Bones Piled As High As Mountains: Reviewing Image Comics’ ‘The Sacrificers’ #1

Welcome to the table,

When stories get weird I want them to get really weird. If a book, movie, or comic is going to get outside of the box I want them to lean into it and really conjure up strangeness that I have not seen before. If you tell me the sky is strange, I hope it has bands of color that run through it and drifting on its winds are stars made of crystalized fear. If you tell me the people of the land are strange, I hope they have hair made of living tentacles and become swarms of headless birds when they die. If you promise me a weird story, I need it to be weird.

While they do not specifically come out and say it, Rick Remender and Max Fiumara‘s The Sacrificers’ cover alone screamed “This book is going to be weird!” and it did not disappoint.

The Sacrificers is set in a weird world full of strange creatures with a wild setup that has unanswered questions ‘piled high as mountains…’ but it’s off to an absolutely fantastic start!

From what I can tell, and I’m not saying that in some sort of snarky way, there are just so many unknowns right now. There is a planet full of humanoids who are beholden to a ritual that has them giving one child per household. There are some really strange looking entities who work for, from what I can tell, the living personification of the sun for some sacrificial tithe ritual that was started thousands of years ago after a great war where bones were ‘piled high as mountains.’

The setup to this whole thing is like some really solid rock song that’s going to feature a pan flute, driving guitar riffs, and some lyrics about… well… bodies ‘piled high as mountains,’ and sacrificing your firstborn for peace and prosperity to the gods of old or something really cool like that.

I have read the first issue three times and still have a very loose idea of what is happening. It’s still one of the most refreshing and fun books I have picked up recently. It’s super weird, artistically dazzling, and feels packed with a ton of lore and world-building that if it does not pay off on I’m going to be more than a little disappointed.

For now, though, this thing rules!

Until next time, if you like East of West, Black Science, or Seven to Eternity you are going to dig this book.