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Sacrifice
What happens when a troubled youth is plucked from modern society and thrust though time and space on a psychedelic journey into the heart of the Aztec civilization - one of the greatest and most bloodthirsty times in human history? Join Hector on a one-way trip through the past, the present, and the psychedelic into the glory of the Aztec Empire.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published November 20, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 26, 2015
Hector is an epileptic who checks himself out of a psychiatric hospital and has a seizure in a fast food parking lot. Suddenly he’s transported 500 years into the past to the time of the Aztecs, just before Cortes arrives to begin their extermination. Hector decides he will save the Aztecs!
I should’ve taken heed from the Brad “Identity Crisis” Meltzer blurb on the cover that Sacrifice was going to be bad. Actually I’ve read Sam Humphries’ work before on Uncanny X-Force over at Marvel and it was really terrible. Sometimes writers’ creator-owned work is better than their work-for-hire… but not Humphries.
So Hector somehow travels through time and space to go back to the Aztecs before they’re wiped out. There’s no real ambiguity about this - Hector immediately takes it as read that this is really happening, that his epilepsy has actually done this and he can save them.
Hector is a Mexican-American who can speak Spanish and English. But when he’s transported back in time, he can somehow instantly speak (quick google) Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs? Also the Aztecs speak in a modern-day vernacular. Keep glossing over these things…
What is Hector’s plan to save the Aztecs? If he knows his history like he claims, he’ll know the three main causes for the fall of the Aztec empire were disease, other native civilisations joining the European forces against them, and technology. What was Hector’s plan to resist smallpox? If he was a doctor, he might stand a chance at saving them - he’d have to somehow synthesize millions of smallpox vaccines, but that’s a better chance than nothing.
If he knew how to make guns or explosives he might be able to prepare them in advance to make them more formidable to the Europeans. No, Hector instead tells them about Joy Division. He’s a guy with epilepsy who enjoys music from a band whose frontman also had epilepsy and hung himself. Great. Real useful! What was your plan again!?
The whole “saving the Aztecs” thing is actually more of a background plot. Most of the book is taken up with Hector trying to get them to stop human sacrifice and then sort out some internal power plays for some guy to take power or something. One of Humphries’ biggest flaws as a writer is his story structuring is incredibly weak and unfocused. The other is an inability in creating distinctive characters.
We know who Hector is because he’s our protagonist but the other characters? Who knows. One guy wants power from another guy, there’s some other guy who’s a rebel or something, there’s a strong female protagonist who’s also a rebel, and there’s a priest guy or something. It doesn’t help that artist Dalton Rose’s character designs are pretty much the same for every male. Nor that their names are ridiculously complex to follow: Huitzilopochtli, Tlahuicole, Tlacamictiliztli. What do those names sound like in your head? To me it’s just white noise!
Rose’s art isn’t bad actually. It’s eye-catching, it’s colourful, and I liked it for the most part. I hope the guy gets more work, like Humphries has, off the back of this. The art isn’t a reason to seek out the comic but it’s more of a saving grace if you do pick it up.
Sacrifice is a very boring, completely un-engaging and often perplexing read about nothing much at all. Like human sacrifice, this comic is a bloody mess!
I should’ve taken heed from the Brad “Identity Crisis” Meltzer blurb on the cover that Sacrifice was going to be bad. Actually I’ve read Sam Humphries’ work before on Uncanny X-Force over at Marvel and it was really terrible. Sometimes writers’ creator-owned work is better than their work-for-hire… but not Humphries.
So Hector somehow travels through time and space to go back to the Aztecs before they’re wiped out. There’s no real ambiguity about this - Hector immediately takes it as read that this is really happening, that his epilepsy has actually done this and he can save them.
Hector is a Mexican-American who can speak Spanish and English. But when he’s transported back in time, he can somehow instantly speak (quick google) Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs? Also the Aztecs speak in a modern-day vernacular. Keep glossing over these things…
What is Hector’s plan to save the Aztecs? If he knows his history like he claims, he’ll know the three main causes for the fall of the Aztec empire were disease, other native civilisations joining the European forces against them, and technology. What was Hector’s plan to resist smallpox? If he was a doctor, he might stand a chance at saving them - he’d have to somehow synthesize millions of smallpox vaccines, but that’s a better chance than nothing.
If he knew how to make guns or explosives he might be able to prepare them in advance to make them more formidable to the Europeans. No, Hector instead tells them about Joy Division. He’s a guy with epilepsy who enjoys music from a band whose frontman also had epilepsy and hung himself. Great. Real useful! What was your plan again!?
The whole “saving the Aztecs” thing is actually more of a background plot. Most of the book is taken up with Hector trying to get them to stop human sacrifice and then sort out some internal power plays for some guy to take power or something. One of Humphries’ biggest flaws as a writer is his story structuring is incredibly weak and unfocused. The other is an inability in creating distinctive characters.
