The Crossroads

Robert Leroy Johnson. Midnight.
Where Highway 61 meets Highway 49.

Coahoma County, Mississippi · 1936

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8 Panels · Infinity Scroll · AI Illustrated · Gordon Parks × Frank Miller

OpeningThey say the Devil waits where the roads cross. But the Devil is just a word for what you're willing to give up.

— Aerial view of two dirt roads crossing in flat Delta farmland at midnight — one small figure at the junction below.

NarrationRobert Leroy Johnson walked south from Robinsonville with nothing but a guitar he could barely play and a hunger that had no name.

— Robert Johnson stands alone at the crossroads. Guitar case at his feet. Moonlight casting his shadow long.

— His hands open the guitar case on the dusty ground. Moonlight catches the strings.

NarrationThe figure did not arrive. He was already there. Had always been there. Waiting at the junction of every road anyone ever had to choose.

— A massive dark figure materializes from shadow. Enormous hands reaching forward. Robert Johnson looks up.

— Robert Johnson's face in extreme close-up. Eyes wide. Sweat. The reflection of something supernatural in his pupils.

NarrationHe tuned each string like he was remembering something. Like the guitar already knew the songs. It just needed permission.

— A large dark hand tuning guitar strings in moonlight. Sparks of light running along each string as it tightens.

NarrationWhen Robert played the first chord, every dog in Coahoma County howled. Every crow went silent. The cotton itself leaned in to listen.

— Robert Johnson playing with supernatural intensity at the crossroads. Body arched. Energy radiating from the guitar.

NarrationHe walked away a different man. The kind of different you can hear in every note. Twenty-nine songs. Then gone.

— Dawn over the empty crossroads. Robert Johnson walking away down Highway 61. Small figure. Vast Delta. Still going.

◆ The Crossroads

Episode I — The Clarksdale Series

"Robert Johnson died at 27. No confirmed photograph existed for decades. No headstone for years. But every guitar that ever plugged into a wall owes him a debt it can never pay."

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Character

Robert Leroy Johnson · The Bluesman

FireKeeper Lineage · Delta Era · 1911–1938 · Coahoma County, Mississippi
Medium: Brown paper bag — pencil stub, phonetic spelling, whiskey ring stain
Artifacts: Brown paper bag lyrics · Battered guitar · Pawn ticket

"I wrote this song on a Tuesday. By Wednesday it was already mine."