I hate to prognosticate with still one month to go but it would be difficult to top this visual masterpiece. Where has David Mazzuchelli been? He is best known for his work on Batman Year One. However then he dropped out of comics. Well I have to say with the release of Asterios Polyp, Mazzuchelli has come roaring back.
This original graphic novel follows a man named Asterios Polyp. He is an esteemed teacher of Design who struggles in his human relationships. His extreme intellectualism has led to the breakdown of his marriage and loss of position. Polyp is also haunted by his twin brother who died inutero before his birth.
I can hardly begin to discuss how Mazzuchelli stretches the visual possibilities of the form. Just artistically this book is a visual feast. He dynamically uses panel layout, typography, and color on page after page. It will blow your mind. I was particularly struck with how Mazzuchelli illustrates the arguments between Asterios and his artist wife Hanna. As Hanna becomes more red and blurry, Asterios literally devolves into geometric shapes. What a wonderful visual cue as to the differences between these two! Another sequence that is mind blowing involves Asterios flashing back to all the good and bad moments of his failed marriage. In this way Mazzuchelli expertly mirrors on the page the way memories can flood into the mind.
The visual motifs on display are stunning. Mazzuchelli purposelly uses different typography for the word balloons of every character. While Asterios's is very rigid, Hanna's is in a rounded scrawl. He even uses the placement of the wordballoons to indicate the nature of what's being said. Often when Asterios is being pompous his word balloon will literally take over the space and cover other character's. Even while telling a story through representation every page has incredible symbolic weight.
To be honest Asterios Polyp is not a very likeable character, but I was struck at how much I became invested in his journey. Let's face it Asterios is too smart for his own good. He's an intellectual jerk, who is constantly competing to be the smartest guy in the room. Mazzuchelli surrounds Polyp with a variety of different characters who are wonderfully human. I grew to love the married couple that Asterios lives with for awhile. The auto mechanic Stiff Major and his holistic hippie wife, Ursula, represent a wonderful contrast between the intellectual and sensual world. While they are opposites in many ways Stiff and Ursula are perfect partners. Their embracing of all life will ensure that they will never stop dreaming.
The realization that humanity requires an equal measure of both intellect and romanticism lies at the heart of Polyp's emotional journey. The complexity of this story belies the usual literary smugness that graphic novels often face. Graphic novels are more than just superheroes. Mazzuchelli has thrown down the gauntlet and created a work of art.
Read it. Read it now.
Other Reviews
New York Times | Entertainment Weekly | ifanboy
Have a great weekend! Book Slave.
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