Have you seen a crappy comic around here? It's about this big... black hair...
NOTE: As with last week's, I had to upload a new version of the episode and, as a result, your first attempt or so to play the episode may result in a false error where it says there isn't a playable file for it. Just try again when you can, or try to download the FLV file directly from the main blip link itself.
It's times like this I'm glad i don't have the comic your reviewing. Otherwise I might be tempted to kill my self via the death of a thousand paper cuts!
ReplyDeleteHas the writer of this pointless, and plotless, pile of shite ever heard of Chekhov's gun or indeed his phaser? The idea that to use something later in the story you must introduce it at the beginning. The trick with plot twists is using that gun in a different way, or the cliché that there's is no bullets and the charter is forced to use it someway else.
There is no such forethought or logic here. It's just random plot points fired at the reader as if from a blunderbuss. Scattered, aimless and with all the subtly suggested when firing one loaded with broken bricks.
The art is so unimaginably bad I'm panel beating my head with a rusty frying pan just trying to make sense of it. There's no backgrounds or consistency, often throwing new art styles and random colour from nowhere. Degenerating the whole thing into a smudged mess of vaguely defined shapes. I get the feeling the Artist is so far up his owe backside trying to make it avant-guard he's practically inside out. As such its a perfect fit for the "story" and I mean those quote marks and all the over used cliche's implied.
Random references to Schrodinger's Cat, Nietzsche, umpteen different philosophies, Lovecraft and even Evil Dead are all thrown in to try and market this as a "highbrow high concept horror graphic novel". I doubt anyone involved in this crap did anything than read a few Wiki enteries, said that was cool and threw the whole lot in a broken blender.
Let's see how the final part measurers up to the rest and then I can give another one of my overly wordy rambles, thinly disguised as an opinion.
Thomas
AKA mountain King
PS "Kill him just like you killed her" nice tease, but if you really were going for a Silent Hill feel the Flute would have blood on it when Linkara wasn't looking.
I don't even know what's going on in this mess anymore. How are you even able to write this when it's basically random stuff happens that makes no sense. It's like the 3rd season of Heroes only stupider. Well, at least no one will be telling you how a cat can be both alive and dead at the same time this week.
ReplyDeleteIntresting story. I like how you brought in the delusional cameos of Mechakara and the Nostalgia Critic. Also, I'm kinda wondering who you apperently killed, if the dimensia is to be believed. Does it have something to do with the opening narations we've been hearing? Is it why we haven't seen Goggles in quite some time? Why do kids like Cinnemon Toast Crunch? Well, I'm sure all will be revieled next week.
When you mention Mike Myers having no voice, he does now thanks to the horrible Rob Zombie sequel.
ReplyDeleteOther than that nice review.
What? How? How does anything in these books come together in any cohesive and coherent structure?! HOW THE HELL DOES ANY OF THIS MAKE SENSE?! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO CONFUSING?!! GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!
ReplyDelete*dies from brain aneurysm*
His appearance changing to closer resemble that of the vision after starting to fire at the monsters does make a bit sense.
ReplyDeleteThe witch is trying to make him into a psychotic killer.
By attacking the monsters he is acting on his aggressive impulses which brings him closer to what she intends him to become.
Similar to how in Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 0rigins aggressive game-play (acting out of your violent impulses) brings you closer to the bad ending.
Also, I don't think a normal crazy person would do the job.
People are used to those.
However a celebrity going out onto a murderous rampage would bring a much stronger response, and who knows how his fans could react
(seriously, some fans are really messed-up)
You are a fool to believe a simple ventilator can protect you from the powers of Silent Hill!
ReplyDeleteSubmit!
wow Linkara you can be really creepy when you want to. I hope you get out of Silent Hill safely or at least get the UFO ending.
ReplyDeleteI really hate these comics. Every single panel you posted from the previous issues had at least one "fuck" or "shit" in it somewhere. Hey, morons: CURSING IS NOT SCARY. There might've been a swear word literally once or twice in the ENTIRE SILENT HILL GAME SERIES.
