Comics
Review: ‘Sacrifice’ HC
Sam Humphries’ ‘Sacrifice’ is a deeply personal adventure through time. It is a magnificent, imaginative look at history, mental illness, and theism. As expansive as it is ambitious, ‘Sacrifice’ boldly offers a story of generation y unlike anything else out there. You’ll be riveted, confused, and engaged all at once. It’s a thrilling dive into past all brought to life with Dalton Rose’s fantastic style.
WRITTEN BY: Sam Humphries
ART BY: Dalton Rose
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $21.99
RELEASE: Aug 21, 2013
“Sacrifice” is incredibly ambitious. A story so deeply routed in history, love, and personal loss that it is hard not to fall for. If the Joy Division references don’t get you, there’s still the deep characters, rich history, or amazing art. While the ambition does make for an incredible book, it does cause the book to falter in a few moments. Language is heavy, and world building could have been done with a little more ease. The book remains to be one of the most unique things I’ve ever read.
Hector is a hopeless wanderer. Lost in his love for things, he has ambition but no direction. He’s just been released from the hospital. Humphries introduces us to him when he is weak, exposed, and unsure of himself. We feel this, especially as we dive into the past through an epileptic episode in the middle of a fast food parking lot.
From here Humphries throws us head first into the past. The visual style hits full stride. Hector tumbles down into no man’s land, and no matter how he tries to let it out none of the Aztecs believe where he’s from. They are convinced he is a saintly hero sent there to save them. Humphries uses this moment to engage us in real pieces of history. We are lost with Hector as we tumble into this world. The names, land, and customs are foreign bordering on alien. Until we see a head tumbling down the stairs of a ziggurat, then the terrifying nature of this world comes rushing back.
Hector’s overwhelming love for music translates beautifully to the page. From the opening moment reciting Joy Division lyrics, to later drawing the Unknown Pleasures album art onto his chest, Humphries uses this musical passion to imbue Hector with relatable qualities. Even more so, Hector adopts this persona that represents who he is and where he’s from. The Aztecs latch on to this. Like any amazing time traveler, he uses his love of something else to empower the people that look up to him.
“Sacrifice” prides itself on historical accuracy. It adheres to the history of the area with a wonderful pseudo reality feel. You can never be sure if what you are reading is truly reality, or a total falsehood created by Hector’s fragile mental state. In the end though, it all doesn’t matter. The story remains the same in either world. Hector’s journey of self-discovery, accepting his past, and accepting his new fate is thought provoking, irresistible, and deeper than most wells.
The attention to epilepsy, and mental illness propel this story into the stratosphere. These are important issues being explored. Humphries uses Hector to explore them intimately and truthfully. By the end of the story you’ll feel the weight of Hector’s choice, and you’ll have a better understanding of what it’s like to live in a fractured mind. It’s not always easy to read, but it needs to be experienced.
The book steeps itself so deeply in a love for Aztec history that some pages and plot points come across as incomprehensible. A second reading may be required for those fully invested in the Aztec Gods storyline. Names, places, and allegiances are hard to follow. Humphries knows history, and isn’t afraid to throw the reader head first into the language and customs of the time.
Readers may find themselves identifying with Hector’s confusion and worry even more with these elements at play. Yet, the one thing that is sure to put them at ease is the astounding work done by Dalton Rose.
Rose’s work here is sprawling, epic, and other worldly. When Hector and his new friends arrive at Tenochtitlan (Phew…) for the first time, the sprawling splash page shows you the power of his work. The setting sun, the golden bridge, and the vast expanse of the empire, this is jaw dropping stuff. The half page panel of Hector kneeling before the Emperor makes you feel small, and inconsequential like you’re about to be squashed.
The real world is decidedly bland and boring. Long shots of everyday objects with Hector resting in the middle, show he’s lost control. Hector is overwhelmed by the mediocrity of the real world and Rose’s art makes sure to remind you.
