Silent Hill (comics)

Silent Hill is the main setting used in IDW Publishing's comic series based on Silent Hill.

Scott Ciencin's comics differ in many respects from its game and film counterparts. Because of this, Ciencin's comics are considered non-canon by some fans, although this has never been officially addressed.

When Tom Waltz replaced Ciencin, Silent Hill became truer to its game counterparts, and can be considered in the same canon.

Appearance
Silent Hill is described differently, depending on the story it features into. The aesthetic elements of the town differ from artist to artist, conforming to their styles of art.


 * In Hunger, Silent Hill is viewed as a normal town for the first half of the story, until it is overtaken by the Otherworld, in which case everything is cast in a red hue, monsters are plentiful, and the average person seems to lose all sense of sanity. A fire also spontaneously breaks out and engulfs the town.


 * Dying Inside and Dead/Alive present Silent Hill as abandoned, but mostly intact. There exists little or no evidence of fire damage. Monsters are plentiful.


 * In Among the Damned, The Grinning Man, and Paint It Black, Silent Hill is seen as abandoned, yet entirely intact. Monsters, as always, are ever present. The town is designed more like a city rather than the quaint lakeside town it is described as in Hunger, Dying Inside and Dead Alive.


 * Sinner's Reward presents Silent Hill in a manner that is more reflective of its game counterpart. Midsized, yet not overly urbanized, the town is entirely intact and is presented across the three faces of reality as they pertain to Silent Hill; Fog World, Real World, and Otherworld.


 * Hunger and Sinner's Reward are the only comics in the series to clearly demonstrate the different levels of reality in the town of Silent Hill.

Background
The exact backstory of the comic universe's Silent Hill is hard to pinpoint. Two different stories are presented that attempt to explain what began the town's descent into darkness, while the chronology of the stories are inconsistent with each other, as the comics appear not to have been released in chronological order.

What is known is that Silent Hill was, in quieter times, a peaceful place to live, regarded as being a favored romantic vacation spot, and overall a fine place to raise a family. Said to be about a day's drive or so from Boston, Massachusetts, Silent Hill boasts a single local paper called the Silent Hill Gazette and wasn't a place of great strife, with violent crimes occurring, at times, ten years or so apart. Built on the shores of Toluca Lake, the town of Silent Hill boasted a thriving tourist industry, with many out-of-towners staying at the Lakeview Hotel.

Though a small town, Silent Hill does have many of the amenities one would hope for; a hospital in the form of Brookhaven, a bowling alley, a public library, at least one elementary school, and a lighthouse to assist late-night fishers or boaters find their way back to shore.

Silent Hill also hosts a well-armed assault unit of police officers, in addition to the more standard police force once headed by Sheriff Canavan.

Changes in Silent Hill
As explained in Hunger, the extra-planar entity called Whately had selected Silent Hill as the birthplace of an emissary from his realm. This entity, named Samael, sought control of the mortal realm and it was Whately's task to prepare the way. Abducting an unknown number of women, Whately, with assistance from Dr. Aickmann, was able to successfully impregnate one his captives with the essence of Samael. It was this struggle between the will of Samael and the will of the helpless female that gave rise to the darkness that would eventually engulf the town.

As a result of Whately's machinations, the residents of Silent Hill were reduced to homicidal maniacs. Those that weren't killed eventually joined the ranks of monsters that roamed the town. Standing abandoned, Silent Hill became a place of myth and lore, with many people venturing into the town to see it for themselves. Most never returned. Those that have bring with them warnings of the place, though the warnings do little to deter the curious.

At a point in Silent Hill's past, a young girl named Christabella LaRoache was murdered in the town, and her spirit remained in that place and began to feed on the darkness present there. As time passed, the girl became adept in manipulating the monsters and dark energies the town exuded.

As Christabella's power reaches its peak, her sister Lauryn LaRoache arrives in Silent Hill. The two clash numerous times, but Lauryn is able to wrestle control of the town from her sister. With the powers of Silent Hill under her control, Lauryn transforms the town back to normal. Tourists are once again welcome in Silent Hill, and few monsters remain, ghosts of Christabella's control until, that is, Whately's plan to bring Samael into the human realm becomes reality. Lauryn turns up missing and Silent Hill reverts to its fog-shrouded and monster-infested state.

With Samael's death, Christabella is finally able to gain complete control of the lakeside town. It stands as a dark place where monsters roam and any who happen to wander into its borders are killed mercilessly.

Notable events

 * On the evening of June 11th, the town of Silent Hill is engulfed in a mysterious fire that leaves the town in shambles. It is subsequently abandoned. (Hunger)


 * Christabella's mutilated corpse is discovered alongside the bodies of two boys. (Dying Inside)


 * Dahlia, a well-established music and film icon, and former soldier known only as Jason are last seen near the town of Silent Hill. The singer is known to have survived while soldier's fate is unknown. (Among the Damned)


 * An unknown assailant embarks on a kidnapping spree and brings his victims to Silent Hill. The victims are rescued by officers Robert Tower and Mayberry. (The Grinning Man)


 * Ike Isaacs is last seen entering Silent Hill. He later resurfaces in France. (Paint It Black, Dead/Alive)


 * A year after Isaacs' disappearance, a team of cheerleaders also goes missing in Silent Hill. Their fate remains unknown. (Paint It Black)


 * Film student Lynn DeAngelis travels to Silent Hill, but returns in shambles. She later attempts suicide. Her psychiatrist, Troy Abernathy takes her back to Silent Hill in the hopes that it will cure her condition. Dr. Abernathy is never seen again. (Dying Inside)


 * Lauryn LaRoache enters the town of Silent Hill with a large group of friends, though only two are known to have returned from the town. Lauryn herself later resurfaces in France. (Dying Inside, Dead/Alive)


 * A young woman named Connie Mills is abducted. In a seemingly unrelated event, actor Kenneth Carter also goes missing. Both turn up in Silent Hill. (Dead/Alive)


 * Jack Stanton flees Boston with his former employer's wife. She is later abducted and taken to Silent Hill, with Jack in pursuit. Neither is seen again. (Sinner's Reward)