As I was looking at new comic book series coming out in 2023 one that caught my eye was Indigo Children. I’ve heard a lot of good things from the creative team of Curt Pires, Alex Diotto, and Dee Cunniffe, the team behind the critically acclaimed Youth series. With the high praise, this creative team has gotten I was interested to see what they would do with a new series. Joined by Rockwell White, who is a story writer for Indigo Children alongside Pires, this sci-fi mystery comic about children who suddenly reappeared after missing for years sounds intriguing. Let’s see if this new series from Image Comics delivers with Indigo Children #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Story Writers: Curt Pires and Rockwell White
Script Writer: Curt Pires
Artist: Alex Diotto
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
REVIEW
Right away Curt Pires, Rockwell White, Alex Diotto, and Dee Cunniffe show that something supernatural is going on with this world. The opening pages provide us with a prologue that shows how there is a greater conspiracy going on in Indigo Children #1 that involves classic sci-fi elements. But with how unclear things are in the prologue you are left looking to read further into the story to find out what this comic book is about.
From that prologue Pires, White, Diotto, and Cunniffe spend a lot of time focusing on the conspiracy side of the story. While we get some supernatural things going on in the prologue Indigo Children #1 is heavy on exposition. This first issue is all about setting the tone for the greater conspiracy that our lead character journalist Donovan Price finds himself in.
With this type of start Pires and White make sure we don’t spend too much time in any one scene. We go from scene to scene so we get the information needed and move on. This pacing allows artists Diotto and Cunniffe to capture a tone of something darker going on the further we get into Indigo Children.
Following the perspective of journalist Donovan Price, you are constantly wondering what this world is hiding. Pires and White use Donovan in a way that he is giving this story the reader’s perspective. With each person Donovan goes about interviewing when following every breadcrumb lead he gets the questions he asks are what the reader would ask. At the same time, Pires and White are careful not to have Donovan break-the-fourth wall so he is able to have his own agency as a character.
Each character that Donovan meets creates even more questions about what is being hidden from what we saw in the prologue that opened Indigo Children #1. There is an unease created with how the characters seen in the prologue look compared to the present day. It all feeds into how unsurprised you are when Donovan does uncover a major answer that he is placed in a spot where a greater danger presents itself.
The only place where the story in Indigo Children stumbles is the timeline of events. The opening gives us a hint that something happened five years earlier. But after that, there is no other indication given when the present takes place in relation to the various flashbacks. Having dates would’ve given much more weight to how characters acted and where Donovan found them. This definitely does feel like it’s an element that is quickly forgotten after being used at the beginning of the issue.
In terms of art style Diotte and Cunniffe, artwork fits with the tone of the story. It is not necessarily the most detailed with the way characters are drawn and colored lacking depth to it. This does not get in the way of the story being told. There just wasn’t anything that stood out that leaves you wowed at what is shown to happen.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Indigo Children #1 rewards the reader with a story that builds tension that pays off with a hook ending leaving you wanting to read the next issue right away. Everything is here for fans of sci-fi and mystery stories to enjoy.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10