Using out of space aliens as a metaphor for out of state aliens is not a new literary technique and so as soon as we see the blue creatures of Blue disembark from their strangely designed ships onto the beaches of some small coastal Sydney town we know instantly what it is that they are here to represent and why author – and artist – Pat Grant has chosen to include them, though the places that he takes them to are entirely unexpected. For one we  are shown early on a future in which they have taken over the town, passively tearing it down with the wake of their weird tentacles; an image that sort of damages any possible positive message of acceptance that we may be expecting from such a story. That’s not to say though that this is a racist or even a conservative text, not in the least, it’s all simply a matter of perspective. The biggest shock of all about where Pat takes things though comes when he takes the creatures off the page during the pre-credits cold open and then leaves them there for almost the entirety of the book. From there we are only ever shown these blue people through the eyes of three native Aussies; the subaltern never speaks and though this seems like it should disenfranchise them further, that approach is actually entirely besides the books point and purpose. Through Blue’s moral Pat is not trying to correct a mannerism in the men and women that come to this country, but rather the way in which we who are already here embrace them, if at all. So it is only fitting that he has chosen this focus for the book.

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