Grafity's Wall Expanded Edition
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
When an aspiring street artist "Grafity" sees the illegal tenements outside his home destroyed, he finds in the debris, a lone, standing wall--one that'll go on to become a summer-long canvas for the lives of four friends getting by and growing up in the constantly changing and challenging environment that is the city of Mumbai.
As Grafity's mural on the wall grows, it chronicles the lives of his friends--Jay, a young man with dreams of being a rapper lured into the dangerous path of a gangster. Chasma, a bright but awkward boy who chronicles his struggles as an outsider trying to belong in this city, by writing letters to strangers, to the city itself. And Saira, who comes to Mumbai with Bollywood dreams but must first survive the reality in this place of gangsters, con-men, friends and lovers.
As the long Mumbai summer comes to a close, hearts are broken and leaps of faith, taken. This coming-of-age tale set in Mumbai's loving, unforgiving and chaotic embrace, is a unique exploration of that entirely universal experience--the falling, soaring, the grave permanence and fleeting transience of our adolescent years.
From rising comic book stars Anand R. K. and Ram V (Paradiso, These Savage Shores, Batman Secret Files).
Listed as the #3 best graphic novel of 2018 by Paste Magazine, enjoy this expanded edition featuring extra content!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
V and Radhakrishnan's vibrant graphic novel follows four young dreamers' coming-of-age and doubles as a portrait of Mumbai, the bustling and grimy metropolis where their youthful exploits take place. Grafity, a street artist, gets freed from arrest thanks to a bribe from the charismatic Jay, only to meet further conflict at home, where his father's own failed dreams of being a singer have soured into a contagious disillusionment. The next chapter peels back Jay's confident veneer, detailing his subservience to a vicious drug dealer named Mario. The story moves on to Chasma, a writer, who counters racial prejudice and loneliness by giving letters to strangers on the street (a habit that feels like a contrivance). Finally, Saira, the requisite underrealized mysterious beauty, is attracted to sensitive Chasma and his writing and deals with Mario's unwanted advances. Radhakrishnan's fluid, rakish art recalls Paul Pope and teems with depictions of the city's traffic, commuters, beggars, and street vendors. Mumbai's millions of lives provide a constantly unfolding multiplicity of stories surrounding the four protagonists, told through small asides and artistic detail in the background. Despite some messy plot moments, the fabulous art and sense of place carry this story of four very different people and their aspirations in a city where the odds are stacked against them.