ReplyDelete"I really hate these comics. Every single panel you posted from the previous issues had at least one "fuck" or "shit" in it somewhere. Hey, morons: CURSING IS NOT SCARY. There might've been a swear word literally once or twice in the ENTIRE SILENT HILL GAME SERIES."
ReplyDeleteI take it you haven't played Homecoming, then? XD
I have to admit I can't stand Silent Hill, I don't know why. But personal preferences aside you do solid reviews. But I can't wait until your over Silent Hill and review some other horror comics in the upcoming years.
ReplyDeleteAt the start when you're talking to Mechakara you're both facing left; it made me think you were looking away from him until you tried to lunge at him...
ReplyDeleteAnd the little hand fan blowing away the silent hill mist made me crack up..
is it wrong that i'm now watching your show more for your plot arks instead of the reviews (which are awesome BTW)
ReplyDeleteohhh and is the magic gun really an instrument of evil birthed from the destruction and suffering of innocence?
This was one of the best episodes I've seen in awhile. I can't wait to see how you top it in the upcoming weeks. :D
ReplyDeleteAlso, the plot of the bad guys is to have the horror of Silent Hill "knifed into the nightmares" of everyone in the world? Heck, Silent Hill 2 has already done that for those of us who have played it. Unexpected radio static alone scares me far more than this comic ever could hope to manage.
Wait, doesn't the siren call a world that's grotesque and nightmarish not the world made of fog? And what, did Linkara kill Liz or something?
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain about the uploading problems. I had to delete and re-post the last episode of my own show last week. Maybe this means the problem wasn't on my end.
ReplyDeleteI loved the imagery.
ReplyDeleteStanding on a wall looking over an ocean of apathy.
That was much better then the "horrific imagery" that did not seem to have much to tie back to reality.
(Yes. I know I used a sentence fragment.)
An I thought the movie was (bleeped) up!
ReplyDeleteWow that issues, suddenly had color. Not great color but considering the rest seemed to shades of brown and beige it surprised me. Very much reminded me of the 2011 Mediocrity ad campaign.
ReplyDeleteI remember their being some sort of small group of fans for this series of comics when I worked at the comic shop but now I got to wonder what is wrong with them.
Perhaps if the artwork weren't so muddled and incomprehensible, the characters wouldn't have to explain everything at ridiculous lengths for the reader to even begin to understand what's going on?
ReplyDelete...I would totally read a Silent Hill/Nightmare on Elm Street crossover.
*raises hand*
ReplyDeleteYeah, question? What does this have to do with Silent Hill?
No, I'm quite serious. What does this have to do with the game series made by Konami?
If they had sold this as a graphic novel based on 1975 exploitation movie, "Terror Master" (where a pair of demon sisters drag people's souls into a nightmare realm while their bodies rise up and kill), then I would believe it.
But this?
You might as well create a comic about Jaws....in the year 3007...in SPACE.
SILENT HILL KNOWS WERE YOU LIVE SILENT HILL WANTS YOU TO COME AND PLAY WITH IT FOR EVER EVER AND EVER (great now Ive lost my mind to ill go send the dogs to find it in the mean while redrum)
ReplyDeleteBy pointing the lack of humanity in the monster - the void who serve as voice, as face, as identity - you pointed by the same movement that not only the author don't know shit about silent hill or horror, but also Lovecraft; a rare creature in his folklore, still one of the most frightening he created, because she was born from his nightmare, the nightgaunt, is the perfect description of what you said; never she talk, never she express herself, because she has no voice, because she has no face.
ReplyDeleteThe nightgaunt is the perfect representation of what is the lovecraftian horror; a alien intelligence without voice or logical behaviour - indescribable to ours mind, ignorants to ours souls - something that should not
be and yet exist. Only madness can come from the nothingness they represents, only decadence could be the language they use. No mind can grasp the form they use, no soul can see the horror, because the horror is precisely their lack.
I found rather funny, for a author who try so much to connect his story to a lovecraftian feel, can't actually do understand the basis. By being so much idiotic, he ruin not only the silent hill universe, but by the same stupidity the lovecraft one. If he created his own universe this could be excusable, he would have created his own rules, but instead he try to smash two universes(who actually have many similarities), but without understanding any of them.
