Post by Pseudosapien on Oct 15, 2010 23:10:14 GMT
Well I have to begin by saying that the cover art is gorgeous, and that the innards of the book are possibly even more joyously shiny and brimming with juicy spreads for the eyes.
We enter onto the scene of a covered wagon being driven through a misty autumnal countryside road, it is the year 1867 and Jebediah Foster and his wife Esther have been travelling from Dakota to the town of Silent Hill, to claim land and property left to Esther by a relative, and perhaps begin a new life with their imminent family.
Esther has awoken Jebediah from a nightmare, slipped into no doubt during a breif resting of his eyes. A dark figure on horseback has approached them, the Postmaster of Silent Hill on his way to Sheperds Glen, and mercifully more pleasant than his mist-shrouded entrance may have initially suggested; perhaps this town will be the new life they deserve eh?
Jebediah is pensive and doesn't seem to be soothed by the mans pleasant manner. They enter the town and he takes in the street, it's occupants coming and going and observing them in turn.
The town is bleak but certainly alive, and soon they come upon an imposing chapel. Esther seems fairly bright-eyed at this new world they are to become a part of and seems to be put at ease by the sight of the monument. She appears to be very much a woman of God and is ever mindful to berate Jebediah when his tongue frequently skips any thought of political or religious good form.
This is an aspect of him that I became quickly fond of, and made me all the more curious about his background.The character of Jebediah is one that I was fairly swiftly drawn to. He comes accross as very guarded and quiet, though more likely in an effort to "keep his head down" rather than due to any true shyness, and it makes him rather intriguing from the start. Also there's his seemingly rather traumatic nightmares, but I am sure that is nothing...
Jeb seems to see the town more for what it appears to be, a town once bustling due to mining, industry or trade, but now an empty overused shell of what it once was with not enough left to offer to keep it thriving as it once had. But then, even a husk can conceal the occasional gem, right?
Any cheerful mood is somewhat dampened when they finally meet their newly inherited house. Impressive though it may be in its bones, it's meat has been left to decay for longer than expected and they see a fair task ahead of them. They shant run low on firewood for a while at least.
Jeb goes into the edge of the forest by the house to toss away a disturbingly ragged chair, no doubt the first of many pieces destined to become firewood. The forest itself seems a peaceful place, even in the eerie mist with the night fast approaching, but at once so still that if anything moved it would seem as disruptive as a car crash.
Jebediah has more useful things to think about than the ambience of the woods, and promptly sets about taking the horses to settle in the barn. The structure turns out to be in worse condition than the house, but is still in enough pieces to do the job. He swiftly sets to work, when he notices a silver flask on a nearby stand. Before he has time to fully inspect his prize however, he is alerted to the sound of a scream from within the house. He races to the building and up the stairs to Esthers side, flask still in hand. She gestures towards a doorway, wherein he finds a familiar elderly woman seated on his bedroom floor, bleeding from her arms, smiling at him...
The inclusion of Sheperds glen actually pleased me despite the fact that I am not particularly fond of Silent Hill: Homecoming. It is little touches like this here and there, and done in such a way that they don't feel forced, that I feel will make this first issue even more endearing to dedicated fans of the series.
The atmosphere conveyed before the first words are read is potent, and the highly stylistic and often almost minimalist artwork only serves to intensify this with every passing panel, and little things lend much to how one connects with the characters, it's like we can almost see what they are thinking. The art style and pallette flow along with the storytelling and pace in such a way that it feels almost cinematic and that we move as a camera from scene to scene rather than viewing and reading static images. Without giving anything away; there is a moment that actually quite unexpectedl gave me goosebumps, and that in itself scores Past Life extra points from the start in my books.
I have tried not to give too much away here, but in all honesty I would not know how to convey the real meat of this book anyway, as the atmosphere does most of the talking and does it bloody well.
The writing is solid and the characters aren't so much built up as revealed, as if they are real enough that one could have just come upon them rather than made up an image in ones mind of them. The artwork (as I might possibly have mentioned already) works with this all beautifully, both the narrative and the imagery work together very well indeed and the fact that it is so pleasing to the eyes is just the icing on an already decadent cake.
Put simply; I am very impressed indeed with this addition the Silent Hill world. It so far looks to be a worthy follower to Sinners Reward and, if it carries on this way, certainly gives good cause for a revival of faith in the franchise. I would recommend Silent Hill: Past Life to both dedicated Silent Hill fans and people unfamiliar with the series, and am fairly confident it would be enjoyed almost equally, though only seasoned fans may notice some things, the rest of the package is thoroughly enjoyable without in my opinion, and I can't wait to see more.
Find it, buy it, love it with your face.
Applause goes to Tom Waltz for his work,
and thanks to him for giving us the opportunity to review it.