Asterios Polyp
{{Short description|2009 graphic novel by American cartoonist David Mazzucchelli}}
{{Infobox graphic novel
|title = Asterios Polyp
|image = Asterios-polyp-bookcover.jpg
|alt =
|imagesize = 250
|caption =
|publisher = Pantheon Books
|date = July 2009
|origisbn = 0307377326
|creator = David Mazzucchelli
|pages = 344
|previous =
|next =
|US = y
}}
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 furthest 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
File:6.28.12DavidMazzuchelliByLuigiNovi48.jpg in Manhattan.]]
In plot, structure, and design, this book explores the idea of duality.{{cite web |first=Jared |last=Thomas |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316123736/http://frontpsych.com/2011/08/08/words-and-pictures-for-sub-literates-a-review-of-asterios-polyp/ |title=Words & Pictures (for sub-literates): A Review of Asterios Polyp |publisher=Frontier Psychiatrist |date=August 8, 2011 |accessdate=August 8, 2011}} Some of the false dichotomies touched upon are: Apollonian vs. Dionysian; reason vs. emotion; destiny vs. freewill; 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.{{cite news |first=Douglas |last=Wolk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/books/review/Wolk-t.html |title=Shades of Meaning |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 23, 2009 |accessdate=December 30, 2011}}
Publication
Asterios Polyp grew out of a story idea that would have filled the entire fourth issue of Rubber Blanket.
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 which 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".
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.{{cite news|first=Jessica |last=Garrison |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0424-bookprize-20100424,0,1170338.story |title=Rafael Yglesias' 'A Happy Marriage' wins Times Book Prize for fiction |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=April 24, 2010 |accessdate=April 24, 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427040401/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0424-bookprize-20100424%2C0%2C1170338.story |archivedate=27 April 2010 |url-status=live }}
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.[http://comicsbeat.com/2010-harvey-award-winners 2010 Harvey Award winners], www.comicsbeat.com, 30 August 2010
References
=Notes=
{{Reflist|refs=
|url = http://squallyshowers.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/david-mazzucchelli-at-mocca/
|title = David Mazzucchelli at MoCCA
|first = Squally
|last = Showers
|date = 2009-07-17
|accessdate = 2011-06-10}}
}}
=Sources=
- {{gcdb series|id=48389|title=Asterios Polyp}}
- Shaw, Dash. [https://web.archive.org/web/20131021193211/http://classic.tcj.com/tcj-300/tcj-300-conversations-david-mazzucchelli-dash-shaw/ "TCJ 300 Conversations: David Mazzucchelli & Dash Shaw"]. The Comics Journal #300. Fantagraphics Books, December 2009. {{ISSN|0194-7869}}
External links
- [http://nymag.com/arts/books/reviews/57736/ Review] in New York Magazine
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/books/review/Wolk-t.html Review] in The New York Times
- [http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A810616 Review] in The Austin Chronicle
- McCloud, Scott (July 17, 2009). [http://scottmccloud.com/2009/07/17/some-thoughts-on-asterios-polyp/ "Some Thoughts on Asterios Polyp"]. scottmccloud.com
- {{comicbookdb|type=title|id=24405|title=Asterios Polyp}}
- (Video) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI5_F46JzCA Mazzucchelli talks about Asterios Polyp]
{{David Mazzucchelli}}
{{Pantheon Comics}}
{{Authority control}}