Week Eleven: Comics as contemporary literature


 

This week I chose to read Asterios Polyp by David Mazzuchelli as I found the cover interesting and colors reminiscent of the old 3D halftone style. Off the bat I found it very hard to grasp and pick up on certain contents due to its philosophical nature and had to reread pages to stay ahead, hence why I drew my focus to the drawing styles and the characters both had their own distinctive style which I had never seen before! The theme of duality was very apparent and I was eager to see where the narrative took this story. The relationship between Hanna and Asterios was also fun to watch play out, often thinking how my parents would act in that situation.

Also, based on the way this comic was written, It felt like Hanna felt like who the audience should be "living" through, serving as a the point of view for the narrative. Where I felt Asterios was the main character, it was hard to relate of even sympathize with him. All in all, despite the confusion, this comic was a fun read and was interesting nevertheless to read a comic with such a unique style and message.

  

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