A group of young people is shackled and on the march to what many of them fear is a horrible death. And then they meet Noom, who accepts her fate willingly, confident that they have a special and important destiny before them. Who will be right? Find out in The Sacrificers #2 from Image Comics!

THE SACRIFICERS #2

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Max Fiumara
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 6, 2023

Previously in The Sacrificers: A family of bird people shares a humble meal, except for one son who is banished to the barn. His little sister sneaks him some food from the table. The next day, some tall men leading a group of children in irons come and announce that it is time for the harvest. The boy is given to them reluctantly, but the only other choice would be to sacrifice a different child. In another part of the world, Rokos and his mistress Xia talk about the upcoming Rejuvenation and Gala. Rokos’ daughter Soluna eavesdrops, and he spies her. She wants to go to the gala, now that she is eighteen. He insists she must wait until she is older.

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

As The Sacrificers #2 opens, the tall creature leads his shackled charges through a grassland and into another city. They are greeted with joy and excitement. A band is playing, a crowd has gathered in the center of town. A leader or priest greets the Foreman of the Harvest and welcomes him, ringing a gong. The children who have been dragged along do not understand what is happening. The temple doors open and a young woman, Noom, and her two holy wardens walk out amidst a shower of red flower petals. Her people call her the Messiah of Hope, and she freely gives herself up to be shackled.

The long march continues. They pass some farmers along their trek. The father and daughter flee. Later one evening, someone finally asks the questions that have been preying upon them all – where are they going and what is going to happen to them? Even when different cultures follow roughly the same religion, there can be vastly different interpretations of it. Are they to be sacrificed to a Gargantuan in the sea? Have their blood drained in a ritual? One young red-haired woman knows they are going to be thrown into a volcano. The bird boy looks at the mountain they are headed toward. It does not look like a volcano.

Noom requests that they stop their speculations and eat in peace. The bird boy pulls out the remains of the potato his sister gave him. The red-haired girl tries to take it from him. Noom tells her to make do with her own provisions. She has no provisions. She was raised in a cage. She is not the only one who has come with nothing. Noom unties the bundle she has brought along. She has enough food not only for herself, but also to share. Some of the young people fall upon it greedily, like starving animals.

This leads to an interesting philosophical discussion. Most of the young people were raised apart from their families, in a sort of captivity. Noom was treated as someone special. Does her upbringing blind her to their fate, or is her understanding of it as plausible as theirs? Are they shackled because they are prisoners being taken to an unwelcome fate, or are their chains a metaphor of devotion to the gods? Are they to be killed, or is their sacrifice being taken from their homes and families?

Noom understands that their sacrifice is that they are now to be entrusted with the management of the world. The other girl interrupts her. The sacrifice, she insists, is their death. It is a reminder to their people about who is in power, who has control over the lives and deaths of everyone. Their death is the reminder that keeps everyone in their place. This sparks a fight which is interrupted by the bird boy. None of them know the truth, he reminds them, and they are all afraid.

Their trek continues up the mountain and through snow. Near the peak they stop, and hoods are put over the heads of the sacrificers. All they have to follow is the voice of the Foreman of the Harvest.

DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF FATE

The art of The Sacrificers #2 opens subverting the expectations we had from last issue. The children who have been harvested so far all appear downcast. Their clothes are in rags. To be brought into a prosperous town where the small procession is greeted with celebration feels oddly incongruous. To have a sacrificer like Noom go to her fate not only confidently but joyously raises the questions that are later depicted. Who, if anyone, is right about what will happen? The bird boy takes this all in with as much wonder as we do, and this sets up the discussion at the heart of the issue.

Noom cannot win everyone over with her confidence and generosity. We can see that the other young people have spent their lives wondering why they were kept separate, why they were treated like people to be discarded. If they have been treated as less than animals, is it any wonder that, when given a bounty of food, they attack it with desperation, as though this is something that, as far as they know, will only ever happen once? The cruelty of their lives is written on their faces. The pain of neglect, of isolation from their families, may have damaged them more than anyone realizes.

BOTTOM LINE: AN UNEXPECTED TAKE

The Sacrificers #2 continues to intrigue and surprise. The story appears simple so far, but it is thought-provoking, exploring what can happen when the mysteries of religion are mysteries, and the interpretation of them is left to people without a full understanding of what is behind them.

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