The Sacrifice (Left 4 Dead)
Encyclopedia
The Sacrifice is a digital comic book
created by Valve Corporation
based on the Left 4 Dead
video game, detailing the events of the main characters from it, namely Zoey, Louis, Francis, and Bill, after the chronological final campaign, Blood Harvest. It accompanies a campaign in both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2
of the same name. It also serves as a prequel to the campaign from Left 4 Dead 2
called The Passing, which makes allusions to the events.
From the end of "Blood Harvest", the four survivors, Bill, Zoey, Louis, and Francis, are rescued by U.S. military and taken to a well-fortified safe zone. They are immediately split up and put into isolation rooms when they are learned to be carries of the infection. They are tested and debriefed by the military group. They describe to Lt. Mora how the infection has mutated to create "special" infected with unique abilities; though Lt. Mora agrees with the survivors' reports, his superior, Everly, is highly skeptical, and refuses to take steps to consider evacuating the base despite not receiving orders for the last nine days. Mora becomes concerned that the survivors are being rounded up to find a cure for the infection, and will be killed if none is found, and privately discussions plans to help the survivors to escape.
The base is soon attacked by the infected, including several special infected able to breech the base's defense. Everly and Mora attempt to hold back the infected, while Bill, Zoey, Louis, and Francis, along with two befriended soldiers and a doctor, attempt to make their way to a nearby trainyard to a train south towards Florida. As they are escape, Mora, injured from battle, attempts to stop the group, believing them responsible for the invasion, but Francis knocks him out cold. As they discover a train, Everly attempts to escape in a helicopter, but it is overrun by infected and crashes. Finding an available train, the group becomes concerned that it has become too quiet, and Zoey suggests there is something lying in wait for them. They are soon attacked by a Tank and a horde of infected. The two soldiers stay back to protect the group as they start the train, succumbing to the horde. While the four survivors are able to board in time, the doctor lags behind, and Bill refuses to slow down, stating that "we come back for our own".
As they travel south, Bill explains that his plan is to get them to the islands of the Florida Keys, as the infected cannot cross water, they will be safe there. At the town at the end of the line, they find a yacht, but it is full of Witches, and in the attack, Louis is severely injured. They burn the yacht, and instead find a sailboat, fills with provisions and medicine; however, to get it open water, they must raise a rusty old bridge blocking their path. They start nearby generators and prepare to fight the horde while raising for the bridge to be raised, but soon the generators give out. Bill, without pause, jumps off the bridge and makes his way to the generators, restarting them a Tank strikes him away and leaving him to slowly die. Francis attempts to follow Bill but Zoey stops him, sadly commenting that Bill's sacrifice will have been for nothing. After waiting for the horde to disperse, the three quietly return to the boat and set course to the Keys.
, a comic books veteran. Valve stated that the comic was made both because it wants to expand its video games into other mediums, as well as in response to both the critical reception that the Team Fortress 2
comics received and the commercial sales that the comic led to for Team Fortress 2. While the plot of The Sacrifice is canon, its creators Valve Corporation
made a note that they did not want to force the plot into the game; as such, they designed the accompanying in-game campaign to choose how it ends. Valve commented that they hated to see video games made into bad films or comics, due to most of them being "disconnected from [the video game's] source", so they decided to make the comic in-house. They commissioned Oeming to illustrate their comic to allow the comic to reach a certain level of quality. While the comic began as smaller than the current size, it grew as they fleshed out certain parts, due to their enjoyment of the characters and their intention to "give each one time in the spotlight." Valve also explains that they feel that comics are a better format for video game adaptations than films; they state that when players get attached to a character, a comic book allows them to appreciate them more than a two hour film versus spending "hours and hours, even hundreds of hours with them" with them in the video game. They add that comics help to go into stories that the game doesn't elaborate on.
Much of the comic's content was created before the comic was created; in particular, the flashback featuring Francis was one of the first thing that was written for him. Valve explains the addition of numerous supporting characters is due to the new format; where the video games only allowed for focus on the main characters, they could go more in depth on others and show the effects of the infection on the rest of the world. When asked why Bill was chosen to die, Valve explained that they wanted the sacrifice to be done by the most impacting and favourite character by both Valve and the community, as well as the fact that his story matched The Sacrifice well.
