Written by: Tom Waltz
Art by: Tristan Jones
Colours: Mike Spicer
Published by: IDW Publishing
Welcome to Silent Hill, welcome to the bitter, dark, and twisting end to Anne’s Story. Issue 4 is the culmination, the final note on this particular tale of Silent Hill and, while the series hasn’t pulled up any creative roots or blazed a trail, it has been an interesting read for devotees of the franchise and fans of horror in general. This final issue doesn’t quite flow as well as the other issues in this series, which is a bit of a disappointment, as a solid ending could have elevated this mini-series beyond the initial scope. Unfortunately, we receive a damp squib of a final piece to this puzzle. One of the main culprits at fault in this book is the disorienting effects of the story, this isn’t a new device in this mini-series, but Waltz is guilty of overuse of the technique.
Visually, in terms of the work by Jones, the book has had a raw and grainy horror feel, which sits perfectly into the ambiance of Silent Hill. Jones again lays down some fitting horror, plus some sweet gore in the delicious form of some spewed out intestines (which are always appreciated). The setting and feel to the story has been consistent from the art team. In terms of criticism of this issue, where the action has become too cluttered on the page, it does appear messy; a little more composure would have given sharper delivery to the characters.
The overall effect of Anne’s Story has been ‘ok’, and by ‘ok’ I mean that the story has turned out to be a passable affair. Anne, as the central character, has been fleshed out and has developed into a suitably complex figure; though there is the flipside of her nature – the all consuming fire for retribution means that she loses credibility in terms of the vast swathe of horror that surrounds her, yet she seems oblivious to the ghouls and horror that abound. Another issue for me is the ending. Ending a series you have to pull all the threads together in a satisfying manner, you also need to give the reader something to kick their view, to make them go ‘ah!’ – while we do get a bit of a kick, it is weak, while the threads of collected together, it is not very satisfying.
