If we turn the clock all the way back to April, Coffin Hill released a sort of similar issue to this one. It was a basically a sort of fill-in issue that added backstory to the series that was released after the arc had concluded. This issue will be changing focus and the timeline to different characters as well, so let’s see what we got here. Is it good?
Coffin Hill #14 (Vertigo Comics)
The year is 1970. Four young adults have rolled into Coffin Hill and are on the hunt. They have committed a lot of murders and are planning on continuing that with the next house they find. However, the house they pick as their next target has a lot of dark and terrible secrets to it, giving these killers something far more frightening than they ever expected to find.
And now a scene from a horror movie…
This issue is a bit tricky to comment on as far as how it ties into the series. Besides a few points here and there, this issue feels like it really doesn’t have much to do with Coffin Hill and is more likes its own separate entity: a tale about a woman turning the tables on a couple of home invaders. The last time we got an issue in this style, it still felt like it tied into the main series and added to the backstory and history of the Coffin Family. This one? Not so much.
It’s a bit disappointing in that regard if you were expecting something like that, though the story overall here is a fairly enjoyable and twisted read. I like the twists and turns it made; it never felt boring and always kept things interesting, and the ending is intriguing enough to make you wonder how this all really started (and the ending does tie things back in the main story). I hope the next arc gets more into how this ties in so that this issue feels more a part of the series, but overall it was still a good read.
Never underestimate a woman in a nightgown.
The writing overall was pretty good. The pacing is decent, always keeping the story going and never slowly. The story structure and transitions were mostly good, except for one page where the panels didn’t remotely flow together well at all (it was honestly confusing to me). The dialogue and narration are fine for the most part, with an awkward moment or two with how the characters interact. Horror-wise, the issue felt much creepier than the past couple of issues in the series with the scenario and story going on, along with some of the nice moody imagery and coloring. Hopefully things continue to get good in the next arc.
The artwork for this issue is provided by Ryan Kelly, who drew one of my favorite Vertigo series from a while back called Saucer Country. His artwork looks very good here, albeit with some minor hiccups. The characters are nicely depicted, though a few females have similar looking faces. The layouts are mostly decent and easy to follow besides that one page I mentioned. The scenery and mood are nice and creepy throughout, really providing some memorable shots. The coloring is nice as well, contributing to the mood factor. In general, Kelly’s work was nice here and I really hope to see more of his artwork in the future somewhere.
Is It Good?
Coffin Hill #14 was a nicely creepy done-in-one little tale. While it doesn’t really connect too much to the main series (at least at this point) and doesn’t seem to add much to anything, it was a good story from beginning to end. The writing was good and artwork really helped bring out the creepiness in all of it. I look forward to see how this issue fits in and where the main story goes when the comic returns in the future.
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