The importance is not even the fact he has done a bad translation of silent hill into a comic book, after all good adaptation are not always faithful(Shinning the movie is a bad adaptation, but also a terrific movie, which is not the case of the series who is more faithful to the book). The problem is more simple, and if I can borrow your line, that comic book suck! Being that bad is really a insult to silent hill, to Lovecraft.
I'm not sure if this is a testament to how awesome you are or how plain awful the comic is(I'm voting for both), but your plot throughout these reviews is way creepier than the comic.
ReplyDeleteCall me Crazy, but I actually saw the Lenora being Layren angle coming. If I am right, Lenora came about when Layren lost control of her powers and Whatley and the Order made Lenora as an alternate personality to make Silent Hill something they can control through her. It makes sense in a warped way, and it also explains why all the monsters talk, Lenora is turning Silent Hill into Disney World.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I am enjoying the story being told at the beginning of these reviews. I think I know where this is going, but won't say anything that might spoil the surprise. Can't wait for next week.
Hmm let's see, need to write a comic based on a series that relies heavily on isolation, improvised weaponry, unreliable and cryptic information from the few other humans one meets, and connecting the dots through clues found in strange places...
ReplyDeleteI KNOW! I shall make a story where people are always hanging around each other and chattering, exposition dumps litter the pages, and all the main characters have access to powerful weaponry!
I AM THE BEST SILENT HILL WRITER EVER!!!
(*weeps*)
Can we just edit the comic down to all the scenes with Bear? I've tried imagining the narration spoken by Vincent Price, but "Thriller" is still more frightening than this comic and hella a lot more entertaining.
ReplyDeleteLove the monologue at the beginning and the plot you have going on. Please don't kill Poyo!
How? How does he write pages and pages of clumsy pretentious monologues and get it published? Is that even what I mean? I don't know, this comic has made me that angry.
ReplyDeleteI almost wish I could follow this plot, but I'm not sure how much it would help. The art continues to underwhelm. Where did that burst of color come from in issue 4, anyway?
A standing ovation for the tiny fan! You think of everything.
Wow! So much text and so crappy -- I thought it was the Warrior's version of Silent Hill. I am enjoying the creepy you are bringing to the show, Linkara. It was giving me chills..... Thanks for all the hard work.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned a curvy looking soul stealing blade yet completely missed the opportunity to make a Legacy of Kain reference? I don't know if I should be disappointed in you for not making it or ashamed of myself for knowing something that has apparently become too obscure.
ReplyDeleteThose bastards, how dare they bring a soul reaver in the form of a knife into this crappy comic
ReplyDeleteis it just me or is your dragon dagger look a little beat up? I mean part of it looks bent and the blade looks like (if it was really metal) smashed up against a block of adamantium for an hour
ReplyDeleteYogurt
ReplyDelete"You might as well create a comic about Jaws....in the year 3007...in SPACE."
That could be TOTALLY AWESOME!!!.....If done right
*snorts LSD*
ReplyDeleteWoh.... this comic makes PERFECT sense!
What doesn't make sense is the talking dog who is stealing my luggage. COME BACK, POOCHI!!!!!!
Rats! They ran off with the color pine. Oh well.. I'll be back on later when the smells aren't so loud.
E. Wilson:
ReplyDelete"Perhaps if the artwork weren't so muddled and incomprehensible, the characters wouldn't have to explain everything at ridiculous lengths for the reader to even begin to understand what's going on?"
The sad thing is, most comics are made with the script written first, THEN the art, so this doesn't even have THAT excuse.
I suppose it's possible it got done Marvel style, with the writer coming back in and adding stuff afterwards, but I doubt it. Especially since a good deal of the expodump is for scenes that never occurred or things that aren't usually visual.
tl;dr: It's just terrible writing that happens to be paired with terrible art.
This comic is so bad I'm getting a headache from listening to your review! (Now that's bad!) Methinks the writer and artist should both be hanged for such an insult to Silent Hill.
