Written by Curt Pires and Rockwell White
Art by Alex Diotto, Dee Cunniffe
Published by Image Comics
Indigo Children is one of those comic books that I have been hearing a lot about, yet had no idea of what it even was. I decided to give it a shot to see what all of the hype was all about. I’m glad that I did before this was one of the more engaging reads that I have come across in quite some time.
There is a lot of world building here and a promise of more to come, and I would have to say that I am excited about where the story is headed from here.
We are introduced to a journalist as this book begins named Donovan Price. He is a bit of a skeptic and also a really hard worker. He is the entry point character for the audience and he is very relatable. We get to see Donovan at work when this story begins and we instantly get a sense of where he is in life and who he is as a person.
Then, the creative team pull the rug out from under us.
The mystery of who the Indigo Children are comes across Donovan’s way. Once he hears about them, he starts to more and more interested and invested into figuring out who they are. He wants to knows what they represent and where they actually came from. But it all starts with that very first child that Donovan comes across.
That first child is the focus of the narrative for a bit. The creative team take us to some really dark places as a result. Donovan slowly learns that there are five Indigo Children and they are here to help save the earth. Their home planet went and got itself destroyed, so they want to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to this planet. But not everyone seems to think that they are as friendly as they as saying they are. And that is when things truly go out of control for everybody.
This book asks a lot of questions, and I mean, a LOT of questions. It doesn’t answer as many as it raises though and that can make it occasionally frustrating to get through.
One of the biggest plot points in the book has to deal with a young child named Alexei. Alexei can bend reality to whatever whim he desires. Five years ago, Alexei went missing. That’s when the questions start to really arise: Did Alexei really disappear? Or did he make people just believe that he did? Just what is really happening here?
Donovan does start to look for Alexei and he starts to realize that maybe he should question his own reality.
He starts to really dig deeper and deeper. The mysteries of the book start to close in on Donovan. Eventually, he comes across a group that would like to keep the existence of the Indigo Children a secret. They means death might be on the horizon and Donovan should watch his back. There is a scene that shows that this organization isn’t one to mess around.
Things get pretty dark fairly quick, too.
The book goes back and forth a lot between the time when Alexei disappeared and the present day. We get to see a lot of correlation between the two. Certain events between the two time period almost mirror each other. As Donovan gets deeper and deeper into this investigation, things start to come apart for him. Can he stay alive? Can he figure out or discern what is actually happening here? Or has he signed his own death warrant? How much trouble is he really in?
These questions are asked pretty much every few pages.
Writers Curt Pires and Rockwell White write an intriguing script that does get itself a little too much caught up in cliches. There are some nice moments and the character work (especially the Donovan character) that make the whole thing worth it. The artwork by Alex Diotto is fairly strong and keep the narrative going, even when it threatens to be a little ridiculous.
Overall, this is a decent book that could have been stronger if it avoided certain storytelling beats.
However, it is entertaining enough to say that it is a decent, enjoyable and, at times, thrilling read.
RATING: B
