Comics as Contemporary Literature

This week we consider comics as a form of “Contemporary literature”, by this I'm assuming pieces that fit in this category transcend the comic conventions and can hold their own against any other literature in the traditional sense.  Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli is definitely an example of this, as it could appeal to comic readers (like myself) or anyone that appreciates an incredibly well written and interesting story.

Asterios Polyp is a quick and enjoyable read, but that's not to say it's an easy one.  I never felt like I wasn't being entertained and I read it in a rather small amount of time but, Mazzucchelli packs so much depth and detail into his piece that you really need to read it several times to pick everything up.  There are plenty of perfect scenes within Asterios Polyp, like when the guy on the bus shows Asterios his tattooed lip,  which is seemingly unimportant but really adds a certain dimension to the world that we're reading about.

Not only is there a huge amount of detail and depth to the story, but also the art.  The coloring is reduced to a very limited palette, but it's utilized in a way that couldn't be expressed in any other form of storytelling.  In addition to his supreme use of color Mazzucchelli maintains the same level of attention to his linework and layout designs.  This is obvious in the scene where Aterios and Hana's relationship is falling apart and his body is simplified reduced geometric shapes and her body and room around her is a shifting sketchy mess, presenting both of their emotions and personalities perfectly without actually saying them. Also, I found it especially appealing that each character seemed to be drawn in a style of their own according to what type of character they were.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel in it's entirety, though like I mentioned before I think I'll have to read atleast once more to really grasp the smaller ideas that are strewn across the perfectly designed pages.  I also kind of have a suspicion that the story itself would hold an even higher appreciation if the reader had previous knowledge of architectural history and possibly even an understanding of postmodern sculpture, but I think it's a pretty fine comic without it.