ReplyDeleteLinkara! I don't wanna troll about it, since I'm a big fan of Silent Hill and played all games except for Origins and Shattered Memories, but I think that you're steping too much on spoiler territories... maybe some of the people who watch the show hadn't played Silent Hill and will try to do this after your review... and by showing the monster artbook and talking about Vincent's speech on the end of the game you're spoiling too much for anyone who's going to play Silent Hill 3.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, nice reviews... I really hate this comics, since they, like you said, don't like SH anyhow, and even if at least were a good story, but, after all, it's just crap. Although I have to agree that SH is technicaly better, my favorite one is SH 3 since one of the themes is revenge, one of my favorite themes of all... I like to see how vengence changes people, making them loose not only their inocence, but also their morals and how it blinds them.
Real quick- just want to say I've been watching since the Super-Pro review...
ReplyDeleteI had that comic many times over during my childhood comic reading days. I swear every time I finally got rid of the damn thing something else I'd get would COME WITH IT! (collectors packs, freebies from ordering through catalogs in the mail, friends giving copies BACK to me all mad that I tricked them into thinking it was kewl because Spider-Man was in it, Sears Catalogue ordered birthday presents...)
I saw your review that day and thought: Someone else knows of my pain!!! Damn Super-Pro.
I've never commented before, but I felt compelled to now... Nothing bad, just, I get it; the art is not that good. But I don't feel it's quite as bad as you insist. It's heavily stylized art and far from brilliantly so...
But I'd have to think we've seen PLENTY worse.
I think you may be a tad bias in your hatred of it- because you hate this series SO much you want to hate on every aspect of it equally, but does the art really deserve it?
And what I was wondering is; because you so vocally loath his art- do you loath all forms of stylized art in this particular vein (with water-colours, mixed-media, heavy or scratchy inks etc...) like Ben Templesmith, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Sam Keith's works?
-The latter two are some of my favorite artists of all time.
I can see this particular artist is just trying to emulate this style- coming off as a kind of poor-man's Templesmith in the process, but I just wanted to know if it's HIS art you hate so much or does that opinion extend to everyone he's obviously taken inspiration from as well?
Anyways, keep 'em coming... I do always watch- even if it's about something I have no interest in like Silent Hill, it's still worth it for anything else you talk about during...
-Take care!
So, a little girl was used to create a powerful weapon? And Linkara is having flashes of said girl when he takes out his magic gun? That must mean...that weapon created by the girl's soul is...the Battlizer!
ReplyDeleteOK, in all seriousness, wow, was that comic bad. Horrible artwork that hurts to look at and a stupid story that makes no sense. I'll admit, I haven't played the games, and I don't know much about them, besides some general info, but sheesh. What kind of a plan is it to take a Hollywood actor and make him into a killer? How will that put the images of Silent Hill into people's nightmares, or whatever the plan was? Sure, people would probably be shocked and confused...but that doesn't guarantee fear of Silent Hill itself!
"I can see this particular artist is just trying to emulate this style- coming off as a kind of poor-man's Templesmith in the process, but I just wanted to know if it's HIS art you hate so much or does that opinion extend to everyone he's obviously taken inspiration from as well?"
ReplyDeleteIn the end, if I can't follow the sequential art, if it interferes in my ability to comprehend what's going on, then the artist is failing. The lack of backgrounds does not come off like they're being stylistic, but rather lazy. There's no exact character models for people to follow, and in the final issue they start copy-pasting a pose here and there from previous issues. I don't mean they recreate it, I mean it's dead on the exact same damn thing but colored slightly different.
This art is not good for this story. Maybe it's better for some other story, but I call it as I see it.
I get that, I do...
ReplyDeleteI can totally see your point, especially about the changing character models and reused poses. Like I said, it's not the best art ever...
I also noticed some of that blocky-shading is very Mike Mignolia-esque in those last issues, so again I have to ask: Do you like that kind of stylized art, by any of the aforementioned artists, particularly?
Are they better sequentially for you? Or do you not care for those aspects in your comic-book art at all?
It seems you prefer a very straight-forward art style, and there nothing at all wrong with that- I'm just wondering about your overall preference...
