Indigo Children #4 // Review
Kabul is collapsing. The U.S. is pulling out of Afghanistan, and the team is running out of time to find the Ghost of Kabul--a man with great power who walks the shadows. They’re searching for Ahmed, but there’s no telling what they might find in the process in Indigo Children #4. The writing team of Curt Pires and Rockwell White continues an exploration into the superhuman in an issue drawn by Alex Diotto with color by Dee Cunniffe. It’s going to be difficult to track down one person in the chaos that will accompany a major shift in culture and authority.
When he was a young guy, he was on an international flight. There was a terrorist on that flight. There was a bomb. It went off. Only no one died. The detonation happened, and the world slowed down. Someone he describes as a “child god” saves everyone. He’s been chasing down people with powers ever since. Now, he’s in Kabul trying to find someone with power who doesn’t want to be seen. The government is after him, too. It won’t be easy to outrun them in the chaos of the U.S. military’s departure.
Pires and White have a clear and definite idea of where they’re going with the story, but the overall rhythm of the series seems to be a bit patchwork and staccato. The rhythm DOES appear to be working for the series early on, however. Though it’s covering territory that’s been explored pretty extensively in comic books over the years, Pires and White’s story seems to be tackling the themes in a new way. Those born with paranormal power ARE going to be pursued by various people. There’s been an international focus to that in comics before. The globe-trotting feel of this particular look into the superhuman seems to be a bit more dramatically nuanced and politically aware than previous attempts have been over the years.
Diotto gives the drama a heavy realism that is amplified and mutated in places by Cunniffe’s colors. The power feels intense when it reveals itself on the page, but Diotto’s real strength for the series seems to be the big group shot. He’s got a sharp eye for making crowds look...like crowds. Everyone in the panel seems to have their own energy, even if they’re just distant figures moving around in the periphery. The wide scope of bystanders in the periphery gives the power and pursuit in the foreground of the series an impressive contrast.
Chicago. Mexico. Now, Afghanistan. In a couple of months, they’ll be in Cairo. Pires and White are moving the Indigo Children all over the place. There IS a central sense of momentum about the series thus far, but too much of an adherence to the journey across the globe will make all those different exotic locations seem pretty mundane in the world of the series as people with powers continue to be tracked down. It’s been an interesting journey so far. Pires and White need to find some central momentum to the plot if the series is going to live up to its potential.
