best graphic novels I’ve read this year.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOTE: I read this in the monthly single issues. “A curse needs to feed.”

The first time I heard about this title I had the impression that it was a horror story centered around a rock band. Wrong. That’s only the first issue.
This is an anthology of five separate stories centered around a mysterious silver coin and what happens to those who find it. First good luck, good fortune, and then . . . oh oh. Kind of like a new take on the classic Monkey’s Paw with a couple spins on that premise that make it seem original.

Issue #1: “The Ticket” by Chip Zdarsky and Michael Walsh (the rock band story) really didn’t impress me; it seemed to drag and felt padded. I decided to move onto something else. However, when I found the remaining issues in a bargain bin - that changed my mind. Glad I did. This is a good title that just got off to an uneven start.
The other unifying feature is that every issue is illustrated, colored and lettered by Michael Walsh, who does an extremely fine job (and doesn’t spare the blood). There’s also a crow who seems to be observing events in many of these stories.

Issue #2: “Girls of Summer” by Kelly Thompson. Mom gets upset when the night before summer camp begins she catches her daughter Fiona watching camp slasher movies, worrying about the nightmares it might cause. Fiona responds “or maybe it’s the cleverest. Because I’m learning all the tricks of how to stay alive!” in a little bit of foreshadowing that may indicate that Fiona will be a final girl. Sure enough, a cabin-full of stuck-up girls (who rejected Fiona) get to meet the slasher. The coin doesn’t show up until the final page, when it rolls away from the scene of the crime.

Issue #3: “Death Rattle” by Ed Brisson. A trio of home invaders/thieves cause their elderly victim to die of a heart attack. They attempt to cover things up and it just gets worse and worse from there, including a police chase. Lisa begins to hear voices in her head, and consults the coin in her possession (which features an opening eye) to learn what the fleeing trio should do next. They wander into the woods where they learn that others beings are aware of the coin and want to possess it.

Issue #4: “2467” by Jeff Lemire. That’s the year this takes place, in a futuristic society with law enforcement officers working at a computer station and letting armed drones do the dirty police work.
Another trio of thieves on the run-down outskirts of the city surround a victim, identity theft intended. The method of transferring data is inventive, and gross. When the trio flee from the drone, their leader falls down a canyon into a very old and abandoned cityscape where she happens upon the silver coin, and uses it to turn the tables. The oddest story in this collection.

Issue #5: Michael Walsh writes “Covenant” in addition to his neat artwork throughout this anthology. Rebekah Goode is a sometimes midwife, sometimes doctor and veterinarian and uses ancient spells to help and heal in a New England Puritanical village. A traveling witch-hunter coerces a local woman to betray Rebekah and rewards her with a silver coin. Upon her hanging, Rebekah curses the Judas coin, and that brings us full circle as bad things start to happen.

“For I must tell you all of a thing once cursed . . . It cannot die . . .It hungers for pain . . . It thirsts for the blood of the innocent and guilty alike. . . And that cursed thing . . . Will live forever . . .Nourished by nightmares.

That ends the first volume of the series. Fifteen issues in total have been published so far. FOUR AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.

[It's just Deano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was mostly a re-read for me with the exception of the final issue. I knew I'd be getting the trade paperback so I held off finishing the series until its release.

Straight off I'll let you know I'm a sucker for any horror anthology series! They give me those old 'Tales From The Crypt' vibes where you tune in every week for your spooky fix and The Silver Coin definitely plays right into that for me.

Not only is each issue a separate story, connected to the main plot by each characters ownership of a mysterious silver coin, but each story is created by a different writer also. This definitely keeps your attention when reading! One minute you're in a summer camp in the 1980s and the next you're years in the future. The visuals of Michael Walsh and the writing styles from each story to the next seem to blend and merge together, lending itself to a bit of a surreal feeling, which absolutely fits the book.

