Asterios Polyp

**NickRocks** · 08-04-2009, 11:30 AM

There comes along, every once in awhile, a book that totally changes the comics game...books like A Contract With God, Maus, Watchmen, DKR, DK2. It's always been a pleasure of mine to see "mainstream" comic artists step out and do their own thing...artists like Will Eisner, Joe Kubert, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Phil Hester. Well now, I can add one more name to that list: David Mazzucchelli.

Asterios Polyp is being called the greatest graphic novel of all time. It deserves that moniker 100%. Mazzucchelli is on such a higher level than everyone else right now, I feel silly and stupid for reading and drawing superheroes when I read this. It really is an instance of someone showing us how much more we can do with this medium.

The story of Asterios Polyp is the title character's house burns down on his 50th birthday, so he takes a greyhound bus and ends up working on cars for a guy and his wife, then goes and reconciles with his ex wife before *spoiler* a huge comet smashes them. But that doesnt even begin to give you a hint of what this comic is really about. theres so much going on here its amazing.

The art style is fine art meets scott mcclouds "understanding comics". figures are drawn in geometric shapes, when two lovers fight, they are drawn in two different style, and when they are in love, they are drawn the same. colors are the 3 primary colors, red, blue and yellow.

I'm doing an awful job of describing the awesomeness of this book. just go read it already.

5/5, 10/10, A+ to infinity.

**Popninja** · 08-04-2009, 07:50 PM

Is it just me, or does the title of this GN sound like something Harry Potter would say while waving his wand at you?

I'm going to have to pick this one up soon.

**khperkins** · 08-22-2009, 10:49 AM

Read it. It does live up to the hype, I must say. The actual story is an actual story (if that means anything). The art is so integral to the telling of the story that it amazes. (I know, I know--it's supposed to be like that with sequential art, but Mazzucchelli really does it perfectly.)
The ending was unexpected, even though it was kinda set up earlier in the book, and I'm not sure I liked it so much, but there it is.

**NickRocks** · 08-22-2009, 11:40 AM

the double page spread of the comet took my breath away

**Babb** · 08-31-2009, 02:27 PM

Picked it up yesterday, couldn't stop reading it. A good example of how far you can take sequential art. One of the best comics I've read period.

**J. Alexopoulos** · 09-08-2009, 12:58 PM

Alright. Next investment...

**John Shine** · 09-29-2009, 01:15 PM

I can't recommend this book enough. It is this year's BLANKETS. Also if you have not read it, find a copy of Mazzucchelli's adaptation of Paul Auster's CITY OF GLASS. It is as interesting as ASTERIOS POLYP, but in totally different ways.