Silent Hill (comics)
IDW has been publishing comics loosely based on Konami's Silent Hill series since 2003 by two different writers: author Scott Ciencin and writer/IDW editor Tom Waltz.
Comics written by Scott Ciencin:
- Silent Hill: Dying Inside (2003)
- Silent Hill: Among the Damned (2004, one-shot)
- Silent Hill: Paint It Black (2005, one-shot)
- Silent Hill: The Grinning Man (2005, one-shot)
- Silent Hill: Three Bloody Tales (trade paperback collection of all three one-shots)
- Silent Hill: Dead/Alive (2006)
- Silent Hill: Hunger (2006)
Comics written by Tom Waltz:
- Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward (2008)
- Silent Hill: Past Life (2010)
Dying Inside stars troubled, self-loathing psychotherapist Troy Abernathy, who takes patient Lynn DeAngelis, a former film student, back to Silent Hill, the haunted town where she was traumatized. He believes that what she saw in Silent Hill is a result of some sort of crime committed against her when she visited the town. Of course, when he takes her back to the town, he discovers that she wasn't making anything up about seeing monsters, or being menaced by an evil little girl in a white dress. And then, the town has its way with his own personal demons...
After Troy's disastrous trip to Silent Hill, a young, female punk named Lauryn takes her gang to the town, inspired by the videos that Lynn took during her time there, in the hope that it will garner them some fame and fortune. However, unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Lauryn has her own personal reasons for wanting to venture there...
In Paint It Black, a burnt-out painter finds unexpected inspiration in the horrors of Silent Hill, only to wind up fighting for his life alongside some cheerleaders; in Among the Damned, a suicidal soldier sets off for the town as his final resting place, only to have his life changed forever by a diva who also wishes to escape her past; and in The Grinning Man, a state trooper trails the titular undead killer.
Dead/Alive is the proper ending to Ciencin's Silent Hill comics. It stars a tortured actor named Kenneth who winds up in Silent Hill, which has become a battleground for forces trying to monopolize the town's dark powers.
Hunger tells the story of journalist Douglas Brenneman, who dreams of Silent Hill, despite having a seemingly perfect life, with a decent career and a loving wife. The peace of his neighborhood is shattered when someone is inexplicably murdered, and, as he investigates the incident, he is inexorably pulled into the town.
- Apocalypse Maiden: Connie in Dead/Alive and an unnamed woman in Hunger. Both are incubators for Samael, the demon that the Order is trying to resurrect.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Christabella. Damn.
- Creepy Child: Christabella, the girl that haunts Lynn, and the other children killed by the Order.
- Decoy Protagonist: Troy
- Downer Ending: Paint It Black, Hunger, and Past Life.
- Driven to Suicide: Troy's wife, after discovering that he killed her abusive ex-husband.
- The End of the World as We Know It: The setting of the second half of Hunger.
- Evil Albino: Whately, the Order representative.
- Fetus Terrible: In Dead/Alive, the main character's ex becomes an incubator for Samael. Also mentioned in Hunger, but the poor woman isn't named. It could be Heather from Silent Hill 3.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Troy in Dying Inside, fellow soldier Aaron, and Dahlia in Among the Damned. However, the latter reappears alive and well at the end.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Troy genuinely wants to help people like Lynn, but is too wracked by guilt by his wife's death to even help himself. Unfortunately, after sacrificing his life to let Lynn go free, he just becomes another one of Silent Hill's demons, a shallow manifestation of his womanizing ways. Subverted in that he's more self-destructive than malicious or harmful to others.
- Name's the Same: Dahlia. She couldn't be any different from the game's Dahlia though.
- The Power of Love: Quite possibly the only explanation for Dahlia and Kenneth/Connie/the entire world's survival.
- Reset Button: Kenneth pushes it at the end of Dead/Alive, giving him an elusive happy ending for a Silent Hill character.
- Redemption Equals Death: A theme shared in both Ciencin and Waltz's comics.
- Took a Level in Badass: Lynn becomes determined to face her fears and leave Silent Hill. Lauryn seems fairly badass to start, but gets moreso once she starts using the Order's magic against them. Douglas may be a mild-mannered journalist, but do not fuck with his wife.
- You Are the Demons: Kenneth. His lineage is key to the Order's plan. His father fell in love with a demon that pretended to be a human. But she was literally a Noble Demon, "of a higher order than these animals". It's possible that she was actually one of Silent Hill's gods.