There's some great talent lending themselves to these stories also, including Chip Zdarsky and Jeff Lemire to name a couple. So, it's no surprise that both the art and the writing contained in this book are absolutely on point.

Overall, this is probably one of the more intriguing horror books I've read recently! The anthology element is handled really well and ties into a greater plot which is cleverly delivered. I think I read somewhere this was supposed to end after the initial six issues contained in this collected edition, but has now been extended. If this is true, I couldn't be happier and will most definitely be reading on. This is easily one of my favourite modern horror reads now!

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, this was fine. I like a lot of the creators involved and definitely vibed with the overall tone of the anthology. There's plenty of potential here, but not a lot is done with it, which is a bummer because Walsh is obviously passionate about the project, and his artwork is consistently strong. Some of the characters and facial expressions are a bit smudgy, but the coloring is steeped in pervasive shades of blue that set a consistent, unsettling mood, which I liked a lot.

All the stories are pretty standard horror fare, though, with only moments from a few of them actually leaving any impact on me. There are interesting settings and narrative wrinkles, but the stories range from "fine" to "boring," sometimes within the same issue. Zdarsky's story was creepy; Thompson's was cathartic but predictable; Brisson's had some of the best moments but a totally forgettable story; Lemire's was downright bad, and Walsh's "origin" story at the end was pretty unremarkable. It's apparent the writers love the horror genre, but instead of doing anything exciting with it, they retread tired tropes and never iterate on them.

This isn't a bad read, and I might pick up the second volume on sale at some point, but this gets a big "meh" from me. I'm giving it a 2.5, but I will round up to 3 because there are some very scary moments sprinkled in here that will stick with me, even if everything around them doesn't.

[Alex Sarll]

Five stories of Faustian bargains occasioned when blood is shed on a cursed coin. Normally an anthology series will either have entirely different creative teams each time, or one writer and rotating artists, but this flips that model; Michael Walsh draws everything, with an issue each scripted by Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson, and Jeff Lemire, before Walsh wraps up solo. Which makes a kind of sense, when you think about it: the world looks like the world, but the events which happen within it are more than could plausibly have been invented within a single head. I'm not convinced any of the stories are that remarkable in their own right; the first three take in such mainstays as the band whose guitarist thinks they deserve better, the trip to summer camp, and the burglary gone wrong. We're further afield when it comes to a dystopian future in Lemire's issue, but it still feels a lot like deleted scenes from Gideon Falls spiced with a little Judge Dredd; Walsh's origin story is so recent as to limit the future possibilities, while drawing well within the lines of another horror subgenre. Plus, I'm too big a Marguerite Yourcenar fan to have a vacancy for a favourite series of stories linked by a single coin. But the art does make it work on the page as nice little doses of creepiness.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Matty Dub · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I subbed to this, it was a five issue mini. Now with issue #5 closing the arc out I find out it’s been upgraded to an ongoing with the upcoming second arc featuring a whole new host of amazing writers.

I. Could. Not. Be. Happier!!!!

The gist is this cursed coin causes all sorts of fuckery to whomever holds it and this book chronicles that jumping along the timeline to show you chapters in the coin’s history and the havoc its evil unleashed upon its bearers.

This arc had chapters written Zdarsky, Brisson, K. Thompson and Lemire with the finale (and best issue) being written by the series’ artist and creator Michael Walsh.

With those names attached there was some hype to this book and the hype was real, this surpassed my expectation by a country mile, I will be rereading these issues many times… it’s a great concept and story! It’s creepy and scary and awesome!

Next arc will feature chapters by Vita Ayala, Matthew Rosenberg, Joshua Williamson, I assume Walsh and my current favorite scribe, Ram V!!!

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to horror comics, no matter what scary ideas that writers can come up with, the key to getting the chills when reading horror through sequential art is the art itself. Horror, in many forms, should be defined by imagery that should stick with you, even if you’re trying to sleep. Comics like Infidel and Blue in Green, both of which published by Image, have art styles that lean into abstract imagery, taking situations we are familiar with and leading them to a horrific, surreal conclusion. That’s what’s at the core of The Silver Coin, a horror anthology that is entirely drawn by Michael Walsh. With a different writer tackling each of the five issues, we see the eponymous cursed coin travel over the ages and how its influence plagued the lives of numerous people.

