“The boy and the girl walk on and on, past the desolate landscape and broken people, past their own trauma and grief. But all roads must come to an end. What awaits them at the conclusion of their journey?” (Ize Press)
**The Following Review Contains Heavy Spoilers**
The journey of “The Horizon”, up to its third and final entry, has dwelled in unimaginable misery, with two children wandering through a post-apocalyptic landscape filled with violent opportunists and utmost uncertainty. Not one to pull any punches, JH showed both the death of their parents as well as the extreme cruelty humanity is willing to inflict on one another in desperate situations. The children became a glimmer of hope in a world ruled by nihilism and hatred, their natural childhood innocence standing up to a collapse that drove others to an amoral existence.
To convey the profundity of the final volume, it is impossible not to go into spoiler territory as what makes “The Horizon” such an uncompromising masterpiece. That is the central turning point early in the volume of the girl traveling with the boy being killed when they stumble upon another pair of kids, made apparent from visuals and demeanor, who have experienced a similar plight. The interaction ends in such a violent catastrophe that the emotional shock is palatable, likely to shake even the most hardened readers—every moment seemed to lead up to this one final, ultimate tragedy. Consequently, most of volume 3 focuses on the young boy trying to pick up the pieces and move forward.
As brutal as “The Horizon” is, a glimmer of hope keeps the book from being mean-spirited. The closing chapters show how the young boy grew up and, despite the atrocities experienced, still clings to his humanity and desire to help others. Jumping forward to the protagonist as an old man, the manga presents him with the opportunity to save someone else at the cost of his safety and security. Despite a lifetime of experience with others acting for their desires, he does so without hesitation. The final moments are not entirely redemptive of the cruel elements, and the book will still leaves readers feeling emotionally drained. However, this slight glimmer shows that JH's understanding of humanity is not steeped in pessimism or nihilism, and his intent with “The Horizon” was never to torture its readers.
JH is one of the most talented visual artists in the WebToon medium, or its often lumped-together counterpart, manga. The minute attention to every detail of background work and the emotional outbursts of its characters are all beautifully realized under the unique aesthetic. This is even before touching the abstract visual elements utilized to expand further on the profundity of crucial moments. As such, the series is an easy recommendation based on visual presentation alone. Even if one is uncomfortable approaching the extreme subject matter, a lot can be gleaned for aspiring creators in how JH utilizes visuals to punctuate key moments of the story.
Yen Press has done a phenomenal job with the three volumes to reflect JH's visual approach; the previous volume offered a glimmer of hope in a comforting yellow, with the final almost entirely black. Looking at digital versus physical, going the physical route is an easy choice, considering how well the work is presented in its release and the ability to hold and admire the art outside of seeing it flat on a screen.
“The Horizon” ranked second in our best manga/manhwa list of 2023 for a good reason; the work is bound to become a classic with time and one that, if not making a solid splash now, will become a work revisited and rediscovered many times over as long as interest in the medium remains. Even for those unsure about the extreme nature of the content, the book is still worth exploring to see the comic medium's potential over other forms of media in perfectly balancing visuals and storytelling. “The Horizon” is a masterpiece that must be experienced.
