Asterios Polyp
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Asterios Polyp
I’m not sure what to tell you about Asterios Polyp. It’s a comic book, or graphic novel. It’s big. It doesn’t take long to read. It makes you think sometimes.
Worst. Review. Ever.
Actaully, the reason I don’t want to tell you much about it is that I got it as a present (thanks Simon) and I’d never heard of it, or it’s author David Mazzucchelli. So I got to approach it with a completely open mind, something I very much miss doing when it comes to music and film in particular. Comics, and even regular books to some extent, don’t feature in the long list of things I read reviews of or articles about. So reading this book for the first time was really interesting. I had no idea what was going to happen on any level apart from deducing things from what I’d seen as I went along, and it was great.
I remember getting the same thrill from going to see movies I knew nothing about in film festivals years ago, or seeing bands I knew nothing about in Whelans and the like. It seems thinking about it now that there are a million opinions available online and that people like me who use the web a lot, and things like blogs, Twitter and Facebook to share thoughts and opinions maybe are doing each other a disservice sometimes by telling other people what we think about something without being asked to. We spoil the magic of discovery.
So now I wish I didn’t put a picture of the book up there, and tell you its name because now you know something about it, but at the same time I want more people to know about it and enjoy it the way I did. Catch 22 you say. Ain’t life grand says I.
If you like the colour blue, or the colour red, or you’ve ever met someone who’s always right, or someone who’s really talented but isn’t assertive enough, or you’re in the midst of a life changing situation, or none of the above, then go and find, borrow or buy Asterios Polyp and read it, and tell me what you think. But maybe not in public? 