Please click here for my full review.

[Pedro Gomes · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the graphic novel I was content. It wasn’t great and it truly didn’t seem as bad as other folks described. I found the premise of a silver coin chaining the stories together an interesting one- but maybe because each issue was a contained story you were limited by the page numbers and the stories couldn’t breathe. I did like how the first story the coin is found by a fire fighter and then in the burglary issue it was gotten at the retired fire fighters home. Most of the stories result in the coin immediately causing issues- but it looks like that guy had it for a while.

I guess it boils down to the fact it could have benefited from some rules. Like using it as a guitar pic- it didn’t possess him to murder people- it just started a fire. But in two of the stories it possesses.

Like I said- nothing extremely cohesive or awe inspiring, but I was entertained and appreciated what they were trying to do. Let’s hope they tighten it up a bit for the next arc.

[Valéria. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silver Coin vám nedá poriadne nič originálne, v každom príbehu si nájdete niečo, čo už niekde bolo. To však nič nemení na tom, že sú tie jednotlivé príbehy dobre a zaujímavo napísané, element spájajúci ich je veľmi dobre použitý a Walshova kresba ako ďalšia konzistentnia vo všetkých len pridáva na kvalite. Nečakala som, že príbeh z budúcnosti od Jeffa Lemira ma bude baviť najmenej, ale stalo. Napriek tomu, fakt som z prvých 5 zošitov takmer nadšená a teším sa, že pokračovanie dostalo zelenú so zaujímavými menami ako Joshua Williamson či Ram V. 4,5/5

[Chris Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A series of random short stories about a cursed coin that makes people go mad. I enjoyed the first story about a guitarist who suddenly plays like a star after finding the coin. It’s actually about something - how fane and success can make you a monster. The only other story that somewhat works is the last one, but it feels too much of a mix between The Witch, The Crucible, and the third Fear Street movie.

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some pretty underwhelming, non-horrific "horror" stories all linked by a cursed coin. This was surprisingly bad, considering the talent on display...

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

A musician who goes down the tired road of selling his soul to the devil, when he kind-of inherits a token of ancient hoodoo, is our introduction to the silver coin of this book's title. It's a very decent start to the anthology, however much the plot toys with cliche. Next, more cliches, with the girl camp killer getting inspired by the coin, which is by now embedded in a hatchet. We also realise there is a crow with a two-lettered warning "No" in common with both stories.

Part three of the five we get here, however, is a dud. Token girl with token guys who end up in the token-burglary-attempt-but-the-victim-dies-on-them goes vampire zombie – but still comes out of it a lot worse than anyone deserves, in a story with very little in the way of actual, you know, narrative cause and effect. Also, the crow seeming to act on the coin's behalf really doesn't make sense in the light of the first two one-shots.

Dud number two is from Jeff Lemire, which is certainly not the norm I recognise. Future-thief-woman absorbs the power of the coin, which her nanotech thingy calls a virus, and all it really is is an excuse for the artist (the same one we've had throughout) to draw worms coming out of living people's eye-sockets. Nom. I will try and say the least about the end, origins episode – it just felt simple, pat, and not really a surprise.

All told, I was honestly forced to revisit the earlier two issues, and see why I liked them so. I mean, they were never perfect, by a long chalk, and yes, they certainly riffed on the tried and tested. Seen individually they seemed fine as individual slices of horror comic. But with all five of them together you really can see a hefty amount of recycling going on, and not a lot that is original or clever at all. And the whole story, of this accursed coin, is a bit doolally – these are snapshots from its existence, so who sits around with a lethal, bedevilled coin and carves a slot for it in a hatchet in the first place, when other people have their comeuppance within moments?

