Sacrifice

It’s rare for a comic to provide something that is truly unique, but that is exactly what writer Humphries (Avengers A.I., Our Love is Real) has brought to the table in this visually sumptuous tale. Hector, a depressed teen in present-day America, suffers from severe epileptic fits, which appear to be firing him backward in time to the reign of the Aztecs. Fascinating history combines with fantasy and science fiction, as our hero strives to prevent the Aztecs from being wiped out by the impending Spanish invasion and the war between two tribes who worship different gods—the bloodthirsty Huitzilopochtli and the loving Quetzalcoatl. As Hector slides through time, we see him coping with self-harm and suicide attempts in the present, while acting as a priest of the Quetzalcoatl in the past, trying in vain to change history. Hector is clearly an unreliable narrator—is he truly time traveling or is his brain unraveling? The former provides the happier story, but the reader is afforded the luxury of choosing his or her own interpretation. Rose’s art has a loose, indie feel to it but often spills into psychedelic wonder, as the past and present collide in dream space. (Sept.)