The Sacrifice was released in four parts. Valve released it in both downloadable PDF format or viewable on their web site. They specifically released versions of the comic without text or speech bubbles for the purpose of allowing fans to localize them into other languages. They added that this would allow fans to make their own dialogue for them. Valve announced that the best fan-made comics would be featured on the Left 4 Dead developer's blog. The first part was released on September 14, 2010. Each following part was released every week following, up until the release of The Sacrifice in the games. It was eventually released for the iOS items iPhone
and iPad
. When asked whether more comics would be made by Valve, they stated in the affirmative, specifically saying that "this isn’t the last you will see of Left 4 Dead comics." The full comic will be published by Dark Horse Comics
in Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and Other Steam-Powered Stories, a volume along with other comics created by Valve for Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2, to be released in November 2011.
's Tyler Nagata commented that, as of the second release, it was "pretty great," praising it for its "snarky dialogue and messy encounters with the special infected". Kotaku
's Michael McWhertor recommended it for fans of the series. Wired
's Gus Mastrapa praised the beginning of the comic for "capturing the frenetic action of the first-person shooter". He adds that while he prefers that the video games do not go too much into the story, stating that the "mystery makes the action feel that much more visceral", he praised the execution for expanding the narrative in an outside medium without ruining the mystery. Destructoid
's Nick Chester called it "decent hype" for the upcoming Left 4 Dead campaign. PC Gamer
described them as "thrilling". At the start of the comics' releases, Rock Paper Shotgun's Kieron Gillen expressed interest, citing illustrator Michael Avon Oeming's "fantastic" visual storytelling. With the release of the second comic, fellow Rock Paper Shotgun editor Alec Meer emphatically recommended that readers read it, expressing "mild frustration" with the wait for the next comic. In a poll of what readers of the comic would like to see The Sacrifice released in, the choices were, in order of popularity: TV, computer, mobile device, and print. The supporting characters introduced in the comic have received some positive reception, with Valve citing an email they received asking if Annie, one of the soldiers accompanying the survivors, survived the zombie horde.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
created by Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
based on the Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X...
video game, detailing the events of the main characters from it, namely Zoey, Louis, Francis, and Bill, after the chronological final campaign, Blood Harvest. It accompanies a campaign in both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It is the sequel to Valve Corporation's award-winning Left 4 Dead. The game launched on November 17, 2009, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in the United States and November 20 in Europe; in 2010, Left 4 Dead 2 was made available to...
of the same name. It also serves as a prequel to the campaign from Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It is the sequel to Valve Corporation's award-winning Left 4 Dead. The game launched on November 17, 2009, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in the United States and November 20 in Europe; in 2010, Left 4 Dead 2 was made available to...
called The Passing, which makes allusions to the events.
Synopsis
The Sacrificie takes place between the "Blood Harvest" campaign of the main Left 4 Dead game, and leads up to the events of "The Sacrifice" downloadable campaign for Left 4 Dead. Interspersed within the story are flashbacks showing the events that each survivor witnessed at the onset of the infection, watches friends, loved ones, and strangers turn into zombie-like creatures before their eyes and each realizing they are immune to the infection.From the end of "Blood Harvest", the four survivors, Bill, Zoey, Louis, and Francis, are rescued by U.S. military and taken to a well-fortified safe zone. They are immediately split up and put into isolation rooms when they are learned to be carries of the infection. They are tested and debriefed by the military group. They describe to Lt. Mora how the infection has mutated to create "special" infected with unique abilities; though Lt. Mora agrees with the survivors' reports, his superior, Everly, is highly skeptical, and refuses to take steps to consider evacuating the base despite not receiving orders for the last nine days. Mora becomes concerned that the survivors are being rounded up to find a cure for the infection, and will be killed if none is found, and privately discussions plans to help the survivors to escape.
The base is soon attacked by the infected, including several special infected able to breech the base's defense. Everly and Mora attempt to hold back the infected, while Bill, Zoey, Louis, and Francis, along with two befriended soldiers and a doctor, attempt to make their way to a nearby trainyard to a train south towards Florida. As they are escape, Mora, injured from battle, attempts to stop the group, believing them responsible for the invasion, but Francis knocks him out cold. As they discover a train, Everly attempts to escape in a helicopter, but it is overrun by infected and crashes. Finding an available train, the group becomes concerned that it has become too quiet, and Zoey suggests there is something lying in wait for them. They are soon attacked by a Tank and a horde of infected. The two soldiers stay back to protect the group as they start the train, succumbing to the horde. While the four survivors are able to board in time, the doctor lags behind, and Bill refuses to slow down, stating that "we come back for our own".
