Take A First Look At ‘The Horizon Experiment: Motherfu*kin’ Monsters’ One-Shot From Image Comics

African-American playwright, producer and comic book writer, J. Holtham, and African-American cartoonist Michael Lee Harris (creator of Black Hitler and Choco Leche) to produce The Horizon Experiment one-shot, The Horizon Experiment: Motherfu*kin’ Monsters. This will be the fourth instalment in The Horizon Experiment series of one-shots, a series focussing on original protagonists from marginalized backgrounds set in a popular genre, overseen by Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian and Infidel creator). Today we get a full synopsis and a first look at this previously announced series of one-shots to share with you:

Described as “a love letter to Sam Raimi and Edgar Wright set to a Wu-Tang soundtrack” it will be lettered by Micah Myers, and co-edited by Pichetshote and Will Dennis (SOMNA: A Bedtime Story, Gideon Falls).

“In Motherfu*kin’ Monsters, a nerdy Black kid from Brooklyn and his friends stumble upon demon-worshipping frat assholes trying to take over the world. What ensues is colorful chaos as “sorta” hero JJ Henry and his fam fight for their motherfu*kin’ survival and to stop this Grimoire-based evil from being unleashed. In this story, instead of having the Black characters be sidekicks and have quick deaths, as has often been the case in horror, Holtham and Harris put them in the center.”

Talking about the style and tone of this one-shot, Holtham said:

“I’m a longtime horror head. I saw Evil Dead II in an old grindhouse in Queens and it rocked my world. Of course, though, we all know the trope: the Black folks die first. I wanted to make a world that works for Blerds, Black witch girls, and all the kinds of Black folk we don’t get to see. I was that Black kid in the lily-white college town, which can be a horror story of its own. When Pornsak asked me to join The Horizon Experiment, Blerds fighting zombies was the first place my mind went. Michael Lee has been a dream collaborator. Pushing the gore, pushing the cool, bringing all the Blackness to the page. I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve made.”

Harris added:

“I didn’t realize how much I needed Motherfu*kin’ Monsters in my life. It’s rare that we get to see fun horror from this perspective and I am thrilled to be a part of it! J penned a unique story that I got to bloody up and I can’t wait for you all to read it!”

Pichetshote concluded:

“Motherfu*kin’ Monsters looks and feels like no comic you’ve ever read before because J. and Michael Lee are two voices unlike any others working in comics. J.’s a successful playwright, screenwriter, and TV producer, so it’s been thrilling to watch him do comics. And there are things Michael Lee’s doing in Motherfu*kin’ Monsters that I’ve never seen done before. His command of the medium is that unique, so it’s a treat seeing what he and J. can do with their powers combined.”

The Horizon Experiment: Motherfu*kin’ Monsters #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, December 18th from Image Comics.