Finally, Rose goes fully insane when he shows Hector’s dream state. The twirling panels are soaked in color and lines. We are pulled along Rose’s wonderful stream of consciousness with each of these. The wilds lines hit the page like a roaring sea, the characters look to be afloat within this madness. It works wonders to illustrate how unsettling these moments are. The colors by Pete Toms here are truly something else. The bright reds, purples, yellows, and blues give a psychedelic feeling that amps up the unsettling nature of this state.
“Sacrifice” is a product of love, struggle, and escape. This is a unique story that aims to teach us about the art of giving part of yourself away. Humphries uses real world experiences to create a fantastic narrative that never feels completely out of touch. While some elements are nearly impregnable, the others are deeply satisfying. You’ll never truly be sure what you are reading, and the context of the world you are in, but can we ever be sure? Isn’t reality just a subjective experience anyway?
4/5 Skulls.
Comics
‘You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive’ – IDW Dark’s Next Horror Comic Will Make You Question Reality
Five friends. Four houses. One perfect life. Bloody Disgusting is excited to exclusively announce You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive, a brand new horror comic from IDW Dark.
From Eisner-Nominated writers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, and rising horror artist Heather Vaughan, You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is described as a “paranoia-laced, socially-conscious, horror mystery that will leave you questioning reality, and reveal that this crafted world is more of a nightmare than the idealistic dream they were expecting.”
Phoebe Joplin has never questioned the world her parents built: a secluded community where she and her friends were raised to be smarter, stronger, and better than anyone else. No distractions. No dangers. No secrets. Until the night of their graduation.
When one of them dies under impossible circumstances, Phee starts to pull at the edges of her perfect life—and what she finds is something far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Because this place isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a cage. And no one who discovers the truth ever leaves it alive.
Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface, Star Trek: The Last Starship) co-write the upcoming IDW Dark horror comic, featuring art by Heather Vaughan.
Jackson Lanzing said in a statement to Bloody Disgusting, “You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive is in many ways a spiritual successor to our last creator-owned horror, The Principles of Necromancy – a dive into the promise and consequence of playing god with the blood of innocents. But the Hivemind book this reminds me of most is Clayface: One Bad Day. This is a deeply human story with intensely raw emotions – five best friends and their five mysterious parents, tearing one another apart for the promise of some impossible glory that’s waiting just beyond their darkest actions. We’re thrilled to be bringing this story to life with our long-time partner in crime, editor Heather Antos, at IDW Dark – and we’re particularly excited to give our Clayface fans a new, brutal and emotional horror made just for them.”
Adds Collin Kelly, “We’re deconstructing a feeling that seems universal these days; our elders have a death grip on their power, without any intention of giving it up to the generations that come next. YNLTPA is about growing up with the limitless potential of the future… and realizing how much it’s a lie we’ve been fed to keep us under the yoke of the past. Bringing this brutal experience to life is our artist and co-creator, Heather Vaughan, who brings an incredible amount of humanity to our cast. But it’s in our youthful leads that Heather’s art really shines – you are going to fall in love with these young people, even as they go through the worst experience of their lives. What we’ve all crafted together is going to be tragic, painful, but above all else, sincere – with a future so uncertain, there’s only one thing we can trust: you’ll never leave this place alive.”
“Some horror stories are about monsters in the dark. YNLTPA is about realizing the monsters raised you,” previews Senior Group Editor Heather Antos. “Working with Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly on this series has been a dream in the darkest possible way. They’ve built a story that’s layered, brutal, and deeply emotional, and every issue gives artist Heather Vaughan opportunities to push the art into places that feel both haunting and deeply personal. Some horror comics will keep you up at night…this is one that will stick with you for years to come.”
The first issue of You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive goes on sale October 14, 2026! Make sure to pre-order at your local comic shop by September to guarantee a copy.
Exclusively check out the various covers for Issue #1 down below.
IDW Publishing’s horror imprint IDW DARK features comics like A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, Smile: For the Camera, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, The Twilight Zone, Event Horizon: Dark Descent & Event Horizon: Inferno, and more.
You must be logged in to post a comment.