Reddit Reddit reviews Asterios Polyp (Pantheon Graphic Library)

We found 30 Reddit comments about Asterios Polyp (Pantheon Graphic Library). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Asterios Polyp (Pantheon Graphic Library)
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30 Reddit comments about Asterios Polyp (Pantheon Graphic Library):

u/Tigertemprr · 12 pointsr/comicbooks

Introduction to Comics


How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems

Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite shows, movies, books, etc. Reading primarily for enjoyment or encyclopedic knowledge? Collecting? Have the time/resources to read 50 or 500 comics per character?

Don’t try to read everything at once. There’s too much. Forget about catching up, continuity, universes, etc. for now. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so they aren’t necessarily ideal starting points. Writers change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told. Remember, there are many great characters, creators, publishers, etc. to explore.

Pick an interesting character/team and seek their most popular/acclaimed stories. Focus on self-contained, complete stories in one corner of the universe. There will be unexplained references/characters, just persevere or Wiki. Don’t let the tangled web of shared-universe comics overwhelm you. Think of it like solving a jigsaw puzzle one small piece at a time until you finally see the big picture.

Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Don’t get stuck preparing/over-analyzing, just start reading. Do you like/dislike old/new comics? Specific writers/genres? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? All-ages/mature content? Follow these instincts. Didn’t understand a reference? Maybe read that next.

Acquire/Buy comics:

u/Sleisl · 8 pointsr/graphicnovels

How about Asterios Polyp?
It could be described as a serious work: an architect's apartment burns down, and he leaves on a journey to find meaning and examine his life. Some really clever art to compliment the themes and characters of the story as well.

u/piperson · 8 pointsr/graphicnovels

Jason is kind of unique. He tells fiction with often long passages of no words. He has a really subtle sense of humor. You would have to look to alt comix for similar comics, stuff like;

Daniel Clowes - He's got a dry sense of humor and often writes satirically about life and culture. You can check out the movies he made with Terry Zwigoff, Ghost World and Art School Confidential.


Charles Burns' work is often surreal and some what disturbing though fascinating at the same time. he is most famous for his massive Black Hole about teen age STD's gone wild. He just finished a trilogy which is part auto bio and part surreal dream sequences, X'ed Out, The Hive, and Sugar Scull

I guess you could include David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp in this group of similar works though it's really original. It's about an architect that goes through a midlife crisis though it's one of the most inventive graphic novels to ever have been made. He uses every aspect of the comic to communicate to the reader, from the drawings, to the type face, to the color and even the very design of the book. It's a must read experience, thought completely unique.

Robert Crumb often has a dry, satirical sense of humor to his work. He is most famous for his 60's underground comics as shown in the Complete Crumb #4. He's done some really beautiful biographical work like his Patton about country blues musician Charley Patton. His newest work is the illustrated Book of Genesis a massive strait comic adaption of the Bible.

u/[deleted] · 5 pointsr/booksuggestions

Well Craig Thompson also did Goodbye Chunky Rice, Carnet De Voyage and Habibi. As far as themes and plot go they don't have a lot of similarities (except maybe Chunky Rice) but the art is phenomenal in them and Habibi works with the Quran much like how Blankets spends a lot of time talking about Christianity.

As far as autobiographical comics go though, I'd suggest American Splendour (specifically "Our Cancer Year", "Cleveland" and "The Quitter"), A Contract With God, and Love And Rockets (try "Maggie the Mechanic", its not for everyone though, it has some scifi in this book but that kind of fades away as the series progresses to focus more on the characters and their relationships).

If you want something that experiments with the format of a comic book a lot you might want to look into Asterios Polyp, Cerebus (Jaka's Story and Church and State I & II are the highlights there) and the works of Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan is a good starting point). As I said though, these books, while some of the most brilliant comics there are, are very experimental and as such it helps to have some grounding in comics before you give them a try. I'd actually go so far as to call all three of these even better than Blankets though and I thought Blankets was great.

u/ccbeef · 5 pointsr/altcomix

Asterios Polyp

Love it. Love it. Love it.

EDIT: I just finished it. This is one of those few books that has hit me at just the perfect time in my life. This changed my life.

u/ptitz · 4 pointsr/graphicnovels

Maybe he likes Asterios Polyp. It's not superhero stuff, but it's nice and the hardcover edition looks super fancy.

u/Wonderpus · 4 pointsr/books

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine is quite good (fiction, but very non-pulp).

I haven't read it yet, but Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli is on my to-read list (also fiction).

u/Trill-I-Am · 3 pointsr/TrueReddit

There is such an unbelievable universe of comics outside of super hero comics.

