Art has always provided some respite from the harsh realities of existence and distortions we have to accept. Starvation, forgetfulness, and cruelty from loved ones to name a few, serve to remind us of how what we consider the essence of life cowers in the face of infinity. However, fiction has always used themes that are at the margin of our battle against mortality. ‘The Horizon’ by JH expands on one such theme. Life in itself can be horrendously skewed, then art serves its purpose as a healer.
The first volume definitely did showcase the skill in storytelling and the last book which is set to be published on WebToon format is also quite emotionally touching. But the second volume is indeed very dry in terms of pushing any type of emotions considering it contains most of the challenging panels. With that said, it is worth noting that the backstory of the young girl on how she lost her family goes alongside the second volume. That segment features a small group of survivors who are on a small bus, all of whom are suffering from a ravaging disease. A woman in the bus is able to at least meet her current companion, a boy before all of the other passengers on the bus say their last goodbyes. In my opinion the topics this segment covers are hard to assimilate which include the last bits and pieces of peoples life, the life they spent on the bus and the death they faced afterwards.
Similar to the previous statement, the beginning of the book where a businessman rules a village and slaughters all wandering mercenaries touches on another aspect of human flaws during dire moments, readiness to do anything to stay alive, All the same, the first chapters of the manhwa allow the young boy a father figure in whose hands he wishes to learn the skill of tackling his environments. This includes being trained on how to use a gun, one of the basics of a person living in a post apocalyptic setting. This chapter is indeed much less interesting than the story of the last bus ride. But on the other hand, setting a wider range of events taking place around the world and sculpting the boy into some sort of guardian serves as a brilliant set up for future events.
JH’s work is always characterized by a remarkable style that differs from one project to the other. His portfolio’s difference between The Boxer and The Horizon is quite jarring with the former being a sports title made with crazy animated graphics and character designs. On the other hand in The Horizon, JH painted the sports in such a light that felt bleak. Instead, he used slackened space in the painting and placed feelings such as unknown or lonely in the sphere. They are blurred in the pictures, in a single panel attached to them, and the tension that those blurry pictures create is very ferocious.
JH combines their striking visual typography with impressive panel work. He is able to place a crescendo of emotional dialogue in a deep context of faint and even speechless characters.
‘’The horizon’’ is indeed one of those pages that manages to suffix star emends with words of struggle showcasing the depth of life with sheer ease That rarely ever happens. Recommended graphed for fans of any kind be it manga, manhwa, manhua, US Coms or British comics, this is a work that is well worth seeing.
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