The Blockbuster of the Week: Indigo Children #1

But I *would* say that, *wouldn't* I?

You Read These With Your Eyes! (March 29, 2023)

A quick feature about selling stories, featuring the week’s newest reads.

This is one I might be able to talk more about one day in the future. For now, we’re going to cover it quick, with a bit of information that I want y’all to know up top.

ONGOING | Indigo Children #1 (Image Comics)

by Curt Pires, Rockwell White, Alex Diotto, Dee Cunniffe, & Hassan Ostmane-Elhaou

Curt Pires and I go way back. The guy has been hustling in the local business for an age, and has been quietly putting out bangers for a minute.

I’m not exactly sure how I came into contact with Curt, but I know it involved the release of one of his first pieces of work, an incredible one-shot called LP with artist Ramon Villalobos, just a little over a decade ago. I was working at a comic shop in the city, and ordered a bunch for the shop without the owner’s say-so. I did that kind of thing a lot when I believed in something, and it always got me in a bit of trouble, before the owner figured out that I was making him money.¹

Anyway, Curt’s book had something. The art and the story… it all came from the guts. It grabbed you by the throat. It demanded attention.

Through the years, this has become a hallmark of Curt’s library. He tends to push against the mainstream aesthetic and gravitate towards artists that breathe fire. Every ounce of themselves lives on the pages they make, in a style that is completely, and uniquely their own - just like Curt’s words.

As time has marched on, Curt’s become someone to watch - although you wouldn’t be able to tell it from the buzz within the comics industry. He cracked into last year’s Forbes List of 30 Under 30, but that didn’t really break in the conversation in shops. Which is bonkers. How many comic creators make that list? If memory serves (and it might not - hi, you’re reading a free newsletter), there’s been just one other. Regardless, the number is miniscule.

But the comic industry has its own language and structure, and it isn’t always welcoming to folks who don’t necessarily play the game that aims you at the gigs from Marvel and DC. But Curt’s continued to push, and hustle, and folks, the guy is here, making that good, good content. And I’m here to celebrate it.

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Now. Before we get to the pitch, I want to make something very clear: a while back, Curt approached me to help reach out to retailers regarding this book. It meant a lot to me that he considered me to be helpful, and I have taken that faith very seriously. To that end, when I talk about Indigo Children, I’m not just pitching a book to you - I am truly acting in my role as a man who sells comics, because I was approached to help connect this book with people. That said, I trust you all would know I would have passed on a project like this if I didn’t absolutely believe in the fire within these creators, and the quality work they’ve put into this book. I mostly just need you to know about the connection before I give you this hard sell.

THE PITCH | This book, is in many ways, a culmination of a lot of hard work. A creator pushing to find some footing, a team that has worked together and become more cohesive as time has gone on, and a story that has become more than the sum of its parts.

Indigo Children is a book involving conspiracy. An X-Men flavoured endevour that builds from more modern fears than mutation. This series is about collusion. Conspiracy. The larger forces at play that seek to keep us docile, or even against one other while the upper class luxuriates in their bullshit.

The core of it is an investigation, but the proceedings have compassion. I’ve had a chance to read through to issue four at this point, and it a series that just gets better and better as the story builds - partly because it isn’t built to shock, but to feel. It is the book to look out for this week.

Also, also, also, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about the contest that the creative team is running - participation in which might net you a cool, rare version of the book and some original artwork. Which is nice. And might sell some more comics! Which is the goal, right?

Anyway. Check the book out. You’ll be glad you did.

1. Someone comment below and ask me about the time that Diamond started the Final Order Cut Off program, and the owner refused to let me adjust the numbers. It’ll give me a good excuse to vent that out.