The sacrificers vol 1 by rick remender

Illustrated by Max Fiumara, colored by Dave McCaig, lettered by Rus Wooton
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In a near utopia, the gods are about to come together for The Harvest Festival, which takes place only every twenty years. At that time, they demand a seemingly small price from the beings who enjoy the peace and prosperity of the world below. We follow Pigeon, one of those souls as he goes off to pay that price, not entirely certain what the gods will demand of him and the others who are with him. Within the castle of the gods is Soluna, young the daughter of the powerful sun and moon deities, who is eager to defy her father and eavesdrop on the business of the divine at her first Harvest Festival. However, she finds herself helplessly entwined in a much bigger power struggle between several gods and the souls from below.

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This story is engrossing and emotional -- there are a couple of moments that will really tore my heart out, and I couldn't believe the cruelty or lack of compassion even though I knew it was coming. Remender lets the reader know that not everything is as it seems, but we still can't believe it when the shoe drops, and it's satisfying when everything starts to crumble around us. I found the animal-based characters to be beautifully imagined and the humanoid ones to be a little weird or haunting at times. Volume one leaves off in a decent cliffhanger, so I'm highly anticipating the long-off volume two. 

The illustrations are beautifully colored and realized. I instantly felt myself whisked away to this fantasy world and unquestioningly part of this cast of characters, regardless of how fantastical some of them seemed. Fiumata has expertly crafted some wonderful characters and set them in a beautiful scene that makes me want to be part of this hauntingly stunning world.

Image rates this as Teen+, owing most likely to the violence and the suggested nudity of the moon goddess. This would be a great addition to most high school collections.

Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781534397897 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 10/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Fantasy, Mythology, Family, Image Comics