Like, off the top of your head; is there any comic you can think of that's by or in a similar style to the artists I mentioned that DID work for you? Some basis of comparison for Works Vs. Does Not Work?
Awesome, man. -Thanks for replying.
I think I understand how the writing was done in this game, drunken craps.
ReplyDelete(works for me anyway)
Still, nice work. and the aside on horror. And as far as the art, I feel like someone looked at Ashley Wood and Jason Pollack(sp) while huffing paint and listening to the FATAL theme......
ugh, I need mindbleach.
~The Monk
Well... You haven't gone as far off the deep end as I expected you to, but that's fine. I laughed quite a bit during your chat with the Critic, particularly when you set off his berserk button and it worked, not necessarily guaranteed with a figment of one's imagination I would think. Those quick flashes were very odd, of course I expect they are part of Vyce's and Mechakara's plan for you.
ReplyDeleteThis... Comic story... is getting harder to follow with each outing, but at least I can still see what's happening. The colouring got really lazy for #3, on the same level as Dying Inside, though. Four was an improvement due to actually using more than 4-5 colours. It's still not overly good, and 3 seemed like the artist was phoning it in on that one since nobody looked the same as they did in #1 & #2. Four looked slightly better, but I'd attribute that to the colours and little else.
I had trouble keeping track of these characters just watching your review. It must have been like homework making sense of this story.
ReplyDeleteWell Linkara, as someone who has just started video blogging, I've got to say I appreciate all the hard work you go to. It is not as easy as it appears.
ReplyDeleteAnd again, I wonder how a comic with so little to do with Silent Hill was able to get Silent Hill branding.
If I hadn't already been driven mad by years of GMing and the fact that I've played in games involving Mr. Welsh* (including a 7th Sea game HE RAN), the juxtaposition of such a poorly put together, poorly written, aimlessly drawn, suspense-free, nigh-plotless insult to not just sequential art, but storytelling as a whole with a masterfully written and edited, genuinely interesting, and otherwise excellent review of said material would likely do the job.
ReplyDeleteNot one prone to saying this, but so far, this month's Silent Hill (In Name Only) reviews are quite possibly your best yet. Keep up the good work, wearer of the most awesome of hats!
P.S.: And an additional mountain of kudos for the "Ocean of Apathy" speech and providing the world (well, your loyal fans, anyway) with a proper sample of GOOD suspenseful horror.
BEAR WILL LIVE (we hope?)
ReplyDeleteAnd the plot thickens on the storyline, who is the 'her', and why are the halucinations getting more insulting and accusitory?
Too bad October is only four Tuesdays long...
Great review. Nice little rant in the middle there. Why is it that some punk reviewer, whose had little real interaction with Silent Hill series as a whole, and a staunch refusal to swear*, has a better understanding of Silent Hill and the type of horror it's meant to evoke than the jackass who GOT THE RIGHTS FROM KONAMI TO MAKE A SILENT HILL COMIC?!? Kind of sad when you think about it.
ReplyDelete*Nothing personal Link, you know I love you, just putting things into perspective.
I don't really understand your confusion about Christabella
ReplyDeleteShe was a little girl with latent magical abilities who died and became a ghost and ascended into a demon, then became mortal again while her latent powers finally manifested.
Simple as that
(once you can comprehend the back-story of Samuel Haight, nothing can confuse you)
Wow, I'm impressed it took them until Sinner's Reward to ditch Ciencin from that book.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't know much about Transformers when he wrote a tie-in novel for Dreamwave's first miniseries (two issues of which you reviewed last month)... but I'll let the Transformers Wiki fill you in on that:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Keepers_Trilogy#Fan_Reaction
"Scott Ciencin (writer of the first book and part of the second, though uncredited) left many readers cold with a mix of sex, gore (Her severed spine jutted from her torso, and entrails uncoiled and slowly snaked out from her body, slippery and eager to stretch out and relax.) and faux-edgy pop culture references. In addition, Ciencin's actual knowledge of Transformers was visibly limited, consisting of what appeared to be hasty perusals of some sources - his description of Bumblebee, for instance, was clearly derived from a cursory glance at his Marvel Transformers Universe profile, presenting him to be blue and yellow (a result of the limited colour palette of the comics), rather than the correct black and yellow. Energon is described as a silvery-gold liquid (before the Energon series depicted it as such), and presented as the power source of the Matrix."
