Broken Frontier

Sam Humphries is a busy, busy man.  Coming off of 2011’s massively successful and bizarre one-shot, Our Love Is Real, the talented and dedicated writer returns to the industry with Sacrifice.  Chronicling the time-traveling and continent-jumping adventure of Hector, Sacrifice is without a doubt one the most unique, fun, and gorgeous books to come out in recent months.  

Humphries took a step away from his demanding schedule to answer some questions about Sacrifice, the comics industry, and the legendary Aztec Empire.

And we get to share the A and C covers to Sacrifice #3, out February 15. Here they are:

BROKEN FRONTIER: It’s fair to say 2011 and now 2012 have been instant breakout years for you, a rarity in the self-published realm.  How has the experience of self-publishing your first effort Our Love Is Real and the follow up Sacrifice treated you?

SAM HUMPHRIES: It's been incredible. Back in May, when I was about to pull the last, final, point-of-no-return trigger on OUR LOVE IS REAL, I was hemming and hawing so hard. I had mad doubts about the whole charade. I had no idea it would turn out like this.

BF: Coming off the incredibly successful Our Love is Real, what expectations had you set for yourself and Sacrifice?

HUMPHRIES: I knew SACRIFICE was going to be harder to market. It's longer, and it doesn't have a salacious hook like OUR LOVE IS REAL. So some of my goals were very different, SACRIFICE had to succeed on its own terms. But I wanted to continue to evolve the business model established by OUR LOVE IS REAL, I wanted to take that to the next level. And I wanted to make the comic as kick ass as possible. That's the goals I shared between the two books, innovation on the business side, and kick-assery on the creative side.

BF: Sacrifice is far from your typical “out of the element” story. What was the inspiration for Hector and his adventure with the Aztecs?

HUMPHRIES: My own obsession with the Aztecs and my own experiences having a seizure disorder. I thought it would be cool if my epilepsy did something dope for once, like let me experience the Aztec world first hand. If I were writing myself in the book, I would have made SACRIFICE the most badass vacation in human history. But that's boring to read, so I made Hector the main character and turned the whole thing into a disaster. Poor dude!

BF: The Aztecs continue to marvel people across the world. How much research went into their appearance, their empire, and history, etc.?

HUMPHRIES: Tons. Books upon research upon lectures upon etc etc. I've been researching the Aztecs for about ten years now. Not just for the book, but to satisfy my own personal obsession for their baller civilization. The Aztecs were incredible and to learn about them is absolutely mind-blowing for someone in a 21st century global society. SACRIFICE or no, I'll read, watch, hear, experience, and learn anything and everything I can about the Aztecs.

BF: With Sacrifice being your largest effort to date, what were the similarities and differences in creating a story that spans several issues and a bigger cast of characters compared to your previous works?  Did you encounter any challenges along the way?

HUMPHRIES: Yeah, tons of challenges. OUR LOVE IS REAL was my previous longer work, SACRIFICE was six times that amount. I have Alejandro Arbona, the editor of SACRIFICE, to thank for keeping me on track. I was climbing a mountain for the first time, and he was the guide. If you are a n00b writer, I highly recommend working with an editor. They are awesome and they will stop you from playing yourself in public.

BF: The book's art is gorgeous and incredibly well thought out. Could you talk about the coordination between yourself and Dalton Rose?

HUMPHRIES: Mostly I throw impossible scenes at him, and then he comes back at me with impeccably-produced pages. The guy is a dynamo. Has there been another rookie artist who has bit off such an insane assignment on their first go out, AND crushed it so hard?

BF: The series has proven to be a blast already.  Can you give a tease at where Hector’s story will be taking readers in the upcoming issues?

HUMPHRIES: Haha, hell no! I'm not spoiling anything. I'll just say that the stakes only get higher, and the scope only gets more epic. Issue 3 goes on sale February 15th, so you'll just have to pick it up!

Definitely make sure to pick up Sacrifice #3 next month at Things From Another World, and also check out the official websites of Sam Humphries, Dalton Rose, and Sacrifice!

Sacrifice #3 A and C cover details:

FIRST PRINTING cover by Dalton Rose, limited to 1,100 copies.
THE OBSIDIAN EDITION variant cover. Available EXCLUSIVELY at TFAW.COM and Things From Another World retail stores! Limited to 250 copies.