Clever and bravura is the pitch saying "we have fifty stories to cover this coin's whole life from Year X to now, and you're going to love them all and print them all." The pitch of this seems to have been more "well, there's a baddy coin, and we're going to dabble about in its history willy-nilly, and just pick and choose, and contradict ourselves whenever the heck we like, and make no sense when we want."

Read this by all means, for the limited fun it provides, but by the finish if you haven't realised there is a much, much better version of this title in an alternative universe, you better check your pocket change.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great concept, amazing team...kind of so-so execution?

I've been wanting to get my hands on The Silver Coin since Image Comics used a really good, curiosity-provoking teaser concept on Instagram to introduce it to the world—not giving us much information other than revealing the creatives behind the series one at a time. After a lot of build-up, they finally divulged that the comic would be a horror anthology series, with each issue penned by a different writer. The comic would tell the story of a creepy af silver coin and the people who come across it at different times. Cool, right? Read on.

We start in 1978. A guitarist comes across the coin in a box of of things his mother left behind when she left the family (though, one quickly realizes, she probably didn't so much leave as meet a terrible end). When the musician uses the coin as a pick, he becomes a stellar guitarist...and his once floundering band soon gains the popularity they've craved. BUT. Obviously this comes at a cost. A horrifying, bloody one, it turns out. This coin wants vengeance and spilled blood and doesn't care who it has to use to get it.

The vibe of the book was very unsettling, one can credit artist Michael Walsh for that, but the story was uneven. I was so looking forward to Kelly Thompson's installment (set in what one can presume is the early nineties—judging from the Nirvana and The Lost Boys posters featured on the walls of the main character's bedroom...it is the only issue—save for the last one, which offers us the story of the coin's provenience—that doesn't specifically say what year it is, something that irritated the perfectionist in me, for sure), but thought it was just okay. Particularly disappointing was Jeff Lemire's issue. I love me some Jeff Lemire, but I thought this story was kind of a dud. My only thought is that maybe the character and the world-of-the-future she lives in is revisited by a different writer in Volume 2? I don't know. I don't know that I'll even be picking up the second volume, to be honest.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not all that great. As with any collection of stories, some can be good while others are not. The art was all done by Walsh but I am not a big fan of it. The camp killer story and the witch hunt one were the best ones. The sci-fi one made zero sense to me and the other two were forgettable. Some of the gore was fun. This is one of those times when the public library saves the day. Didn't have to spend a dime and will read the other two volumes to see if there are some gems in there.

[Robbie McPhee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issue #1: The Ticket - 3 Stars
Issue #2: Girls of Summer - 3.5 Stars
Issue #3: Death Rattle - 2.5 Stars
Issue #4: 2467 - 1.5 Stars
Issue #5: Covenant - 4 Stars

Really interested to see where this goes in future volumes.

[Deanna Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leaning towards a 3.5 on this probably. I didn’t care for 2467 much, but since it’s an anthology, it was still enjoyable overall. Love the concept of the coin as the through line in each story.

[Lauren]

Read the single issues of this one. Excellent collection of horror comics about a cursed coin. Every issue brought something new to the overarching story of the coin while being completely unique stories. Very excited this is going to have a second volume.

[Clint · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
This is fine but underwhelming for what it feels like it could have been. Walsh’s art looks nice and spooky, though I wish it had less of a washed out and static-y effect. The anthology stories pull from different stock horror premises (aspiring musician sells out supernaturally, summer camp slayer, petty crime gone wrong, cyberpunk body horror, Puritan witch hunt) but overall they feel like less than the sum of their parts.

The stories are also frustratingly sequenced as if the world building tying each story to the others is a worthwhile mystery leading to a big reveal, but then the finale is straight-forward and obvious. If the final issue had been first instead, its traces could be coherently seen in the other issues, which feels like it would have be more entertaining and also avoid implying there was any big payoff coming.