So... yeah. Ciencin doesn't research jive, and gets job writing tie-in material nonetheless.
What a world we live in.
I will admit, I smiled when I saw the dog piss on L-woman.
ReplyDeleteHm, funny thing. I looked up the author and realized I read some of his young adult books, and that they were pretty good.
ReplyDeleteOf course, they weren't horror, they were books instead of comics, and the guy works for hire, so it may be he's just not good at horror and/or comics and they keep using him just because he's able to meet deadlines and isn't expensive, and he keeps taking the offers because he likes being paid?
Your videos are very entertaining, but the blocking often yanks me out of the mood you are filming like a 2 page, horizontal spread.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the Mecha-Linkara conversation at the beginning was pulling me deeper into Linkara's growing insanity and paranoia until Linkara leaps out of his seat... across the room, to the right, or to the left? I am not sure.
If Linkara leaves the screen to the left, he should enter the next screen on the right. This flow of action feels more natural than leaving and entering on the same side of the screen.
I cannot wait for next week's resolution to this year's Silent Hill story arc!
Haven't commented in a long while (my deepest apologies), but I just caught up last night and I'm gonna say, your two recent reviews are giving me nightmares.....like the comic SHOULD but fails to do.
ReplyDeleteReally, I thought 'Dying Inside' was the worst we could get, but I could follow it a bit (even if I had to fill in some of the holes). This, I can't even BEGIN to figure out what's going on, even with your narration.
Hoping what's left of your sanity survives the fifth issue; I have my doubts, though.
Wow that comic stunk. Surely the writer for those horrible comics obviously does not know anything about how to make something in the horror genre, "HORROR".
ReplyDeleteActually I prefer your continuing horror story in the beginning of your videos over those Silent Hill comics, which can easily be put next to piles of pixelated pumice, and there would be no difference.
MalixDexide
I gotta say, Linkara, I love your reviews.
ReplyDeleteI love these ones as well but there is one thing about them (not a bad thing):
You're scarring me (._.)
But I'm crazy enough already so it won'tydonty do anyti harm :p
Sincerely: Keveak
I think that these Silent Hill videos are some of the best I've watched from you. I've never read the comics or played the games--I really know nothing about Silent Hill at all--but your narration and commentary are great and manage to keep me in the loop, despite my knowing nothing about the franchise.
ReplyDeleteAnd the unfolding plot is great! I was expecting that the next plot-relevant segment would be at or near the end of the video like they tend to be, so I was excited to be plunged straight in. Also enjoyed the plot repeatedly popping up throughout the rest of the video.
Thanks for another great episode. :)
Ciencin's also written some dinosaur novellas for kids about ten years ago - those little Dinotopia paperbacks and the Dinoverse series. "I Was A Teenage T. Rex" and so on.
ReplyDeleteThey tended to have some surreal humor, but there wasn't much pop culture reference. They don't hold up as well now, but I had a lot of fun with them back then, and they're not bad for kidlit.
Not sure when he switched to horror comics, but clearly he should have stayed with dinosaurs.
Well, this review seems more story driven than comedy driven, not that that's a bad thing-The comedy is more a result of the storyarc rather than the comic itself, but it's all good. Keep up the good work, Linkara.
ReplyDeleteA. Who thought that this art was in any shape, form or fashion suitable for a comic book? I would say that comics are not the right place for impressionism except that impressionism at least makes good use of COLORS!
ReplyDeleteB. Where in the world are they? That definitely isn't Silent Hill. I don't care what anyone says, that definitely isn't Silent Hill.
C. What did they do to the poor monsters? Pyramid Heads that do nothing to scare anyone? Nurses that do more speaking than twisted moving? Dogs (from who knows what game) that get tamed by his dog?
I have to say i really like that little speech you gave with Jason and the Halloween guy. I can tell you really thought it out.
