Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

Asterios Polyp is David Mazzucchelli’s first solo graphic novel effort, a sprawling, revolutionary work that raises the bar significantly on the medium. It is the story of Asterios, an accomplished architect whose buildings have never been constructed, newly divorced and miserable, who on his 50th birthday watches his home and career burst into flames after lightning strikes his New York apartment building. Asterios gets on a bus headed as far away as his money will take him, and finds himself working as an auto mechanic in a small town, trying to put together the pieces of his disjointed life.

This is one of the first (and certainly the best) graphic novels in which the art is not just an illustration of the story, an integral component of it. Every character in the novel has his or her own graphic style, lettering, and means of visual expression. In a particularly touching flashback to the early days of Asterios’s romance with his ex-wife Hana, as the characters fall in love and learn to communicate with one another, their artistic styles merge, Hana’s soft red pencil sketches blending with Asterios’s harsh blue geometric outlines. Because of its depth, Asterios Polyp merits reading and rereading, as each panel expertly blends form and function in intricately detailed layers, making a unique and mesmerizing reading experience.

Check this item out in our catalog

Recommended by Sara D.