Mumbai-based graphic artist Anand Radhakrishnan, 32, has won a prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, popularly considered the Oscars of the comics world.
The Eisner Awards are given out annually and the award won by Radhakrishnan -- Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) -- recognises the creator of a graphic novel’s art and images. Radhakrishnan shares the award with UK-based colourist John Pearson. They won for their work on UK-based author Ram V’s 145-page graphic novel Blue In Green, published in October 2020 by Image Comics.
The mixed-media images, created using pencil, ink and acrylic paint, are hauntingly realistic portrayals of a young musician’s self-doubt and struggles in pursuit of creative success. “Blue In Green is about existential dread, an artist’s insecurity. The story is slow-paced and subdued and the images complement the narrative,” Radhakrishnan told HT. “They are very realistic in terms of the proportions and anatomy and the images are a little hazy as well.”
Winning an Eisner is great validation, he adds. “I work from home and very few people get to see what I do. But when Eisner acknowledges you, you realise that people are looking at your work. It’s made me feel that what I do has meaning.”
He’s hoping the recognition will draw attention to the graphic novel in general too. “I strongly believe that if there is a consolidated effort to push graphic novels, they have the potential to become as big in India as Manga is in Japan,” Radhakrishnan says.
{{/usCountry}}He’s hoping the recognition will draw attention to the graphic novel in general too. “I strongly believe that if there is a consolidated effort to push graphic novels, they have the potential to become as big in India as Manga is in Japan,” Radhakrishnan says.
{{/usCountry}}The Mahim resident is currently working on another graphic novel, Radio Apocalypse, also with Ram V. It is the tale of a radio station and crew that have survived the apocalypse. The book is set for release in October.
The Eisner Awards were founded in 1988 by American comics editor Dave Olbrich, in response to the discontinuation of the popular Kirby Awards for comics in 1987. The Eisners are named in honour of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner. The awards are announced each year at the San Diego Comic-Con.