A grim future, where wrongdoers are branded and exiled from society with no recourse or warning. A protagonist who finds themselves convicted of a crime, wondering what they could possibly have done. These concepts are not new, but the creative team behind “IND-XED” uses these foundations to highlight what they believe to be most important in such scenarios – the humanity of the individuals within them. Sullivan’s murky, ethereal artwork harmonizes with Campbell’s writing to give the briefest of glimpses into a dystopia where one’s identity is both unimportant and the most important thing in the world.
Written by Fraser CampbellCover by Lucy Sullivan
Illustrated and Colored by Lucy Sullivan
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhauo
When a young woman is branded with the mark of the IND-XED, her entire world collapses around her. She is alone, cast out of normal society for a crime that she cannot identify. Now, she must live the life of an exile. It is a lonely life. But is it also one where she can be truly free?
The first panel of “IND-XED” showing a shadowy authority figure perfectly sets the tone for the comic. Sullivan delivers the first of a slew of captivating images, and Campbell lays down the intrigue right away. The events of that one panel destroy the protagonist’s previous life. She is now one of the IND-XED, the criminal class within the society of the comic. She spends pages flailing, grasping for some misdeed that could possibly warrant this sentence. So many possibilities, but no certainty whatsoever.
The atmosphere of disarray and panic is captured superbly by Sullivan. There are few borders between panels – everything is connected, everything is jumbled together. Sullivan’s painted style creates little separation between the characters and the world around them, with bodily shapes often blending into backgrounds. The individual is insignificant, part of the whole. What stands out most prominently is the bright neon brand that the protagonist now bears for all to see, for all to witness. She is different. She did something wrong. Don’t be like her. It is devastatingly effective visual storytelling.
The most compelling aspect of the narrative “IND-XED” is how our protagonist and the people around her respond to the looming threat of being instantly, executively removed from society. The fear surrounding this illicit status is palpable in every page, and is evident from the moment that the protagonist reveals herself to her family. They instantly know to exclude her, and she can barely stand, crushed by the weight of knowing that this would be her existence from that moment forward. However, as the protagonist ventures out into the world, she meets others who provide different perspectives on it: survival, acceptance, and even freedom, hope and seeing the humanity of those simply trying to exist behind the veil of oppression. In a period in the world where negative thoughts swirl around us all, having a protagonist fight against an unjust system by engaging as a feeling, hurting human feels very timely.
Putting forward this message and story in a comic less than thirty pages long is a remarkable achievement, and one that shows what can happen when crowdfunding is done correctly. A story like “IND-XED” might have struggled to find support in the traditional comics market, but through crowdfunding, those that were interested in the story that the creators wanted to tell could help bring it to life.
“IND-XED” may be slight in page count, but it gives readers a great deal to ponder and consider. It begs to be re-read, with each new engagement with it presenting new layers of narrative and highlighting parts of Sullivan’s art that may have gone unnoticed before. One-shots can often feel insubstantial and shallow, but “IND-XED” does not. While it may be occasionally too wordy for my personal taste, every page showcases that the creative team were united in purpose and vision. Excerpts from “IND-XED” have churned in my mind ever since my first reading, my brain grappling with the ideas presented therein. My brain has been indexed, forever slightly altered for having read this fascinating comic.
