Howard Blackwood, Silent Hill’s long-tenured Postmaster, makes his debut in the comic mini-series Past Life before going on to appear in both Downpour and Book of Memories. His dialogue is a highlight of the comic run, alongside Menton J. Matthews’ alternating, amorphous artwork. In fact, it is through those visuals in specific that we learn the only thing I’ve noticed that remotely relates to the game itself: as a slave, Blackwood killed his owner before running away to end up in Silent Hill. Or, one of his owner’s slave drivers, at the least. It’s not made clear how hands-on his owner may or may not have been, casting doubt on precisely who his target was.
Blackwood makes mention of Silent Hill’s origins as a Civil War prison camp and this does parallel nicely with Murphy Pendleton’s status as a convict. However, outside of knowing why Blackwood is a permanent fixture of the town, there’s not much else I’ve personally been able to glean from the mini-series regarding the game.
Still, there are several easter eggs in the game that make reference to Past Life. Chris Ryall, one of its editors, gives his name to the prison in which Murphy is originally incarcerated, and Matthews’ rather unique first name appears in a newspaper clipping.
Feel free to check out more Silent Hill reviews on the sister sites of Nut Ink via this omnibus post.