We know who Hector is because he’s our protagonist but the other characters? Who knows. One guy wants power from another guy, there’s some other guy who’s a rebel or something, there’s a strong female protagonist who’s also a rebel, and there’s a priest guy or something. It doesn’t help that artist Dalton Rose’s character designs are pretty much the same for every male. Nor that their names are ridiculously complex to follow: Huitzilopochtli, Tlahuicole, Tlacamictiliztli. What do those names sound like in your head? To me it’s just white noise!
Rose’s art isn’t bad actually. It’s eye-catching, it’s colourful, and I liked it for the most part. I hope the guy gets more work, like Humphries has, off the back of this. The art isn’t a reason to seek out the comic but it’s more of a saving grace if you do pick it up.
Sacrifice is a very boring, completely un-engaging and often perplexing read about nothing much at all. Like human sacrifice, this comic is a bloody mess!
September 7, 2016
An odd mixture that will either be inviting or repelling depending on your interest in: Aztecs, psychedelics, epilepsy, Joy Division… It's very busy, in terms of plot and artwork, and may be in some ways a kind of description of epilepsy (and its connection to psychedelia, time travel, and the imagination, but that's not all it is about, for sure). Pretty interesting. Both the author and the main character have epilepsy, and the main character seems to be transported sometimes during seizures to the Amazon, in bloody historical Aztec times… but psychedelics and music are also part of it… Tripping and music and psychedelia and epilepsy! Explores edges of experience in various ways.. and feels pretty crazy and confusing and maybe that's part of the point, not to get all "what's it about?" as you read...
October 30, 2013
Hector is a patient at a mental hospital with a history of attempting suicide. Or Hector is an Aztec priest who is aware how the Aztecs will be wiped out. Hector is taken from modern times and sent back in time. Is it real or a strange drug trip?
That remains for you to see. The Hector of the Aztecs makes up the bulk of the book and he is aided by a young woman named Malin and an Aztec warrior named Itzcoatl. Hector knows the Aztecs are doomed to be wiped out by Spanish conquistadors. With this knowledge, he tries to save the Aztecs from extinction. Something he has wanted to do since he was a boy. The question is can Hector do anything to actually make a difference?
Sam Humphreys writes a good story. Dalton Rose illustrates in gruesome, bloody style (we are talking about the Aztecs, here). Including lyrics from Joy Division just put the icing on the cake for me. I enjoyed it.
I received this review copy from Dark Horse Books and Netgalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this for you.
That remains for you to see. The Hector of the Aztecs makes up the bulk of the book and he is aided by a young woman named Malin and an Aztec warrior named Itzcoatl. Hector knows the Aztecs are doomed to be wiped out by Spanish conquistadors. With this knowledge, he tries to save the Aztecs from extinction. Something he has wanted to do since he was a boy. The question is can Hector do anything to actually make a difference?
Sam Humphreys writes a good story. Dalton Rose illustrates in gruesome, bloody style (we are talking about the Aztecs, here). Including lyrics from Joy Division just put the icing on the cake for me. I enjoyed it.
I received this review copy from Dark Horse Books and Netgalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this for you.
February 11, 2014
I stumbled across this at the library while going through the graphic novel section (which has been deliciously expanded) and I am a bit obsessed with the Aztecs so I suspected I would dig this. The main character has epilepsy (as the writer does) and is very into the Aztecs. As a child one of his best memories is his father reading to him about the world of the Aztecs and it's end. The story revolves around the things that occur when Hector falls into an epileptic attack while spending time with a friend. Is he going back in time? is he having a hallucination? what is real and what can he do in either world? Dark and interesting with gorgeous art and a really involving story. I especially enjoyed the artwork near the end of the graphic novel--a really engaging and colorful style that is not overplayed. Highly recommend.
January 25, 2019
Overall a very enjoyable story. It skipped and jumped in a jarring way, at times. Made me backtrack several times to figure out what was going on. But I got it. Followed it. Finished it. I liked it.
July 27, 2017
too weird.
January 13, 2022
I felt like there was quite a lot of potential here, but it ended up getting wasted due mainly from an extremely confusing storyline.
February 7, 2017
Meh. Nice perspectives, too complicated.
July 24, 2014
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
This is one of those graphic novels that take you completely by surprise. What I expected and what I got was quite different - in a very good way.
Sacrifice collects comics 1-6, completing the story. The plot centers around a young Mexican-American epileptic named Hector as he leaves a psychiatric hospital. He experiences a seizure that throws him into the time of the Aztecs - forcing him to face and live the stories told to him by his father of their heritage. But he isn't sent to any random time; rather, Hector is sent to Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) on the eve of the arrival of the Spanish. Knowing what he does about what the Europeans and Cortes will do to his people, can he find the means to alter history and save them?
