Homework 11 - How "Asterios Polyp" uses drawings as literary themes

David Mazzucchelli’s “Asterios Polyp” carefully delivers its literary themes both through writing and art, but primarily through powerfully constructed visuals that strengthen an already brilliantly created story. This graphic novel is a primary example of the level of complexity and nuance that the media form of comics can provide for a story, where both writing and art compliment each other. Not only is this a show of the possibility that comics as a platform can achieve, I believe that this story is at its strongest in this form due to Mazzucchelli’s artistic decisions.

Mazzucchelli uses the theme of opposite halves through Asterios’ story, notably through the differences between him and his wife and their contrasting types of intelligence.

By using sketchy, organic lines to emphasize Hana’s creative brilliance and symmetrical, formulaic 3D shapes to show Asterios’ logistic intelligence, Mazzucchelli creates a visual theme from the written characters. During their arguments, the drawing styles become increasingly contrasted as their differences become the source of their conflicts; an effect that could only be achieved in this type of media and would have been lost to the audience with just words. Even as a film, the details like the different font types or speech bubble shapes would have been lost.

This visual theme established early on impacts the ending once the two come together after a long period of separation and begin to intellectually meet more in the middle. As Hana embraces a more logical approach to her new artwork series and Asterios allows himself to be flawed, their speech bubbles, which had always been separated, intertwine and overlap for the first time, signifying their growth as individuals and as a couple.

The very nature of comics requires a balance between writing and art, yet some stories use this to their advantage more than others. “Asterios Polyp” is a story that uses this format to its fullest potential, creating a brilliant work of art by utilizing the strengths of the comic medium.