Enter the Blue
“A Genius is the one most like himself, or herself, or themselves”. Simple words to live by. It can be hard to understand those words of wisdom when inside your head you have doubt, expectation and guilt. Music shows us, and Enter the Blue creator Dave Chisholm shows us, that “mistakes are the essence of Jazz”. Mistakes are also the essence of life and of death. Our lives and what we love, are full of mistakes. It’s how we respond to those mistakes and keep moving forward and beyond that matters. What Dave Chisholm has done with the incredible Enter the Blue is created a comic book that goes beyond what the medium was created for and brought the reader and our main character Jessie, into the Blue.
Publisher: Z2 Comics
Written, Drawn, Colored and Lettered By: Dave Chisholm
Story/PLot
Finding your way. Finding it through the doubt and expectations we all put upon ourselves. Jessie is beholden behind who she expects herself to be. In that sense, Jessie spends the entirety of the book trying to find a “lost” friend, but in the end finding her self. Being comfortable with who she is. Knowing what her limitations are. The plot of Enter the Blue on the surface is fairly simple. Jessie’s mentor falls into a coma and through Jazz Music and another dimension created from that music, Jessie goes in search of her friend. Okay maybe that’s not so simple. Aside from the dimensional plot points, and the historical nature of what and how Jazz music over the years has been foreshadowing what the Blue is, the story is a very personable one. This is Jessie’s story.
The book reads very quick to. The pacing of the story moves at a break neck pace once Jessie enters the blue in search of her friend. There are ups and downs throughout, but I was never bored. I found the mystery and the conspiracy history lessons that Jessie and Eric get taught from Sherm some of the most interesting. I found myself with an eagerness to get through Jessie’s journey. Not in a bad way, but in a way that the mystery and history lessons we got along the way were told with such grace and care that it made for an absorbing read. As with musical composition, there are highs and lows, not in quality, but with storytelling, calm moments, and more electric as well.
Art/Style
Its all about expression. Expression of emotion and of the sights and sounds of the Jazz music that inhabits Jessie and her journey. The book is separated into two experiences. One with the everyday life of Jessie. To and from her latest gig, talking with friends and conspiracy theorists. The other when she enters the Blue. Firstly, the every day life of Jessie is surrounded by city landscapes. The city is full of color, from its interiors to its sidewalks and buildings. Each representing a mood for the characters. Variety is a word that could be used to describe the art for the every day life. Every panel works off the next and builds a mood as you turn the page. Panel placement and double page spreads throughout the book are exquisite and beautiful.
Once Jessie enters the Blue, the color palette changes. Jessie is thrust into a dream like hue of blue that encapsulates everything around her. Chisholm’s work with the Blue is a craft that not many artists possess. The double page spreads are beyond a thing of beauty. But reading this book with the deluxe hardcover is the way to go. The digital review copy that was provided does the book no justice when it comes to the big layouts. Much like Chisholm’s other musically inspired work Chasin the Bird, the physical copy of the book will be one you will want to leave out for people to see. People will pick this book up, flip through it, and be blown away by what is inside.
Final Thoughts
Musical inspired works of fiction are not for everyone. Chisholm’s Chasin the Bird is not for every comic fan. The same goes for Enter the Blue. Music and the inspiration behind it is what makes it for everyone though. Expression of every emotion we inherit in our lives. All our mistakes, failures and success stories are all expressed in the music we listen to. To that end, Enter the Blue is for everyone. The feeling in our lives that being to scared to fail so why bother trying is ever present in Enter the Blue. But the goal should be to find yourself, find where you’re comfortable.
When it comes to the comic medium, pick one up with a level of craft unlike many you see on shelves today. You will find an emotional beat throughout that you will learn is inherent. Inherent in everything we do, just like music.
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Rating: 9.0