Logicomix, about Bertrand Russell, Wittgenstein, and the history of the philosophy of mathematics

[Asterios Polyp](http://www.amazon.com/Asterios-Polyp-David- Mazzucchelli/dp/0307377326), about art, reality, duality, etc. Incredible book

I love anything by Kevin Huizenga, Dash Shaw, Michael DeForge, Julia Wertz, and others

There's something for everyone

u/aisforadrian · 3 pointsr/comicbooks

I've posted this before, but I'd recommend:

Infinite Kung-Fu is a really cool and gorgeous kung-fu comic.

King City is hilarious and fantastic.

The Nao of Brown is great, but a lot more serious the other two.

Same with Asterios Polyp, more serious but it's a beautiful book and a really good read.

American Born Chinese is a great book about appreciating your identity.

Sexcastle is over-the-top, ridiculous 80's action movie fun.

u/lhkc · 3 pointsr/femalefashionadvice

Totally out of left field, but why not: you mentioned anime. Does he like graphic novels? This is a good one, it's quite a "literary" graphic novel, and amazingly well done.

u/vodkat · 3 pointsr/books

Let me add Logicomix and in fiction the excellent Asterios Polyp to your list.

u/aaaappleloaf · 3 pointsr/philosophy


Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli is great, on top of being beautiful.

u/hey_annold · 3 pointsr/graphicnovels

Asterios Polyp was a really great read imo, I highly recommend it

u/CMMFS · 3 pointsr/heyscoops

Jacob,

I don't think you should be looking for the graphic novel equivalent of a novel. The best video games, movies, and TV shows all take advantage of the unique properties of their respective mediums. Similarly, you should try to read graphic novels that can't be replicated in pure text format.

My suggestion to you is Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli. I think this satisfies everything you were looking for -- it is a single book (not a series of comics) that can easily be read in a single day. This graphic novel deals with form and function in a way that a novel simply can't.

--Plankton Scoop

u/mogar01 · 2 pointsr/comicbooks

Introduction to Comics


How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems

Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite shows, movies, books, etc. Reading primarily for enjoyment or encyclopedic knowledge? Collecting? Have the time/resources to read 50 or 500 comics per character?

Don’t try to read everything at once. There’s too much. Forget about catching up, continuity, universes, etc. for now. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so they aren’t necessarily ideal starting points. Writers change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told. Remember, there are many great characters, creators, publishers, etc. to explore.

Pick an interesting character/team and seek their most popular/acclaimed stories. Focus on self-contained, complete stories in one corner of the universe. There will be unexplained references/characters, just persevere or Wiki. Don’t let the tangled web of shared-universe comics overwhelm you. Think of it like solving a jigsaw puzzle one small piece at a time until you finally see the big picture.

Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Don’t get stuck preparing/over-analyzing, just start reading. Do you like/dislike old/new comics? Specific writers/genres? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? All-ages/mature content? Follow these instincts. Didn’t understand a reference? Maybe read that next.

Acquire/Buy comics:

u/batmanismyconstant · 2 pointsr/books

Do you like just singular graphic novels rather than long running series? /r/comicbooks has some good recs for series sorted by genres on the side bar.

For just standalone novels, I liked Asterios Polyp. You can check out a preview on NPR.

u/ChickenInASuit · 2 pointsr/graphicnovels

Check out some more Matt Kindt work - Mind MGMT is fabulous, and I really enjoyed Red Handed.

Also, if you want the DC version of Civil War, released ten years earlier and (IMO) much, much better, give Kingdom Come by Mark Waid a look.

I haven't read Bunn's Deadpool, but IMO the absolute best Deadpool is Joe Kelly's.

Just some other books to check out:

u/DreaG · 2 pointsr/funny

The art reminded me of Asterios Polyp:

http://www.amazon.com/Asterios-Polyp-David-Mazzucchelli/dp/0307377326

Lovely graphic novel.

u/getElephantById · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli, it's a graphic novel. It's amazing. One of the very few books (even graphic ones) I've read, then read again immediately after. Then again a week later. If you want a character portrait about the kind of person who would become an architect (specifically an architectural theorist) then look no farther.

u/MatthewRoylol · 1 pointr/AskReddit

As something that is usually misunderstood by society, in general, try comic books. Superhero comics, as in mainstream DC and Marvel titles, can be incredibly intimidating to start, I know. It would be silly to pop in to a universe and start from the 234th chapter. That's why I would suggest more creator controlled, already completed books which can pretty easily be found in graphic novelization formats. To this end, check out David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp and R. Grampa's Mesmo Delivery. They're two of my favorites, very indicative of what the medium is capable of. They are both extremely visually driven, so it doesn't just feel like a disconnected writer-artist pair, creating things which would be better served imagined exclusively in the medium of writing or drawing. Asterios is incredibly thought-provoking and smart, whilst Mesmo is action-y and imaginative.

