The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Comic artist Anand Radhakrishnan won the 2021 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) for Blue in Green, which he created with writer Ram V. In a 2021 interview with Scroll.in, he described how the book’s themes of depression, ambition and loss shaped its art—and how he and Ram V built parts of it page by page.
What award did Anand Radhakrishnan win?
Radhakrishnan received the 2021 Eisner for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art), for his work on Blue in Green. The award was for interior art, not a general comics prize. The book was a collaboration: Image Comics identifies Radhakrishnan, also known as Anand RK, as co-creator and artist, Ram V as writer, and John Pearson in its award announcement. Image Comics’ announcement confirms the award and credits.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Blue In Green | $16.77 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
One Piece: East Blue 1-2-3 | $12.74 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
One Piece: East Blue 4-5-6 | $12.74 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
One Piece: East Blue 7-8-9 | $11.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog, Vol. 8: Out of the Blue | $14.90 | Buy on Amazon |
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards use a blue-ribbon panel to select nominees. Voting is open to specified comics-industry participants, including creators, nominees, publishers and editors, historians and educators, librarians, and specialty-store owners and managers. The awards are presented across more than 30 categories at a ceremony during Comic-Con International: San Diego, according to Comic-Con International’s Eisner Awards FAQ.
How did the book’s themes shape its art?
Radhakrishnan studied at Mumbai’s JJ Institute for Applied Arts, where his undergraduate course centered on advertising. He told Scroll.in that learning to adapt to different tones helped lead him into illustration and storytelling. For Blue in Green, that flexibility served a much darker story.
#1 Best Overall
“But Blue in Green is the opposite of that: it’s about existentialism, depression, it’s about the pursuit of excellence and what you have to give up for that, you know. It’s about a lot of loss, so obviously the style couldn’t be lighthearted.”
He said the story is set in the United States, but the central concern for him was the character’s inner turmoil and struggle to achieve greatness, rather than the setting or jazz itself. He also said he did not spend much time researching the United States or jazz, and that Ram V’s script gave him detailed visual cues.
Rank #2
- One Piece - East Blue 3 Volumes in 1!
- Story and art by Eiichiro Oda
- One Piece - East Blue - 9781421536255
- Eiichiro Oda Volume 1-2-3
Why does the artwork blur what is real?
Radhakrishnan said he intentionally let some edges become indistinct so readers would question whether what they were seeing was real, imagined, or metaphorical. The ambiguity is part of how the images convey the character’s unstable inner life, rather than a lack of clarity to be corrected.
The book also distinguishes its two timelines through materials. The present is rendered in graphite, ink and digital color; the past uses acrylic and digital color. The contrast gives the timelines different visual textures while keeping the reader alert to shifts in time and perception.
Rank #3
How did Radhakrishnan and Ram V collaborate?
Radhakrishnan described the process for roughly the latter part of the book as organic and partly page by page. At times, he drew a page and then received the events of the next page from Ram V. He compared the unfolding process to jazz improvisation. That collaboration sat alongside the script’s detailed visual direction, giving him both guidance and room to respond to the story as it developed.
Scroll.in published the interview on September 4, 2021. Read the full interview with Anand Radhakrishnan at Scroll.in.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
