Asterios Polyp
DateJuly 2009
Page count344 pages
PublisherPantheon Books
Creative team
CreatorDavid Mazzucchelli
ISBN0307377326

Asterios Polyp is a 2009 graphic novel by American cartoonist David Mazzucchelli.

Overview

The title character, Asterios Polyp, is a professor and architect of Greek and Italian descent who teaches at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After a lightning strike burns up his apartment, he leaves the city on a Greyhound bus and takes up employment as an auto mechanic in the town of Apogee (somewhere in America, likely Arizona), the farthest point his money will take him. The novel is interspersed with scenes from his past (ostensibly narrated by his stillborn twin brother, Ignazio), including his childhood and troubled marriage, as well as dreams and allegorical sequences. Finally, Asterios must not only confront his own flawed nature, but the implacable and amoral whims of the gods themselves.

Themes

Mazzucchelli sketching the titular character in a fan's copy of the book at a June 2012 signing at Midtown Comics in Manhattan.

In plot, structure, and design, this book explores the idea of duality.[1] Some of the false dichotomies touched upon are: Apollonian vs. Dionysian; reason vs. emotion; destiny vs. free will; and nature vs. nurture. Ultimately, the book raises questions about how a person becomes who and what he is. Asterios' Greek heritage is one of many allusions to the story of Orpheus and Euridice, a recurring theme throughout the book. It can also be related to the Odyssey, upon which the story is loosely based.[2]

Publication

Asterios Polyp grew out of a story idea that would have filled the entire fourth issue of Rubber Blanket.[3]

It was published as a hardcover, with an architectonic design that alluded to themes of form and function within the text, including a dust jacket shorter than the size of the book that revealed the structure underneath. Questioned about the impracticality of his design, Mazzucchelli joked that it was "the most frustrating package [I] could come up with".[4]

Reception

The book has sold over 40,000 copies since its publication in July 2009; it is now in its sixth printing.

It won the first Los Angeles Times Book Prize Graphic Novel award.[5]

It received four 2010 Eisner Award nominations and won for best new graphic album, best writer/artist and best lettering. It also won three 2010 Harvey Awards.[6]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Thomas, Jared (August 8, 2011). "Words & Pictures (for sub-literates): A Review of Asterios Polyp". Frontier Psychiatrist. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  2. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (July 23, 2009). "Shades of Meaning". The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  3. ↑ Shaw, part 1 Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Showers, Squally (2009-07-17). "David Mazzucchelli at MoCCA". Retrieved 2011-06-10.
  5. ↑ Garrison, Jessica (April 24, 2010). "Rafael Yglesias' 'A Happy Marriage' wins Times Book Prize for fiction". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  6. ↑ 2010 Harvey Award winners, www.comicsbeat.com, 30 August 2010

Sources

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