ReplyDeleteHey Lewis,
ReplyDeleteLate to the punch this week-I guess you can say I caught this on "reruns" if you will.
Anyway, really cool episode this week-I quite enjoyed it. Nice mix of dramatic pacing and tension for the framing story and great analysis for the review. I particularly liked your detailed discussion of what constitutes "scary" dialog appropriate to the horror genre. Perhaps coincidentally I followed this up by watching Doug Walker's latest Nostalgia Critic Top 11 about scary performances and you both seemed to touch on similar themes and arguments. Congratulations to the both of you for your thoughtful analysis: It always makes each new episode refreshing and thought provoking.
I am looking forward to seeing how your most recent story ark resolves itself in the coming weeks-Each time you do one you seem to further hone and tweak your narrative construction, cinematography style and techniques and that just makes it more interesting to watch. Ever considered actually doing a straight high-concept drama series? You'd probably be good at it.
See you in 7!
Wow. It seems like the writers had no idea how to proceed with this story and so just kept adding plot points in the hope that things would work out. There is no sense of pacing, scope or atmosphere, and the characters are pretty much interchangeable.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I dislike the interior artwork, the cover with the monsters playing pool is something I wouldn't mind having up on my wall.
Also, great job on the Halloween stuff! So far I like it even more than last years. :)
I literally didn't think it was possible for a story to be this confusing. Guess I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteLoved the use of the Shattered Memories songs in these videos BTW, that soundtrack is great.
Nice use a NC cameo, at least something good came out of this garbage. (Not your awesome review mind u, I mean the terrible comic.)
ReplyDeleteNo, Lenora, YOU are the Lauren!
ReplyDeleteAnd then Lenora was a redhead.
Oh wow, I remember you saying you'd been busy on twitter and I can see why! This episode looked like you and all the people who helped out put a lot of work into it!
ReplyDeleteVyce looks and sounds awesome.
"Why is it that some punk reviewer, whose had little real interaction with Silent Hill series as a whole, and a staunch refusal to swear..."
ReplyDeleteSo he doesn't swear like a sailor, so what? It's called "class" (maybe you outta get some).
It's part of the reason why I hold Linkara in such high esteem.
Amusingly, IDW Publishing had launcheda Duke Nukem comic written by Tom Waltz, the writer of Sinner's Reward and Past Life.
ReplyDeleteJeremy.
I came here for the Bat Credit Card.
ReplyDeleteLOL wats a silent hill? o well, make comic about it anyway.
ReplyDeleteNot even you could save this comic from being boring, even in summation. Blargh. Your subplot here is great at least.
If you want to make a horror-- thing-- based around a franchise built on psychological horror that is deep, takes its time to make you think, and is highly visual, it would stand to reason to follow suit with the theme; make it more visual and make the "twists" more surprising by taking it slow. Exposition and loudmouth pseudo-sexual gory dialogue doesn't make a horror experience consistent with the psychological approach of Silent Hill. In fact, in general, blatant exposition throughout the story doesn't only make it unsurprising and not scary, but it also feels inconsistent with the medium itself. This doesn't feel like a comic book, it feels more like a script for a horror-inspired crime noir comedy that takes place in the 90's.
Yes, some of the Silent Hill games (including Silent Hill 2, viewed as the crowning achievement of the franchise) are pretty heavy with sexual overtones, but that's with good reason on a deep level involving the characters. This comic doesn't even approach a reasoning for anything that happens in spite of all the talk and the fact that the reasoning should be more symbolic and hushed. I think it's trying too hard to be "edgy," as opposed to simply pensive and "dark."
Personally, I am kind of a sucker for some of the stylized artwork in these books (some of the time, sometimes it gets ugly); however, it doesn't fit Silent Hill, nor does it fit the type of mood the actual narrative of the story sets by itself. I honestly can't decide if this series is trying too hard or not trying hard enough. As a whole, the FLCL manga feels more like a scary psychological drama than this does, and that's just a coming of age story!
Anyway, I'm getting pumped for this year's Halloween! Here's to maybe seeing something not as bland next to your story arc going down! ^_^ b