Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

It's always so great to see the kind of things the medium of visual narrative is capable of. I had never thought that philosophies and ideas like this, that one often associates with a literary novel, could be presented in such a form in a graphic novel. Reading Asterios Polyp was a refreshing experience.

The general design and fairly desaturated colors in the graphic novel gives us breathing space to allow ourselves to be reeled in by the thoughts and ideas that are being presented. David Mazzucchelli's voice seems to be quite introspective and intimate, it tries to direct us to a certain line of thought. But it is never imposing, like he wants us to really think about what he is saying and come to a conclusion ourselves.

His art itself has a distinct voice of it's own. Each and every character has a very unique design, structure and font style for dialogues that is consistent with their personality and helps convey the ideas that Mazzucchelli wants to express through them. And even though they're so unique, they somehow fit seamlessly in this world. He also uses colors very specifically to set the mood for the particular period of Asterios' life or state of mind that is being portrayed.

It is really interesting to see how Asterios and Hana's relationship plays out through the imagery. The way their worlds collide, merge, isolate and dissipate.

It seems like Mazzucchelli paid a lot of attention to details. He sets up the whole story so intricately, that it all pays off at the end. It is almost poetic how everything just comes together.