The world of Harlos has reached its breaking point. With no Sun or Moon to speak of for years, the people have finally had enough and are openly rebelling against the Gods that have been preaching patience for so long. Even Beatrice has run out of patience as we saw in previous issues, and she is leading an army to the very doorstep of her brother Pigeon and his royal family. “All Gods must die!” was her battle cry, but in the end is she capable of murdering her own brother, her niece and nephew? And is Pigeon willing to do the unthinkable to save his beloved Soluna?
Image Comics
The Story
The majority of this oversized 35 page story is narrated through a letter written by Pigeon to Soluna. He explains his reasoning for doing what he thinks in the end is necessary to save his family, revealing a darker, “rotten piece” of himself that he admits was long hidden behind a veil of feigned nobility. The calm, mostly loving words of Pigeon create a stark contrast to the scenes of blood and violence in the issue, showing a bird whose internal voice of cold pragmatism has finally drowned out the “principled illusions” of his youth. The pacing was perfect throughout, letting us sit with the actions that suggest justice doesn’t really exist, it is merely a buoy constructed by the desperate.
This arc’s title, “It will always be the same”, reveals the cyclical nature of life, and how history tends to repeat itself. Just as Pigeon led a one-bird fight against what he saw as a group of unjust Gods, decades later his sister is doing the same thing. Soluna even cautioned Pigeon in the previous issue that he was beginning to sound like her father, the tyrant he threw down to establish this new world order free of the “sacrificers”. But really, all Pigeon accomplished was replacing one set of sacrificers with another. Even with the best intentions, Pigeon could not repair the system he destroyed in time to prevent the cycle of rebellion from repeating. However, while Pigeon’s narration is steeped in the belief that hope is a “childish” prayer, we see the next generation take center stage and perhaps Pigeon’s ultimate sacrifice will allow his children the life he always hoped for them but in a much different way.
The Art
For the last three issues, André Lima Araújo has done marvelous work on the series, but regular series artist Max Fiumara is back for the finale and it was well worth the wait. The violence, blood and gore is visceral and frenetic. Heads are flying, throats are slicing, and it all looks spectacular in Fiumara’s signature style. The world of Harlos and the characters that inhabit it feel real and the no-holds-barred representation of this medieval combat adds to the reality. But along with the fighting and action, there are quiet moments that are just as breathtaking. The expressions on Pigeon and Beatrice when their eyes meet on the battlefield says it all; no dialogue or even internal monologue is needed for us to understand exactly what is going on in their minds. Colorist Dave McCaig continues his excellent work on the series. The final pages are quite breathtaking, but to describe them would spoil the finale.
Image Comics
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, The Sacrificers #21 is a hauntingly somber yet visually transcendent ending to a modern dark fantasy epic. It functions as a dialogue between the cynical “truth” of a fallen leader and the vibrant, unspoken hope of the future. Pigeon concludes that he is “simply waking up” from a dream of meaning, but the breathtaking final pages suggest that the dream might only be beginning for the next generation. Remender, Fiumara, and McCaig have delivered a finale that is as methodically paced as it is visually spectacular, leaving the reader with a staggering amount to digest long after the final page is turned.
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