Asterios Polyp

I read the graphic novel of Asterios Polyp, and I find it to be strangely interesting. The story is about the life of an architect artist called Asterios Polyp, and follows through his current situations, his past, his experiences, and personal issues. It really interest me how the story follows the life of the protagonist Asterios Polyp, by going back and forth from what he did in the past and his situation in the present. I like how the story varies in art styles depending on the character and their perceptions as well as how each character has a unique dialogue bubble to identify each of them when they are not in the frame. Normally graphic novels use circular dialogue bubbles, however Asterios’ dialogues are always in the form of a square, which I find very interesting. In addition, I find it weird how every characters other than Asterios are drawn in different styles whereas Asterios is drawn in a flat side view. Other characters are portrayed in different angles and perspectives, however Asterios’ head is flat no matter what angle his body is facing. His face is always shown as a flat surface, but his body is portrayed as a cubical model. Sometimes I find it very funny how he responds to people with very witty and snarky remarks, however other times, I find it to be vulgar; for example, his conversation with other people at the faculty meeting party involves a high amount of sexual connotations (page 54). This is not a usual and normal conversation that a professor should be engaged in. Lastly, I really like the way in which the author played with different artistic graphics and styles and the manner he developed ideas and told backstories. For example, when Asterios and Hana’s conversation started, each of them were portrayed in different styles and colors, however as the conversation progressed, the styles and colors of the two characters began to merge. (page 61) Overall, the art styles were simple, but interesting. The story structure is kind of disoriented, but creative enough to get me indulged into the story.