Asterios Polyp. David Mazzucchelli (writer/artist). Fiction. Comics/Graphic Novels.
I am an idiot. Why you ask? Because I was not in favor of Adam buying this book. You see, it’s thirty bucks and he’s trying to save up for a short film that he’s doing in September. And so I was very naggy about the whole thing when he talked about how much he wanted to splurge and buy it. Of course I never bothered to look it up. If I had I could have saved us all a lot of naggy bitching. Hell, I would have bought it myself and saved him the trouble.
HELLO GORGEOUS!
SOOOO worth the thirty bucks. When I think of the other worthless things I’ve wasted thirty dollars on…oh the horror. I have a secret Mr. Mazzucchelli…I would have paid $50…maybe even $75. It’s stunning – the perfect blend of form and function…of art and content.
You want to see a little taste of what I’m raving about? Here ya go:
That’s not enough? Okay, check out the Vulture Blog’s eight page excerpt.
I feel like just dispensing with the actual “review”, but for record’s sake, let’s do it.
The Good: Mazzucchelli’s use of color, use of panel, use of white space. His pacing and storytelling abilities – my god! His perfect cartooning. The heartbreaking tale of Asterios Polyp and the writing that blends seamlessly with the art…sometimes becoming the art. A tale that flies in the face of simple and easy ideas like “karma” but also has a light of hope and redemption for our hero. There’s a reason some pieces of literature get called “masterpieces” and there’s a reason we don’t throw that term around all willy nilly. Asterios Polyp is a masterpiece.
The Bad: Nothing. I mean really, I can’t think of anything negative. I read this book in one sitting, spending most of a long afternoon totally engrossed. And I have to say, I can’t wait to go back and read it again. I know there are still literally dozens of hidden treasures that I missed on first reading that will reveal themselves to me in each new chance I get to sit with it. It’s a book I will enjoy my entire life. Unfortunately it belongs to Adam. Damnit. If we had room for two copies on our shelves I’d get my own copy…just in case.
I mean look at this! Illustrating different people (in a relationship no less) in not only different colors, but with completely different styles and they talk with different text. It’s brilliant and important.
The Ugly: The word ugly and this book should never be used in the same sentence. Ever.
5.0 Stars