The Horizon Experiment, Vol. 1
Editors: Pornsak Pichetshote and Will Dennis
Writers: Pornsak Pichetshote, Sabir Pirzada, Tananarive Due, J Holtham, and Vita Ayala
Artists: Terry Dodson (inked by Rachel Dodson, with color flats by John Ercek), Michael Walsh (colored in part by Toni Marie Griffin), Kelsey Ramsay (colored by Jose Villarrubia), Michael Lee Harris, and Skylar Patridge (colored by Jason Wordie)
Letterers & Designers: Jeff Powell and Becca Carey
Collects: The Horizon Experiment #1-5
Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: April 2025
Review by Javier Perez
The Horizon Experiment, Vol. 1 collects one of the most interesting comics anthology series in recent years. A set of five single issues with different creative teams, these comics work as both stories that stand on their own as well as chapter ones that leave you wanting to know what happens next.
But it’s a shared overall challenge issued to each of the creators that makes The Horizon Experiment so interesting, described here by one of the one of the series’ editors, Pornsak Pichetshote, who writes in the new trade’s introduction, “Everyone was given the same challenge: Create a protagonist from a marginalized background set in a popular genre where if the background of that protagonist changed, so would your story.”
Other than that, Pornsak writes that the series involved “some of the most talented people I know seeing what’s possible,” and serving up books that act as pilots that can be followed-up if sales merit it.
So that’s the concept. As a result, The Horizon Experiment, Vol 1. approaches classic story tropes, but gives them a twist on the protagonist and also the way the story is approached. It makes for interesting takes on pop culture icons, and I would personally like to see more. As they were coming out, these books became monthly treats that I looked forward to all last winter. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about all the creators involved, but one of the things that pulled me in was the beautiful connecting covers by the Eisner winner, Tula Lotay (check them out below, sans trade dress).
Last year, I really enjoyed Pornsak Pichetshote’s comic Man’s Best, on which he teamed with artist Jesse Lonergan. I thought it was a fun and endearing pet tale, and I still hope more people read it, but it seems like it got lost with the other animal comic books that were published around the same time. I think that thing that really shines here are Pichetshote and Dennis’ ability to edit and curate all of these stories despite the different tones and art styles. The aim is clear and it comes through in each story. The further I go into reading comics, the more I appreciate the other people in the credits and Pichetshote’s previous editing work in The Unwritten, Unknown Soldier and Sweet Tooth gave me that inkling, but now I’m a full believer of the power of the editor.
Each segment of The Horizon Experiment makes for an entertaining take on calcified Hollywood tropes, asking the reader to question fundamental questions about those tropes. The themes and focus of the stories are peculiar because the protagonist of these stories start in very different places. In this one trade, you get the following:
• A Chinese super-spy (The Manchurian)
• A Muslim exorcist (The Sacred Damned)
• A family of werewolves of East African descent (Moon Dogs)
• An Evil Dead for Black nerds (Motherf*ckin’ Monsters)
• A reverse Indiana Jones (Finders/Keepers)
You can see the cover art to each in the below gallery…
Just a quick word about each of these comics. The Manchurian is an action story about a fixer for other spies, but it could become a very interesting exploration of people feeling frustrated and disillusioned by their countries, communities and institutions. The Scared Damned is a window into the world of djinns, which I found particularly engaging because I don’t know much about Islamic beliefs but have always seen this type of story framed in media around a stereotypical Catholic priest doing exorcisms. Moon Dogs has a willingness to take the experience of being a minority even further, and it really pays off. Motherf*ckin’ Monsters is funny in its dialogue and probably has the best cliffhanger of all the stories in The Horizon Experiment, Vol 1. Last but not least is Finders/Keepers, a story that at its core is about family ties and the importance of younger generations to keep a connection to their native culture.
It’s always a challenge for writers to get the audience to care about new characters, but I think the several exposition text pages in each of these issues give a nice background on the motives of our characters while also explaining parts of their stories. But the fact that each issue has to set up and pay off in the space of just one issue here makes the pace a bit breakneck, leaving you badly wanting to see how a full, longer story would play out.
And now for some specifics. I really enjoyed the art of The Sacred Damned, which is by writer Sabir Pirzada and artist Michael Walsh, with some colors by Toni Marie Griffin as well as letters and design by Becca Carey. The moody inks and colors in the book are very effective at using shadows to give the feeling of fear and horror, setting the exact right mood throughout the entire story. Here’s a quick look…
Overall, I really enjoyed these comics, and I think more readers should pick up The Horizon Experiment, Vol 1., both because they’ll enjoy it as well as to boost the sales numbers that we need to get continuations of these stories. These are interesting and strong characters who star in fantastic single issues; just imagine what these creative teams could do with full series.
The Horizon Experiment, Vol 1 is out this month via Image Comics
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