“How would the world react to a superpowered being?” That question has driven many a comic, and the answers aren’t usually pretty. Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen, Omni-Man in Invincible, the original Squadron Supreme maxiseries…there’s a reason why the term “Beware the Superman” exists. And Indigo Children #1 is the latest entry into this subtrope, but with a twist: the superhuman is a child who may not be of this world.
Five years ago, a mysterious boy named Alexei – who had the power to alter reality to his whim – went missing in a fiery explosion. In the present day, reporter Donovan Price attempts to track down Alexei and his fellow “Indigo Children”. This leads him down some deep, dark paths…and into the crosshairs of people who wish to keep the Indigo Children’s existence a secret.
Unlike Image’s other superpowered series, Indigo Children #1 takes a slow burn approach and sprinkles in the fantastic elements as time goes by. The end result feels like a tightly plotted political thriller, and writer Curt Pires (working from a story he concocted with Rockwell White) leans into the window dressing you’d might expect from such a story. There’s clandestine meetings, assassination attempts and jumps back and forth in time. While Image may have billed this as “Radiant Black meets Department of Truth“, it honestly feels more like “All The Presidents’ Men meets Chronicle.”
Artists Alex Diotto and Dee Cunniffe lean into the thriller aspect as well. Diotto’s artwork feels far more grounded and textured than your usual superhero/sci-fi adventure; readers will be able to see the lines of age on a professor’s face as well as the stubble lining Price’s chin. As for the action, when it happens it happens in quick and violent bursts – quite literally with the plane explosion. Cunniffe uses more subdued colors, save for the bursts of violet that accompany Alexei when he uses his powers. That same purple hue even seeps into letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s work, with Alexei’s telepathic messages literally weaving into the air around Price. It also underlines my belief that telepathy is one of the scariest superpowers ever, but that’s a story for another day.
Like any good mystery, the story contains enough to get readers hooked but also doesn’t reveal enough to give away future issues. This is a tricky balancing act to pull off, but pull it off the creators have. I’ve always believed that the first issue of a comic should give the readers a reason to pick up the next issue, and Indigo Children #1 delivers on that front. In fact, between this and No/One, Image is mastering the art of delivering explosive new comics.
Indigo Children #1 delivers a tightly plotted, starkly illustrated sci-fi thriller that raises just as many questions as it answers. Is Alexei a savior or a tyrant? Is he the next stage of evolution, or a force from beyond the stars? Whatever the answers, I look forward to where future issues take us.
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