Comic Spotlight: The Sacrificers #10 - #12

Forever Young

Good ol' Rick Remender, one of the few names of comic writers safely stored in my memory bank, sitting contently and sipping quietly at a tea party joined by the likes of Todd McFarlane, Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan. Indeed, If one can remember even one of the many talented writers and artists that produce these beautiful bits of reading material, then we can be sure that they either bring out good work or wear us down with a large amount of it. For Mr. Remender, it may be a bit of both.

The Sacrificers is a comic series that I picked up again after around 9 issues or so, a comic which seems to provide further evidence of Remneders fascination, or perhaps axe to grind with theism/deism. While I will certainly provide a brief breakdown of what the story consists of, I will mainly be using this time to cover the most recent issues. As such, if you, dear reader, wish to avoid spoilers, then now would be a good time to jam those fingers in the ears and go, la la la la, I can't hear you!

For God So Loathed Man...

Seeing as I am quite lazy, I'll attempt to sum up this comic as quickly as possible. The Sacrificers introduces a new pantheon of gods who rely on the odd sacrifice of a single child from each family to provide a precious youth elixir, and in return, they ensure that the world keeps turning. The creator of said elixir is an angry pigeon who hoped that his efforts would be rewarded with ascension to the position of god, but he would remain tethered to his role of dutiful servant to the head honcho, Roko the sun god.

As such, he would take matters into his own hands and attempt to take divinity by force, draining the daughter of Rokos of her essence. However, things don't go exactly according to the script, and a different blue pigeon escapes his fate as a sacrifice to the gods and drops fortuitously on the scene and devours the aforementioned essence thus turning him into a god pigeon(cool name for a band).

With his newfound power, he makes the decision to hold the gods accountable for their atrocities, and on we progress with a story that is essentially God of War with the Ghost of Sparta being replaced by the blue pigeon of dunghole....or wherever it is he called home. Of course, if we thought that matters couldn't become any messier, there is also the small matter of Rokos killing is wife, Luna, which was essentially tantamount to destroying the moon, and in the absence of the moon, chaos would ensue, creating a ripple that would transform into a tsunami that would threaten to destroy deity and mortal alike.

Picking up where we left off, Soluna, daughter of Rokos, is flung out into the cold and uncaring world that she indifferently stood above and away from. I liked this particular angle, or I should go further by saying that I enjoyed that each component to this larger story is presented with an opportunity to explore previous spaces new. Soluna is thrust into an almost Christ-like scenario in which she is afforded the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the trials and tribulations that the average citizens are forced to face on a daily basis. New forms of fear, pain and uncertainty are grappled with, and set themselves up as challenges that may, incidentlly, make her a better god in the end.

Similarly, our blue pigeon protagonist is allowed to taste firsthand the responsibility that power brings, a power that weighs heavily on the wielder and burdens with the lesson that the world is not so simple as to be just to all. Additionally, the vengeful pigeon potion master, with his thirst for godhood, and the wrathful Rokos, with his desire for continuity and order, provide intriguing entry points into conversations on ambition, desire, weakness and love. They situate themselves as fascinating base characters with actions that branch out towards other players in this story of sacrifice.

Having read short, five issue series and graphic novels of late, it's felt good to sink my teeth in what looks to be a series with some legs.The Sacrificers is an ambitious, creative and riveting story which further serves to demonstrate what we probably all already know, Rick Remender and co. are remarkable talents, and I for one cannot wait for #13 to drop in December.

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