I’m terrible at preparing for long distance travel. Choosing something to read on a flight gives me the sweats. In August I visited San Diego, I took Phonogram: Rue Brittania and Asterios Polyp. I’ll just say I’m glad I read “Phonogram” first. When you’re trapped on a plane with a crying baby and a man who smells like sour bratwurst, you’ll thank me for recommending this book.
David Mazzucchelli managed to put one complicated man’s life into a weird, non-cynical, work of art. I have to use the “a-word.” A word that seems to be overused and loses relevance when applied to just about every independent experimentation in any form of media. But when you’re dealing with a book that so perfectly encapsulates the human condition, labels and gush will be applied. I'd even argue it is high-art.
The star of the show is the namesake of the book. Asterios Polyp is the recent victim of lighting striking his home. One of many events that, upon reading more about the character, could only happen to him. Aside from the book delving into topics of loneliness, Asterios Polyp the person, is a man of reason. So it makes sense that topics of fate versus free will are explored. It’s when Asterios becomes a mechanic and tries to apply logic to his newly illogical setting, that you get what Mazzucchelli is aiming at.
Mortality is a crazy thing. It’s usually at the most inopportune moments when one begins to think about their life, death, their contributions to the human race. Take myself for instance. I’m on a plane hovering thousands of miles in the air, getting my seat kicked by a twelve year old girl. Also, this chubby sausage-filled man’s head is gently resting on my shoulder. Reading about a man who is so detached from emotion that when he loses the one he loves, it breaks him. He can’t deal. When creatures of logic come in contact with creatures of impulse the result is either harmonious and/or destructive. Mazzucchelli has mastered delivering these nuanced messages. It’s almost, kind of terrifying.
I think Bechdel’s Fun Home, is about as close a tonal comparison to that of Asterios Polyp. I’d argue that Mazzucchelli’s effort is slightly more whimsical. There is so much deconstruction of how we’ve [humanity] come to be. The attention to detail between Polyp’s infinite knowledge of historical architecture could only be matched with his lack interpersonal skills.
Seeing Polyp meet his other half and witnessing the wild changes in the art style as his life matures, is something that can only occur in comics. I remember the plane hitting turbulence and thinking what if I’m apart of the freak percentage of people who dies due to engine failure. There is so much I didn’t do. So much nonsense I haven’t had a chance to write about on the internet. I didn’t even tell my mom I loved her before getting on the plane. Mazzucchelli takes all of these thoughts. He takes all the cynicism we grow to have about life and our place in it and puts them in the story of Asterios Polyps.
Trust me, it isn’t nearly as depressing as I just made it sound.