Void Indigo

• Format — Graphic novel Limited series • Limited — Y • Superhero — Y • Publisher — Marvel Comics (Epic Comics) • Date — 1984 November 1984 – March 1985 • Issues — Graphic novel and 2 out of 6 issues • Main Char Team — Jhagur • Writers — Steve Gerber • Artists — Val Mayerik • Letterers — Andy Kubert • Editors — Laurie Sutton Archie Goodwin • Subcat — Epic Comics • Sort — Void Indigo

The project focuses on an alien named Jhagur who arrives on Earth with a spirit of vengeance against the four wizards who had tortured and killed him in his previous life. The title was noted for its combination of metaphysical themes with graphic violence, grotesque imagery, and the occult.

Gerber originally developed the concept as a pitch for revamping DC Comics' Hawkman — "combining the Earth-One and Earth-2 versions into a new version of the character. The idea being that he was an alien from Thanagar who was the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian prince." After DC turned him down, he then shopped the concept (minus the Hawkman connection) to independent publishers Eclipse Comics, First Comics, and Pacific Comics, but could not come to an agreement.

Gerber successfully brought the concept to Marvel Comics, a company he had recently quit. Gerber reworked the story, illustrated by Val Mayerik, into one of the first graphic novels published by Epic Comics — Marvel Graphic Novel #11 — in 1984. (Although Void Indigo was published as a creator-owned Epic title, the story included references to Marvel concepts such as Atlantis and Zhered-Na.) The graphic novel attracted controversy for its graphic violence and surreal horror elements; shortly after publication, copies were seized by Canadian customs officials over concerns that it violated pornography statutes. Void Indigo was then solicited as a six-issue limited series by Epic; the first issue was published with a November 1984 cover date. Distributor reaction to the series was negative, with both Steve Geppi of Diamond Comic Distributors and Rob Van Leeuwen of Andromeda Distributing Limited weighing in: According to The Comics Journal, dealer resistance to the series' "unusually violent and bizarre concepts" contributed to low sales. Creator Gerber estimated circulation in the 30,000–40,000 range. Critical reaction was also negative, and orders for the second issue dropped further, leading to Epic's editor-in-chief Archie Goodwin deciding to end the series after its second issue. Contributing factors included production delays, with Gerber acknowledging that he had only rough outlines for the first several issues. Marvel staff similarly cited irregular shipping schedules and Gerber's other professional commitments as factors. Gerber and Goodwin reportedly discussed revising the series' premise to make it more commercially viable, but Gerber opposed substantially softening its content: Issues #3–6 were not completed, although Gerber's synopsis for the unpublished issues was later leaked onto the Internet,.

Void Indigo begins in a prehistoric era, where four ancient sorcerers seek to escape aging and death through rituals that manipulate reincarnation and the metaphysical realm known as the "Void Indigo," through which souls pass between lives. Their actions corrupt the natural balance between life, death, and rebirth, while the warrior Ath’Agaar and his lover Ren become victims of the sorcerers' pursuit of power. Thousands of years later, Ath’Agaar has been reincarnated as Jhagur, an alien starship captain who once also lived on Earth as a human. Drawn back to Earth by unresolved events connected to the sorcerers, Jhagur crash-lands in the American Southwest and becomes involved with Amanda Tower, her daughter Cosima, and a group connected to the mysterious mystic Taro and the cult of the demigod Kaok. As Jhagur investigates the surviving sorcerers and recovers memories of his previous incarnations, the story reveals that the disturbances in the Void Indigo threaten both Earth and the spiritual cycle itself. The published story ends with the re-emergence of Kaok's influence and the beginning of a larger supernatural conflict.