Book Of The Month – April
Asterios Polyp
Pantheon Books
Written & Drawn by David Mazzucchelli
As an aspiring graphic design major, I catch myself observing my surroundings; people, buildings, the always changing clouds, etc. Then when I sit down to read a comic, I keep a sharp eye to see what works and what doesn’t work for the art of the issue. We comic fans tend to like some artists more than others, whether it’s the incredibly detailed Juan Jose Ryp, or the loose-yet-fun Sergio Aragones, we’re able to recognize the style of the artist within seconds. I always wonder in the back of my mind when I see a gorgeous page of art, “how long did that take them to do?” For some artists, it could be days. Others, a few weeks. Everyone works by their own schedule and some have more free time than others. Then comes along David Mazzucchelli and completely blows everyone’s minds.
There isn’t a set style in the graphic novel Asterios Polyp, and that’s what I love about it. Every few pages the style changes-up, and you get immersed all over again. One page it’s stippling, another just geometric designs. And the best part of all, no black ink. If there’s need of borders or dark shades of some sort, it’s just purple. I feel that black sometimes feels more like filler, and draws your eye away from some details you might have missed before in a page. In Asterios Polyp, purple and the simple primary colors are the ones that reign supreme.
So what exactly is this book about you might ask? Well, it’s a simple story; this Professor of Architecture at Ithaca college, Asterios Polyp, has a sudden change in his environment as a bolt of lightning burns his apartment to the ground one stormy night. With just the money he has on his person, he buys a one way bus ticket to a small town out in the Midwest. Becoming an auto mechanic after a brief stop at the local library, we then see how he got to where he is today in flashbacks. His teaching years, the love of his life, the divorce of said love of his life, the downfall. Once an intellectual know-it-all and full time prick, now nothing more than a grease monkey working for room and board.
But the story hardly matters, because that’s not why you should be buying this book; it’s the art. Page after page of gorgeous art, that must have been planned out weeks before ink ever came close to touching paper. For all I know, this graphic novel took Mazzucchelli years to plan-out and create, and by golly it shows! The precise pictures and images he creates are stunning to look at, and are the stuff of legend. Any aspiring artists or graphic design majors sure can learn a thing or two about this masterpiece.
If it were up to me, this would be required reading in art colleges.
It’s currently nominated for a few Eisner Awards this year, and if it doesn’t take home the Eisner for Best Graphic Album, heads should / will roll, seen to it by yours truly. Hands-down book of the decade in my opinion.
Discuss this pick on the forum!
Book Of The Month – June – LOCAL
Book Of The Month – July – Sub-Mariner: The Depths
Book Of The Month – August – Superman: Secret Identity
Book Of The Month – October – Welcome To Hoxford
Book Of The Month – November – The Nightly News
Book Of The Month – December – CLA$$WAR
Book Of The Month – January – The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite
Book Of The Month – February – Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft
Book Of The Month – March – Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection
