Asterios Polyp

For this week's post, I decided to read Asterios Polyp, a graphic novel written by David Mazzucchelli. This was my first time really reading a graphic novels, so I didn't really know what to expect, besides it being similar to a comic. I'm not that into reading comic books, however, I do know how they are set up and what they look like in terms of image style and text layout, so I did have an idea of what to compare this novel to. 

The overall style of this book is very sketchy, with a main color palette of blue, purple, and an accent of yellow, with the text being a secondary object compared to the images. In fact, many of the pages are often devoid of text, leaving the drawings to tell the story for you, which is very easy to do because the author/artist is extremely detailed in his work. When text is introduced in the scene, it usually fits perfectly with that character's personality. Meaning, the actual font that is used, and even the shape of the speech bubble, is changed or manipulated into different styles for each

individual character. I feel like this helps not only distinguish who is speaking when there are multiple people in the scene, but also lets the reader imagine what these character's voices may sound like, and it makes us feel a little more connected to the characters and the storyline. When it comes to Asterios' bubble, it is always in a box form with stiff capital letters. This mirrors his personality because he isn't as loose and easy-going as other people, and it helps the readers understand him more in a much more deeper way. It's easy to read the words in order to understand who someone is as a person, but it's easier to actually get a visual idea of their personality, and I feel like Mazzucchelli hit this right on the spot. 

Comparing the way Asterios talks to the way Hana talks in the same frame, you can tell how more delicate and shy Hana is as a person. Her speech bubble is more curved and organic, and her text is also much more fluid and more feminine than Asterios. You can also see how she is often overshadowed by Asterios. Mazzucchelli does this in a very creative way that is different than regular novels. In one shot, he shows how Asterios' bubble literally blocks Hana's bubble, showing that he is interrupting her. In another scene, he shows how when Asterios talks, the spotlight which was once on Hana slowly moves toward Asterios, and she is then left in the dark.

The way Mazzucchelli also changes the style of the characters depending on their mood is also very unique and graphically appealing. For example, there is a couple moments in this novel where Hana gets fed up with Asterios and actually gets angry. This anger engulfs her whole body image, and she ends up turning completely red and even more sketchier. This results in Asterios loosing his stiff and solid composure, and he turns into an outline of shapes that make up his body, as if he becomes empty inside when he realizes how upset he made the love of his life. At the end, seeing Hana slowly calm down and transform into her normal self and style again shows how she does love Asterios and is able to empathize with him and the way he feels about loosing his twin. I feel like Mazzucchelli does this in a way to intensify the situation and really show the readers the true emotions the characters are feeling, drawing us further into the story and connecting us deeper to their feelings.

Comparing this to a regular comic strip, it is very easy, in my opinion, to see the creative differences. Because this is a novel, it is much more descript and detailed, and it delves deeper into the story and connects the readers to the characters in a much stronger way. Also, I feel as if in comics, the actual styles of the characters don't change as much as the ones in this novel do. Of course, characters in comics visually show their emotions and actions; however, I feel like Mazzucchelli takes it one step further and really takes that concept and runs with it. In my opinion, he uses his voice in order to really connect the readers with his well developed storyline. He takes simple characters with more complex lives, and portrays it in a way that is easy to empathize with. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel, and felt like it was a nice break from my reality.