Many kids can imagine they have super powers. They run around the house pretending to fly, read minds and have super strength. They obviously don’t have any real powers. It is just their imagination, but what if they did. What if they were “indigo children,” “highly evolved” individuals, all of whom share certain psychological traits that mark them as existing outside and maybe even above the norm?
Creator Curt Pires’s new Image series with the creative team behind the smash-hit series “Youth,” artist Alex Diotto and colorist Dee Cunniffe — plus letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and co-writer Rockwell White — attempts to tackle the questions behind the “Indigo Children.” We spoke to Pires to learn more about this new series, working with his “Youth” team again, just who or what are the “Indigo Children” and more. We also have an exclusive first look at the issue. You can find our discussion with Curt below and you can find “Indigo Children,” in stores from March 29th.
Written by Curt Pires, Rockwell White
Art by Alex Diotto
Colored by Dee Cunniffe
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-ElhaouAcclaimed creator CURT PIRES returns to Image for a brand-new ongoing series with the creative team behind the smash-hit series Youth, soon to be a show on Amazon Prime! RADIANT BLACK meets THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH in this action-packed sci-fi/mystery epic as journalist Donovan Price hunts down the extraordinarily gifted INDIGO CHILDREN after their mysterious disappearance fifteen years prior. An EXTRA-LENGTH FIRST ISSUE for the regular price of just $3.99!
There may be some readers who are not familiar with the actual Indigo Children case. How would you describe the phenomenon and what interested you most about it and taken into your series?
Curt Pires: It’s basically genius kids who claim to be reincarnated martians and possess post human abilities? It’s wild as hell. Google it and you’ll find a ton on the phenomenon. Not gonna point out specific cases or articles because I don’t want to open that can of worms lol.
This series reunites you with the Youth team of Alex Diotto and Dee Cunniffe . As a team what do you think is the biggest difference this time? What do Alex and Dee bring to the series that only they can do?
CP: Honestly I just think everyone has gotten better at what they do. Just look at the book and you’ll see it. It’s wild really, but it’s all there. It makes sense though, you do something enough you’re going to get better at it.
You have mentioned in previews of the book that this is something that you have been working on for years. What do you think it was about this story that kept you and the team pushing it forward? What has been the biggest change since your initial idea?
CP: I think I always had a clear picture in my head of how good the book and idea could be if we did it right and I kept chasing that. And really I just wanted to come back to image with something that was competitive with the best books on the market, and make a statement. I think we did that. The big challenge is always digging in and doing the work to make the book great and to make people care enough to give it a shot.
I have also seen you discuss wanting to “evolve and push this mode of storytelling into the future” with this series? Looking back on your career, what do you think your biggest change has been as a creator and what have you done to push yourself with this series?
CP: I’ve changed so much personally in the ten years or so I’ve been doing this it’s hard to say. I’m really just interested in the work now more than ever. I’m interested in using my God given gifts and talents to the limit of my abilities. Before it was more about trying to find some sort of acceptance…I was really invested in how people thought of me as a creator and chasing this really hollow external validation. Now I realize all that comes from within. You’ll never get that validation from an outside source. And you’ll drive yourself mad chasing it. The work is all that matters and it’s bigger than us as individuals.
Continued below@indigochild694 do not appear to be fans, even calling you a false prophet. What’s their deal?
CP: They seem unhinged. But also they’re giving away free stuff to fans and people who interact with them? So I guess it’s not all bad. That’s happening on twitter.
The story in the first few issues jumped a bit between the past and present. As a writer telling a story over multiple issues, how do you juggle telling the complex story you want to tell while making it also work in a single issue?
CP: I tend to compartmentalize all that stuff. I know where each character is at a given point and sort of where they all were deep in the past. But in certain cases it gets complicated. TImes like that I sort of take a step back and do the math on where everyone is at a given point. Credit where Credit is due Rockwell is really great at keeping track of that stuff and making sure we don’t fuck it up.
I believe we have seen 3 issues solicited for the series so far in previews. Do you have a planned length for the series or will it be a longer ongoing series?
CP: The length of the series is going to be determined by market forces. But there’s enough story to keep it going for a while here. I’d love to, and hope we can. We have a ton of mythology and story to unroll here.
Throughout your writing career a lot of your stories have explored many social/political issues. Is this something you explore in Indigo Children as well? Why do you think comics are a good medium for these types of stories and issues?
CP: There’s some political elements to Indigo Children specifically looking at how people and their ruling governments interact. But I don’t want to be overly political unless I’m sure I can nail it. I’m careful of it now. We live in the era of the 24 hour news cycle and so I think it’s harder than ever to make a meaningful political statement. That said, I don’t run from it if the story demands it.
When readers put down the first issue of Indigo Children what do you hope they take away from that reading experience?
CP: I hope it can fill them with awe and wonder at the end of the issue. And that they’ll want to reread it. I hope that if someone’s having a bad day maybe the book could give them a break or make them feel better for a while. I think that’s sort of the ultimate beauty of entertainment and the importance of it: it can give us an escape when we so desperately need it.
