Mumbai-based Illustrator Anand Radhakrishnan wins ‘Oscars of the comic world’

A 32-year-old Anand Radhakrishnan has won the prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for his creative contribution to American comic books. The Mumbai-based visual artist and illustrator won the prestigious Eisner award for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art). He won the award for his work on Mumbai born author Ram V's graphic novel Blue In Green. The graphics novel was published in October 2020 by Image Comics. The 32-year-old Anand shared the award with another UK-based colourist John Pearson. 

It feels weird to get an award for a work that I had finished just last year, says Radhakrishnan

In a conversation with Indian Express, Radhakrishnan said it feels nice to be recognised by such a big organisation which is sometimes referred to as the Academy Awards or Oscar awards of the comic industry. While sharing his journey about the project that probably bring a major breakthrough in his career, he said "I had completed Ram V's project around a year ago. Usually, I used to disentangle myself from the projects after completion. However, I revisit the same project whenever I need to learn something from my past experiences." Terming himself a critique of his own work, Radhakrishnan said that he felt weird when his name was announced for the work he had completed just a year ago. However, the artist maintained that he felt proud and nice for being recognised by such a prestigious organisation.

Anand Radhakrishnan and Ram V kick-started their career around the same time

While recalling his old days, Radhakrishnan said that he has been associated with the projects of Ram V since the early days of his career. He had done the cover of Ram's first self-published book called Black Mumba. Subsequently, he did another book called Grafity’s Wall, which was again based in Bombay. "Both of our projects tend to focus on music," said Radhakrishnan.

While explaining about the book for which he got the award, the Mumbai based artist said that the novel is based on the pursuit of excellence. The main character of the story thinks of himself as a devastated musician. "You have to give up something to be able to accomplish more prominent things. And what you give up to achieve something great, might turn into something horrific," said the artist while narrating the overview of the novel.

(Image Credit: Amazon/Twitter)