Horizon 1 cover - cropped Reviews 

“Horizon” #1

By | July 15th, 2016
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Aliens are here on Earth, and they’re pissed. And, quite frankly, we probably deserve it.

Written by Brandon Thomas
Illustrated by Juan Gedeon and Frank Martin

Zhia Malen thought she’d fought her very last war, until she learned her planet was targeted for occupation… by a desperate world called Earth. The people of Earth will be told that her arrival on their planet means invasion; these are lies, this is retaliation. Skybound’s newest original series by BRANDON THOMAS (The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury), JUAN GEDEON (Ghost Racers), and FRANK MARTIN (EAST OF WEST) will show you that survival isn’t just a human instinct…

From the beginning panel of “Horizon,” where space debris clutters our view as if it was freshly shattered glass, it is clear that there is something simmering beneath the surface of this issue. It isn’t just a matter of a customary slow buildup to a final cliffhanger that establishes the series’ premise — though, true, that is also the case. Beyond that, though, there’s a feeling of something growing and growing that isn’t mere plot. There are hints, to be sure, murmurs of what exactly is making the pieces of this comic move, but it isn’t until we reach the last page that we know exactly what the emotion that fuels this comic is: anger.

And who can blame writer Brandon Thomas? According to Thomas, the core premise of this book, the idea of Earth invading another planet, has been kicked around in his mind for about a decade. That’s a decade of seeing veneer of our society peel away, helped in part by the revolutionary effect the internet has had on social justice issues, revealing the unpleasantness underneath. Whether or not the comic’s premise was, in fact, born of anger, it would be impossible for a concept like this to not be influenced by the feelings stirred up across the past decade. Thomas is, by my account, perfectly right to be angry. But what’s impressive in this first issue is how Thomas expresses that anger. It would have been far easier for him to kick open the door on page one, to begin with a barrage of shouting about how badly we humans have failed each other. Instead, we’re given some some sentimentality, a bit of dread, and even a few smiles before he slams his hands on the table in the last few pages. An approach like this is, hopefully, a good signal as to the maturity of rest of the series.

Of course, as with any #1 where we aren’t quite put on track until the final few pages, it is hard to get a good feel for Thomas’s talents as a writer. The premise is a bit familiar, sure, but the personal spark of emotion he brings to it mitigates this issue. We see some clever tricks, such as his take on the good ol’ sci-fi trope of the slowly adjusting translation device. The dialogue, in the sections of the issue that has any, is natural where it needs to be natural and more dramatic where it needs to have that extra bit of oomph. Thomas’s sense of world-building is also refreshingly delicate — rather than being confronted with a treatise on this cool new setting he’s come up, we are presented with snippets of dialogue and fleeting panels that give us a good feel for it without drowning us in detail. All of this is good, but at this stage it isn’t quite enough to allow the reader to decide that Thomas’s writing is great.

Juan Gedeon, as an artist, is in an easier position in this regard. His mostly sparse, angular line work is a mix of classic sci-fi sensibilities and rawer modern expressionism. There’s a grit to his work that suits the bordering-post-apocalyptic Earth the story is set in, but he can also reign that aspect of his art in and evoke a sleeker, high tech feel for the alien society our planet has come face-to-face with (emphasis on sleeker — there’s still a fair bit of tasteful jaggedness to his lines and overall designs). One of the easiest way to kill a book with a lot of talent behind it is for the creators to not be stylistically in sync, but that certainly isn’t the case here. Gedeon is clearly on the same wavelength as Thomas, meaning the book doesn’t just look good — it looks right.

Continued below

The issue’s script gives Gedeon a better chance to display his technical skills than his writing partner (though, that in and of itself is a credit to Thomas, too). We get to bits of action, in both the mundane sense and a bit of the capital-A-Action sense, and see how he handles motion. I’ll admit, I’m always a sucker for when artists forego the more traditional “speed lines” for blurring their outlines, so when I noticed that in the what could technically be called a car chase at the beginning Gedeon already had a few points in my book. It’s a smart work-around for an artist with a style like Gedeon’s, as angular figures like his can sometimes seem a bit stiff, even when drawn in a looser style. He’s also fairly good at capturing emotion — both his smiles and grimaces have warmth to them, albeit different kinds. But, much like Thomas’s script, we dont’ quite get a moment where he “wows.” There’s a lot of solid work in here, and a lot to suggest that once he cuts loose it will be a sight to see, and that’s enough for now.

Gedeon is joined by colorist Frank Martin, probably most well known for his work with Nick Dragotta on “East of West” and various Marvel titles. Gedeon seems to have put a lot of trust in Martin, leaving him plenty of uninterrupted space in which to work (though it’s possible that there were greys/halftones that aren’t readily visible now that the work has been colored). A style like Gedeon’s means that the slightest bit of over-rendered gradient can be extremely noticeable, but Martin doesn’t let that cow him into barely disturbing the flats. Martin does excellent, tasteful work in the space he is given, throwing in some embellishments while never distracting from Gedeon’s linework. Honestly, Martin has such a good eye for Gedeon’s style that when I first flipped through the book I thought to myself “ah, so Gedeon’s one of those artists who does the whole thing” before reviewing the credits page again.

“Horizon” #1 is a promising start to what could be a very good sci-fi series. Both Thomas and Gedeon give us just a taste of what they can do, and while they don’t exactly blow the reader away it’s certainly reasonable to expect great things to come from them. Martin colors? That’s just gravy. Now that the righteous fury that appears to be the comic’s driving force has surfaced, it will be worth checking out how the series develops in the issues to come.

Final Verdict: 7.5 – Definitely worth checking out if you have some open space in your pull list.

PS: That Jason Howard cover, huh? Yowza.


Walt Richardson

Walt is a former editor for Multiversity Comics and current podcaster/ne'er-do-well. Follow him on Twitter @goodbyetoashoe... if you dare!

EMAIL | ARTICLES