As Pigeon travels back home, he is recognized as a Sacrificer, and people blame him for the natural disasters. When they demand that he atone for his sins, what choice does he have? Find out in The Sacrificers #8 from Image Comics!

THE SACRIFICERS #8

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Max Fiumara
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Editor: Harper Jaten
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 8, 2024

Previously in The Sacrificers: The gods refresh their immortality by drinking the distilled hope of sacrificed children. But the balance of the world has been thrown off. Harlos sacrificed a princess, Noom, yet storms and floods still threaten to destroy the city. The King is angry with the gods for not upholding their bargain. But when he summons his god, Aquatica tells him the tides are Luna’s domain. Luna has parted ways with the gods and has decided to atone for how she lived. She leaves her daughter with a story about how life goes on, even through the most difficult struggles. Soluna has lost her powers and had her fear harvested and she faces her most difficult struggle.

THE ROAD BACK HOME

The Sacrificers #8 opens with Pigeon on the road, hitching a ride with a trader. He has parted ways with Soluna. He contains the strength of a god within himself. The storms continue, and people believe the world is coming to an end. Luna has vanished – the moon has not been seen for weeks. The trader wonders what has made the gods so angry and he is in a hurry to return home.

Pigeon also wants to go back home to his family. They never named him, he recalls, because he was born to be a Sacrificer. Farmers do not name their livestock who are going to be killed. Despite their treatment of him, they are his family. And now that he has escaped, he wonders if they love him and if any of them miss him, besides his little sister Beatice. But when he reaches the farm, he finds it in twisted ruins. Among them lies the torn form of the toy bear that belonged to Beatrice.

The city of Harlos also lies in ruins and survivors search for other survivors and collect the bodies of the dead. Pigeon walks into town and is recognized as a Sacrificer. Their surprise to see him quickly turns to resentment and fear. They call him a coward and a heretic and blame him for the disasters. It is his fault, his lack of faith that has upset the balance. In times of desperation, scapegoats are far too easy to find.

Pigeon makes his way to the palace to talk to the King. The high priest tells him the King has fled. Pigeon collapses, and the priest orders him to be taken to the temple. Over dinner, they have a fascinating conversation. The priest asks him about his trip to paradise, and Pigeon explains that it was not paradise; it was a factory of death. We know this is the truth, but that is not the priest’s deep-held belief. To him, Pigeon is obviously a lying apostate. He also talks about Noom’s failure. Finally, he tells Pigeon that even if his story is the truth, it does not matter. For thousands of years things have been working well. And now they are not. Pigeon should complete his responsibility and be sacrificed. That is the only way to correct the balance.

Not long after, the High Priest, in full ceremonial regalia and with a sacred executioner, opens the door to Aquatica’s realm and announces that they are offering him a sacrifice to appease him, begging him to end their suffering. Pigeon lays his head on the block, but as the axe swings down, he changes his mind. His strength and reflexes kick in, and he stops the blade in its tracks. He tells the priest that Noom did give her life for her city. It would make sense to him if it were only Pigeon’s home that was being punished, but why would Noom’s city suffer for something Pigeon did? Pigeon’s new understanding of the gods has changed him.

BUT WHO ACTUALLY SUFFERS?

I like how the art of The Sacrificers #8 takes us back to the beginning, to Noom’s city and to Pigeon’s farm. What was once an idyllic rural setting has been hammered by storms and destruction. The lush greens are now smothered in the colors of mud and rot. Despite everything, Pigeon hopes to find his family alive, to see their farm as he remembers it. Instead, he is stunned to find it collapsed and abandoned. With his new strength, he tears through the fallen tree branches and beams, hoping to find some trace of his family, hoping to find at least his little sister still alive. To find only Beatrice’s battered toy is heartbreaking.

The palace and temple at Harlos, compared to the city, draw a parallel between Rokos’ palace and the world at large. While the city itself is in stunned ruination, the temple was untouched by the storm’s fury. The priest eats with Pigeon at a table elegantly set for fourteen, although only the two of them eat. The priest sees this as his due and lives his lifestyle as well as he can even though in the streets below, the people are homeless. We cannot help but wonder if Pigeon also feels this dissonance.

BOTTOM LINE: FAITH AND TRUTH

The Sacrificers #8 elegantly walks the narrow line where faith abruptly ends, and disillusionment begins to grow. Can a world rebuild itself once it is discovered that its foundations are rotten?

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