A curse needs to feed.
The Silver Coin is a 2021 horror anthology published by Image Comics. Each issue is illustrated by Michael Walsh and written by a different writer. Each issue is a self-contained story, with the connected thread being a cursed silver coin.
- "The Ticket," written by Chip Zdarsky, takes place in 1978 and is about the rock band Running Red and their lead singer Ryan. The band has been playing at the Dirty Eagle bar for years with little to show for it and now they are being pushed aside for the latest trend in music: disco. But in a box of things that Ryan's mother left behind, he finds a silver coin and when he uses the coin as a guitar pick, something magical happens: the music is better. With the silver coin, Ryan realizes he can make their careers and lives better. But the coin might have other plans.
- "Girls of Summer," written by Kelly Thompson, takes placce in 1993, about a misfit teen bullied by mean girls at a summer camp. When she encounters the Silver Coin, she decides to reclaim her power.
- "Death Rattle," written by Ed Brisson, takes place in 1986, where a group of thieves get their hands on the coin by stealing it from an old man who just died of a heart attack.
- "2467", written by Jeff Lemire, follows a gang of thieves in the cyberpunk future being hunted down by the police drones, leading to one them finding the coin and a mysterious virus.
- "Covenant", written by Matt Walsh himself, tells the origin of the coin by following Rebekah Goode, a witch in colonial times that is hunted down by the witch hunts.
- "High Score", is written by Joshua Williamson.
- "Tzompanco", is written by Ram V.
- "Rising & Falling in America", is written by Matthew Rosenberg.
- "The Dancer", is written by Vita Ayala.
General tropes in The Silver Coin:
- Anachronic Order: Each self-contained story goes backwards and forwards in time between each issue. Because stories don't influence one another, the order of them, both as released and as read, is irrelevant.
- Artifact Domination: The coin often possesses those who find it or those around them to act as it wishes.
- Artifact of Doom: The curse on the coin has a mind of its own and is driven to keep causing misery.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: The general MO of the coin's curse is to give people what they want before destroying them with it. The initial curse itself is a wish to make someone suffer that went far beyond its caster's intent, and her soul is shown to suffer for it.
- Creepy Crows: Crows have a habit of showing up in connection with the coin, occasionally leading victims to it.
- Cursed Item: The eponymous Silver Coin. It was cursed by a witch in vengeance against a friend who betrayed her to a witch hunter to bring down misfortune onto whoever holds it.
- Eyes Do Not Belong There: There is a goat eye in the center of the Silver Coin.
Tropes in "The Ticket":
- The '70s: The issue takes place in 1978.
- Blood Magic: Ryan doesn't just play the guitar with the coin — he bleeds on it first, which is how it wakes up. Before, it looked like a normal coin, but after being bled on, it looks as if it has an eye in the center of it.
- Fingore: As Ryan plays for a crowd of people with the Disco Hits, he realizes he can't stop playing as the cut on his pointer finger is opened and almost rips his finger apart.
- Made of Incendium: As soon as Ryan starts playing to the huge disco crowd, the bartender Danny drops his cigarette which sets the curtain on fire. The fire quickly spreads to the band and the crowd, but they keep playing and dancing, even as they burn to death.
- Magic Music: Playing his guitar with the Coin makes the music sound better. They don't understand it, but it works. And then Ryan plays it for a huge crowd and they all start dancing and he realizes he can't stop playing and they can't stop dancing...even as a fire consumes the building.
- Man on Fire: Even as he's consumed by the fire, Ryan keeps playing the guitar.
- Painting the Medium: When Ryan starts playing to the disco crowd, the letters inside the text boxes (which are Ryan's thoughts) become jagged.
Tropes in "Girls of Summer":
- Eye Scream: Fiona stabs one of her tormentors through the eyes with a pair of arrows.
- Homage: To slasher films of the '80s and '90s.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Fiona is mortified to discover the massacre she committed once she loses the coin.
- The '90s: This issue takes place in 1993.
- Teens Are Monsters: The main character, Fiona, is being bullied by a group of mean girls. In return, she decides to get revenge.
Tropes in "Death Rattle":
Tropes in "2467":
- Post-Modern Magik: The setting is a cyberpunk future, where people have implants for augmented reality. The coins sinister influence is registered by its latest victim's OS as a malicious virus.
Tropes in "Covenant":
- Evil Versus Evil: Cotton Dudley, a fanatical yet apparently successful witch hunter, versus Rebekah Goode, a witch who was one bad turn away from unleashing a deadly curse that barely discriminates between its victims. They both lose.
- Origins Episode: This issue reveals the origin of the coin. The coin was used by a witch hunter to pay a witch's friend for information, on the moment of her hanging, Rebbekah cursed that coin to bring misfortune to whomever holds it.
Tropes in "High Score":
- The '90s: Takes place in 1993.
- Continuity Nod: A few characters are heard referencing the events of "Girls of Summer."
- Foreshadowing: The backup story at the end includes, amongst several panels of events from previous stories, a brief panel of playing cards. The next story deals with a gambler in Las Vegas getting the coin.
- Shout-Out: A few characters are briefly heard discussing The Death of Superman.