Right off the bat, we are steeped in Aztec lore: the gods, the flower wars (xōchiyāōyōtl), and several important historical characters such as Monteczuma (who surprisingly and frustratingly plays a very small part in the entire series, any madness completely omitted), Malin (later named La Malinche by the Spanish), and more. None of the perspective is from the Europeans - it's all about the Aztecs.
Through Hector's interaction with the Aztecs, he remembers facts told by his father to him. He's no hero - he's a young man trapped in a violent world but his coming there will have huge ramifications (and then perhaps not so) for how history remembers the European conquest of Mexico. There's some mysticism, soul searching, and obviously a lot of violence representative of the time.
I have to admit, the art did take some getting used to. It doesn't have the clean lines I am used to and the colors (perhaps owing to Aztec art) felt very Southwestern primary. But once I became used to it - it worked and it worked well for the story. A different, more clean and modern artist probably would have made this feel more like an "Illustrated Classic" rather than the very interesting work it is now.
The author does an excellent job of bringing the story full circle. Of changing/altering history but also the futility in trying to do so. And through it all, when at the end Hector is given a choice to stay in Aztec time or return to his own time, we know the answer well before he does.
Those interested in history, Aztecs, or especially Mexican history at the time of the conquest will likely find this interesting. But the historical aspects don't hit you over the head - there's just the right touch of fact vs story to keep you reading.
With thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC.
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September 7, 2014A modern is thrown back to the heady late days of the Aztec empire, where he is taken for a divine visitor, attempts to end human sacrifice and finds himself caught in the old rivalry between two priesthoods - so, basically Doctor Who: The Aztecs except that the lead is a heavily inked, depressed epileptic rather than a sensible schoolteacher. I'm not convinced by the historical accuracy of this (not least because the pantheon seems to have been slimmed down to a mere duopoly), or its abiding sympathy for the Aztecs. The protagonist, Hector, wants to save the Aztec empire - and also end human sacrifice. As time travel goals go, this is a bit like trying to save the Nazis, but also make them chill out about the Jews a bit. Still, the artwork on the seizures/vision quests is suitably numinous.
June 21, 2014
re-read for a review on no flying no tights. I was able to take more time with it this time and get some of the characters straight - it's a book where you have to take time with each page, but I don't know how easy it would be to keep track of things if you were reading it in serial form. still really in love with the coloring. the end really pulls it all together, and that can be a weak point for a lot of comics, so it's impressive. they really go for it and it works. I honestly wonder if "shitblood" is a common aztec insult.
February 12, 2014
Something about this just didn't hit for me. The art was BEAUTIFUL and I loved the character creation, especially the attention to detail. If not for the great art this would probably only get 2 stars.
But something about the whole 'is he crazy or is it magic!' use of mental and physical illness plus the whole 'white man saves the natives' thing just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I can see how some people would like it. But those people are not me.
But something about the whole 'is he crazy or is it magic!' use of mental and physical illness plus the whole 'white man saves the natives' thing just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I can see how some people would like it. But those people are not me.
March 25, 2014
Sam Humphries - writer
Dalton Rose - illustrator
When Hector has a seizure he is somehow transported back in time to the heart of the Aztex civilization, just as the Spanish are set to arrive. An action-packed, psychedelic journey into the heart of history. Great writing by Humphries and excellent illustration from Rose make this a very enjoyable book.
Recommended.
4/5
Dalton Rose - illustrator
When Hector has a seizure he is somehow transported back in time to the heart of the Aztex civilization, just as the Spanish are set to arrive. An action-packed, psychedelic journey into the heart of history. Great writing by Humphries and excellent illustration from Rose make this a very enjoyable book.
Recommended.
4/5
November 22, 2016
Dude time-travels back to the reign of the Aztec civilization via seizures. While that's definitely an interesting concept, and the story features some solid, dynamic artwork, the narrative itself could use a bit of smoothing out. Strange, but worth a look for fans of self-published comics (since released by Dark Horse).
February 1, 2014
Couldn't keep track of names, faces, timelines, or plots. Something about Aztecs and Europeans and gods and sacrifices and epileptic seizures and time travel. Not as cool as I hoped. Probably rad if you're more familiar with the history.
September 8, 2016
Aztecs/Time Travel/Joy Division
October 25, 2013
Amazons, Hallucinations, and Joy Division. Sign me up. Super weirdo story about a modern man who time travels to the ancient Amazon through epileptic seizure. Loved it.
November 27, 2013
I never did figure out what was going on in this book. Parts of it were good. The art was sorta bad.
December 22, 2013
Really interesting, but the timeline was hard to follow.
February 4, 2014
2.5 > Time shifts difficult to follow, art sometimes equally confusing. Nice premise, but failed to fully explore it.
October 14, 2014
I mean, it had time travel so I gave it a shot. Meh.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews