Comics

Published on June 14th, 2024 | by Adrian Gunning

EISNER AWARD-WINNING THE GOOD ASIAN CREATOR PORNSAK PICHETSHOTE LEADS ALL-STAR CREATIVE TEAM

Eisner and Harvey Award-winning The Good Asian and Infidel creator Pornsak Pichetshote is collaborating with an all-star creative team from across entertainment—including comics, literature, film and television—for The Horizon Experiment, a series of five one-shot comic books, all featuring original protagonists from marginalized backgrounds set in a popular genre and inspired by pop culture icons, where each character’s unique background allows the stories to go into new directions.

“I’m fascinated with taking popular genres, like horror and noir, and seeing what they’d look like from diverse perspectives—I explored this in my Image Comics books Infidel and The Good Asian. But, I’ve been limited to my own experiences. So, for The Horizon Experiment, I decided to use the same mentality but open it up to other people, inviting some of the most talented people I know to work on it,” said Pichetshote. “Each one-shot is the equivalent of a pilot for a new creator-owned series, with the potential of continuing should there be demand for more. Each team of creators have had different approaches—all of them have knocked me out, and I couldn’t be more proud that the end result is five very unique books, all connected by the same ambitious spirit.”

Co-edited by Pichetshote and acclaimed editor Will Dennis (Descender, Gideon Falls), the series kicks off with The Horizon Experiment: The Manchurian, written by Pichetshote and featuring illustrations by superstar artists Terry and Rachel Dodson (Adventureman, Harley Quinn), a thriller featuring a Chinese super spy inspired by James Bond. A first look at a selection of pages from the one-shot showcase the first scintillating sneak peek at the scandal and secrets within the story. The Horizon Experiment: The Manchurian #1 hits shelves on September 25 from Image Comics; the other four one-shots will be released one-by-one on a monthly basis. Starting with The Manchurian, the series will feature connecting variant covers by Eisner Award-winning artist Tula Lotay.

Along with The Manchurian, The Horizon Experiment series will also feature a one-shot by Pakistani-American writer Sabir Pirzada, known for writing on beloved franchises like Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel, and who will be debuting his first Image Comics graphic novel Dandelion on June 19. Pirzada is teaming up with Eisner-winning horror artist Michael Walsh (Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, The Silver Coin) for the one-shot, The Horizon Experiment: The Sacred Damned, introducing the world to Inayah Jibril, Professor of Ethnography and the Occult. A love letter to classic horror from Dracula to John Constantine, the book follows a Muslim exorcist, in a new interpretation of horror tropes.

These two upcoming one-shots will be joined by Tananarive Due’s The Horizon Experiment: Moon Dogs, which follows a family of Black Lycanthropes of East African descent who find themselves caught in a burgeoning war when the truth starts to come out that werewolves aren’t just a myth. Co-author of the graphic novel The Keeper, and an acclaimed fiction writer who has won an NAACP Image Award, World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, and much more, Moon Dogs marks Due’s first solo full-length writing endeavor in comics. She’s joined by breakout artist Kelsey Ramsey (Dark Spaces: Good Deeds) on Moon Dogs in her first Image Comics series.

J. Holtham, an African-American playwright, TV writer, and producer on the Emmy-winning The Handmaid’s Tale, will be joining the creative team by debuting his first creator-owned comic The Horizon Experiment: Motherf#cking Monsters, joined by African-American cartoonist Michael Lee Harris, creator, writer, and artist of Black Hitler and Choco Leche. Motherf#cking Monsters is Evil Dead for blerds. A nerdy Black kid from Brooklyn and his friends stumble upon demon-worshipping frat assholes trying to take over the world in this love letter to Sam Raimi and Edgar Wright, set to a Wu-Tang soundtrack.

The final one-shot, The Horizon Experiment: Finders / Keepers, marks beloved creator Vita Ayala’s return to creator-owned work. Known for their work on iconic franchises such as X-Men, Wonder Woman, Star Wars, and more, their Image Comics one-shot will be a reverse Indiana Jones adventure that follows archeology grad student Ines Guarua, who steals artifacts from museums to return them to their native cultures. Vita is teaming up with fan-favorite comic artist and creator Skylar Patridge (Relics of Youth, Resonant) for this original action-adventure.

The Horizon Experiment: The Manchurian #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, September 25:

Cover A by Terry and Rachel Dodson
Cover B by Tula Lotay (connecting)
Cover C by Tula Lotay (1:25 foil incentive, connecting)

The Horizon Experiment: The Manchurian #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

About the Author

Adrian Gunning Adrian lives in Melbourne Australia and has a huge passion for gaming, technology and pop culture. He recently finished his a Bachelor of Journalism and is currently focusing on games journalism. When not writing and playing video games, Adrian can be found in Comics 'R' Us debating the pros of the DC Universe and cons of the Marvel Universe.

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