Indigo Is the Color of My Love
The Good: I like the silliness of the cover, even if the lack of background kind of ruins it.
Karl Kerschl has some very nice artwork. It's got a good sleek smoothness to it that makes Indigo look particularly fantastic. Actually, I gotta say, Kerschl makes all the ladies look great without it being just full of 'sexy.' He's also got a FANTASTIC grasp of how to use subtleties in the panel layouts to create excellent pacing.
Jade and Starfire are definitely getting a lot of nice character traits. Not necessarily character development, but I'm really noticing actual personalities in both of them. But....
Neither of their personalites nor how they're showcased in this issue hold a candle to Indigo. This is an issue dedicated pretty much entirely to her. And we see just how fat she's come since the days of monotoned fact recitals. She's still very much an android thinker, but she's got such spunk and personality. She's a great character here, she even subtly outlines exactly how she's been able to craft her own personality. But we also see a darker side she's developing, and I'm really interested to see where it goes.
This is also one of the most interesting and personal fights in this series. We actually get a very close look at each moment of the fight, and that's the kind of coherent fight I like best.
The Bad: The lack of background on the cover.
In Conclusion: 5/5
What do I always say about Winick's Outsiders? It shines the brightest when Winick breaks up the arcs with these character spotlight issues. This time we finally get one for Indigo, and boy is it a great one. Kersch; has just as great a grasp of facial expressions as any other great artist on this series, and probably has better subtlety in his layouts than the rest. I actually really wish this wasn't just a guest issue and he was drawing more of the series, but we can't win 'em all. Winick's not afraid to have his heroes get down and dirty, in multiple ways, if it means we get to see depth in his character development, and we do! Seeing Indigo and Shift having sex wasn't cheesecake, it was actually an absolutely essential scene.