As they travel south, Bill explains that his plan is to get them to the islands of the Florida Keys, as the infected cannot cross water, they will be safe there. At the town at the end of the line, they find a yacht, but it is full of Witches, and in the attack, Louis is severely injured. They burn the yacht, and instead find a sailboat, fills with provisions and medicine; however, to get it open water, they must raise a rusty old bridge blocking their path. They start nearby generators and prepare to fight the horde while raising for the bridge to be raised, but soon the generators give out. Bill, without pause, jumps off the bridge and makes his way to the generators, restarting them a Tank strikes him away and leaving him to slowly die. Francis attempts to follow Bill but Zoey stops him, sadly commenting that Bill's sacrifice will have been for nothing. After waiting for the horde to disperse, the three quietly return to the boat and set course to the Keys.
History
The comics were illustrated by Michael Avon OemingMichael Avon Oeming
Michael Avon Oeming is an American comic book creator, both as an artist and writer. He is known for using a stark art style to tell stories with sophisticated and mature subject matter.-Career:...
, a comic books veteran. Valve stated that the comic was made both because it wants to expand its video games into other mediums, as well as in response to both the critical reception that the Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
comics received and the commercial sales that the comic led to for Team Fortress 2. While the plot of The Sacrifice is canon, its creators Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
made a note that they did not want to force the plot into the game; as such, they designed the accompanying in-game campaign to choose how it ends. Valve commented that they hated to see video games made into bad films or comics, due to most of them being "disconnected from [the video game's] source", so they decided to make the comic in-house. They commissioned Oeming to illustrate their comic to allow the comic to reach a certain level of quality. While the comic began as smaller than the current size, it grew as they fleshed out certain parts, due to their enjoyment of the characters and their intention to "give each one time in the spotlight." Valve also explains that they feel that comics are a better format for video game adaptations than films; they state that when players get attached to a character, a comic book allows them to appreciate them more than a two hour film versus spending "hours and hours, even hundreds of hours with them" with them in the video game. They add that comics help to go into stories that the game doesn't elaborate on.
Much of the comic's content was created before the comic was created; in particular, the flashback featuring Francis was one of the first thing that was written for him. Valve explains the addition of numerous supporting characters is due to the new format; where the video games only allowed for focus on the main characters, they could go more in depth on others and show the effects of the infection on the rest of the world. When asked why Bill was chosen to die, Valve explained that they wanted the sacrifice to be done by the most impacting and favourite character by both Valve and the community, as well as the fact that his story matched The Sacrifice well.
The Sacrifice was released in four parts. Valve released it in both downloadable PDF format or viewable on their web site. They specifically released versions of the comic without text or speech bubbles for the purpose of allowing fans to localize them into other languages. They added that this would allow fans to make their own dialogue for them. Valve announced that the best fan-made comics would be featured on the Left 4 Dead developer's blog. The first part was released on September 14, 2010. Each following part was released every week following, up until the release of The Sacrifice in the games. It was eventually released for the iOS items iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
. When asked whether more comics would be made by Valve, they stated in the affirmative, specifically saying that "this isn’t the last you will see of Left 4 Dead comics." The full comic will be published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and Other Steam-Powered Stories, a volume along with other comics created by Valve for Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2, to be released in November 2011.
Reception
GamesRadarGamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
's Tyler Nagata commented that, as of the second release, it was "pretty great," praising it for its "snarky dialogue and messy encounters with the special infected". Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
's Michael McWhertor recommended it for fans of the series. Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
's Gus Mastrapa praised the beginning of the comic for "capturing the frenetic action of the first-person shooter". He adds that while he prefers that the video games do not go too much into the story, stating that the "mystery makes the action feel that much more visceral", he praised the execution for expanding the narrative in an outside medium without ruining the mystery. Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
's Nick Chester called it "decent hype" for the upcoming Left 4 Dead campaign. PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
described them as "thrilling". At the start of the comics' releases, Rock Paper Shotgun's Kieron Gillen expressed interest, citing illustrator Michael Avon Oeming's "fantastic" visual storytelling. With the release of the second comic, fellow Rock Paper Shotgun editor Alec Meer emphatically recommended that readers read it, expressing "mild frustration" with the wait for the next comic. In a poll of what readers of the comic would like to see The Sacrifice released in, the choices were, in order of popularity: TV, computer, mobile device, and print. The supporting characters introduced in the comic have received some positive reception, with Valve citing an email they received asking if Annie, one of the soldiers accompanying the survivors, survived the zombie horde.