Blue In Green Pg. 24 - Chapter 1

Blue In Green Pg. 24 - Chapter 1
Art by Anand Radhakrishnan (Anand RK)
Mixed Media (Pencil, Ink, Ink Wash, and Watercolor)
Written by Ram V

Blue In Green is another excellent standalone graphic novel project and team up between the two Indian creators behind Grafity's Wall, Anand Radhakrishnan (Anand RK) and Ram V. This was released by Image Comics in 2020 and earned Anand and colorist John Pearson Eisner Awards.

It's a dark and haunting portrayal of a young musician's pursuit of creative genius-the monstrous nature of which threatens to consume him as it did his predecessor half a century ago. Erik Dieter is a saxophonist, a down-on-his-luck music teacher in New York who longs for more. After returning to his childhood home for his motherfs funeral, he finds a photograph of an unnamed musician amongst his late motherfs possessions. This picture is accompanied by a ghoulish visitation and a burning need to find out who this musician was - a need to fill the gaps in his understanding of his distant motherfs life. This is a quest that leads him to the musical success that he was missing but also into a land filled with obsession, with demons that consume you from the inside out.

On this page, Erik is at Becker's which is a local jazz club in his hometown, at a table while conversations are happening around him. His focus is drawn to the band playing, especially the exceptional flautist who is playing hypnotically beautifully.

I find much of the artwork from the series just that, hypnotic. Highly finished in portions and yet incredibly loose in others. It's as jazz as you can do comic art. The colors done in the published graphic novel also really add an extra layer to the experience.

Another Ram V written book I can't recommend highly enough. I especially connect with the words on this page - "I want to reach out and touch the glow of this conversation, if only for a moment, but I am a stranger to it. Forever a Spectre, watching."

Goddamn.