In the meantime, we are enthralled by Mazzucchelli’s extraordinarily imagined world of brilliantly conceived eccentrics, sharply observed social mores, and deftly depicted asides on everything from design theory to the nature of human perception.Īsterios Polyp is David Mazzucchelli’s masterpiece: a great American graphic novel.

Did Asterios do something to drive her away? What has happened to her? Is she even alive? All the questions will be answered, eventually. And we meet Hana: a sweet, smart, first-generation Japanese American artist with whom he had made a blissful life. But what is this “escape” really about?Īs the story unfolds, moving between the present and the past, we begin to understand this confounding yet fascinating character, and how he’s gotten to where he is. In a tenacious daze, he leaves the city and relocates to a small town in the American heartland. Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. An epic story long awaited, and well worth the wait. Enjoyed it a lot the second time through.The triumphant return of one of comics’ greatest talents, with an engrossing story of one man’s search for love, meaning, sanity, and perfect architectural proportions. So yeah, pretty solid even if it's not breaking any new ground. It's a setup that wouldn't work with a young protagonist, because who is going to hire a twenty-year-old fresh off the bus? Now a fifty-year-old guy, you know what you're getting, and if he can still learn at that age he's a keeper. When does that ever happen? Well, it happens, so why not here. The guy hops on a bus, jumps off when he sees a help-wanted sign, and gets hired on the basis of his hello. Lightning strikes and a guy must flee his burning apartment. Particular character sketches seem drawn from life, the understanding of how memory works is surprisingly modern, and the concept of a double used here as a psychological crutch, allowing the protagonist to limp into his new existence.Įven the opening of the tale works in its unbelievable, melodramatic way. But more importantly, it's the little things the author gets right that make the story ring true. Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. The pacing is spot-on and the art is, well, illuminating might be the most appropriate word. Pretty straightforward, but as with any story, it's the telling that matters - and this one is told rather well. The story is pretty simple: a guy's life has more or less gone to crap, and he starts over, taking the opposite approach to life this time.

Asterios polyp de david mazzucchelli