Written by: Brandon Thomas
Art by: Juan Gedeon & Mike Spencer
Publisher: Skybound Comics
Last month’s issue of Horizon was a tough one to follow. After a start to the new story that shook things up off planet, and now back on Earth, it’s hard to put your finger on the direction this story is taking. At the core we know what Zhia Malen and her team’s mission is on Earth, but the things they are doing to see this through felt unclear. Everything up to this point was getting the mission back on track, though after that it has been hard to figure out exactly what is going on.
With Horizon #9, while what Zhia was doing wasn’t exactly clear we at least know that from there the others would have to search for her as their next course of action. From there things did start to make sense. Maybe in the details it was missed, but it wasn’t clear enough as to what their current objective was considering the way the issue before began. There wasn’t a set point in time, the others didn’t quite have a part in it, everything was pretty much left to your imagination which shouldn’t be the case with this kind of story. Nonetheless things are clearer and it was easier to understand the when, the why and the how of the current situation.
This issue was the source of character development that we’ve needed for some of them. In this case, development for Sherrie Davix. Sherrie from the start was the hardass that up to this point could have easily been seen as just the muscle if given no depth. As they describe her, she is not the forgiving type and wears her emotions on her sleeve when it comes to her views of humanity. Now her confrontation with Zhia was the point that opened this story up to the understanding which could have been lost along the way. More importantly this was a point where you could get depth out of both of them when they are forced to confront feelings that could not be put off any longer for the sake of the success of their mission.
Speaking of story progression, what is revealed by Zhia changes things for the best. Maybe not for her, but we needed a push in the right direction that would get them moving on a singular path.
Juan Gedeon and Mike Spicer continue to improve the artwork with each passing issue. They are getting bolder in the effort they put into the things this team can do that makes them a force to be reckoned with. For Horizon #9 in particular I felt that Gedeon did very well in capturing the beast in Sherrie that made her so dangerous. She consistently carries herself as someone who is angry and that you don’t want to piss off, especially when she springs into action. What they are capable of isn’t something you fully comprehend until someone like her is unleashed. Mike Spicer’s colors do wonders as well with the depth and attention he puts into making the art pop. Personally I feel the most drawn to the way he uses variations of blues for their skin texture. He does so much with these different shades of it and I think the way he does snow as well only strengthens this as cold colors.
Horizon #9 makes the moves that the past two issues were lacking. Nothing up to now has been bad, but this is one of those stories where you need that takeaway by the end of each issue that gets us somewhere. This issue is getting us somewhere while trying to tie up some of the distractions which are holding us back. At this point a quicker pace is needed to hold my attention.
