REVIEW: The Sacrificers # 2

Rick Remender is a master at making the obscure seem ordinary. Cementing a sense of believability into highly unique landscapes, where any version of any world seems possible, seems real. For me, that’s the real hallmark of escapist fantasy, feeling at home in strange, one-of-a-kind settings. Across his catalogue, Remender has played with stylistic subversion and twists of genre while maintaining a sense of cohesion within the all-important story. His work is known for being Immersive, believable, and exciting and now, with The Sacrificers, he has constructed a high fantasy, horror-tinged thriller starring a cast of anthropomorphic animals, adding yet another unique and offbeat story to his list.

Issue #1 was met with rave reviews, having tantalised readers with all the above-mentioned Remender flair and wonderfully dark and macabre overtones. In the fictional world of ‘Tomorrow’ (that’s the name of the world, not our world in the future!), five families promise they will maintain a perfect society as long as each household gives up a child to be sacrificed to the Gods! Politics in a community with this kind of existential blackmail tax system is never going to be simple. In Issue #2, the procession of new sacrificial tributes is in full swing. Young chosen candidates from various tribes in this world travel, shackled and headed towards an unknown location, discussing their potential fate as the dark, unsettling plague Dr. types lead them. Through the eyes of the ill-fated children, we learn the Gods have kept their secrets well as they squabble and mock each other while trying to guess the details of their doomed fate. The tension in issue#2 builds up nicely, and the Sacrificers opens more and more and moves towards unexpected places.As with all Remender’s work, the pacing and dialogue are superb. Each character has a distinct voice, and the story unfolds in tense and gripping ways as they struggle in the eerie and disturbing world.

Art from Max Fiumara and colors from Dave McCaig come together to make Sacrificers look like a cool 80’s high fantasy movie. Oddly dark and beautiful, it felt like I was reading a Humanoids-style European comic book with a creepy energy that seeps into every panel. The core of the book’s visual resonance is in the characters themselves. It’s a rare and wonderful thing to see anthropomorphic animals in a setting as glib and absent of anything wholesome. Just as Maus uses mice as characters to portray truly bleak circumstances, here, anthropomorphic animals are given taught and expressive features that exude humanity. The more this story progresses, the richer and more expressive the artwork gets.

As with issues#1 Remender continues to pull no punches, and The Sacrificers already represents some of his most dark, strange, and wonderfully poetic work. It’s an absorbing, tense story drenched in high fantasy goodness topped off with majestic artwork. A work well on the way to becoming another Rick Remender & Image comics master collaboration!

Writing 5
Art 4.5
Colors 4.5

Overall 4.5

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist:Max Fiumara
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Publisher: Image Comics