Comic book reading can be a completely different experience than other mediums, it doesn't always just feel like a composite. It merges the abstract visualization of text with the defined imagination of paintings, drawings, and film. There's still the active thought process which reading gives, yet it feels more controlled. More contextual, maybe. On top of that, you get a little of the 'brain-shutting-off, going-along-for-the-ride' escapism which films can give. The combination, when done right, can cut artist's intentions and morals directly to your psyche in a way that's always made me feel reactive during and retrospective after reading, in a slightly more involved way than I've gotten from novels.

So please give comic books a chance, because the common assumption of comics (childish, devoid of meaning, sexist) is only the shallowest surface material. The stuff underneath comics is just as good, and in a familiarly different way, as the stuff underneath all the other mediums. And if you feel like you want to stay, Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman, Grant Morrison, and Neil Gaiman are good places to start for some excellent storytelling. And if you want to stay up-to-date, look toward Jeff Lemire (this guy is worth his weight in depressive, nostalgic gold), Hickman and Pitarra's The Manhattan Projects, and Jordan, Moore, and Sobreiro's The Strange Talent of Luther Strode.

TL;DR: Read Asterios Polyp and you'll see the power of the medium of comic books. It's a lot deeper than you might think.

u/usernametaketwo · 1 pointr/graphicnovels

Asterios Polyp is pretty trippy. It's one that takes work, I think, it's not a super easy read, but it's really rewarding: http://www.amazon.com/Asterios-Polyp-David-Mazzucchelli/dp/0307377326 - Also, The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch: http://www.amazon.com/Tragical-Comedy-Comical-Tragedy-Punch/dp/1563892464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368415202&sr=8-1&keywords=tragical+comedy+of+punch+and+judy

u/19thconservatory · 1 pointr/AskReddit

There's a pretty good Batman trilogy: Haunted Knight, The Long Halloween, and Dark Victory. It has more of the Gotham crime families in two of them, which is interesting. Also, I liked Frank Miller's Batman: Year One a lot.

If you also like graphic novels that aren't really "comics", I recommend Asterios Polyp (a man examines his life and a failing relationship through architecture and design), Maus I and II (a story about a Jewish family in the holocaust depicted as mice) and Persepolis (a memoir of a woman who grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution).

And by all means, for sure, read the Sandman books.

u/lennon818 · 1 pointr/graphicnovels

We are currently in a golden age of Graphic Novels. My favorite thing is Monsters is the best graphic novel written in the last ten years. Anything (non superhero) by Jeff Lemire. The Hana Barbara reboots (Flintstones and Snagelpuss) are amazing. Fun Home is heartbreaking. Asterios Polyp

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u/soggymuff · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

Asterios Polyp is great. Really thoughtful and introspective, and if you're a print nerd, you'll appreciate the two-color process print.

Edit to add: Big Questions was really amazing as well. Big hunk of a thing, kind of a philosopher's allegory, involving birds...

u/TheDaneOf5683 · 1 pointr/graphicnovels

Maybe Aterios Polyp. Excellent book about this except the guy is an architect and his wife (an artist) has left him. Not a simple title though so maybe not what you saw.

https://amazon.com/dp/0307377326

u/Mtrey · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Asterios Polyp is a more literary, non-super hero graphic novel you might enjoy.

Also Stitches

u/squidwalk · 1 pointr/comicbooks

It doesn't seem like many people are paying attention to 1337_n00b's clarification comment, so I guess I'll write about it a bit.

For a while I'd buy little self-published books, particularly after visiting some shops in Montreal and enjoying their local work. I would try to hit a couple good comic stores every time I visit a new city, which lead to some good stuff and a lot of bad stuff.

What killed it for me was having a friend bring me some local comics back from Dublin. They were just terrible, worse than most webcomics you decide not to read after being interested in their banner ads. They left such a bad taste in my mouth that I was discouraged from exploring local stuff anymore.

The last closest book I picked up to an indie was Justin Madson's Breathers. I don't know if it counts though, since it was a webcomic first, and it got a pile of publicity for years before the trade was released. At least it's self-published? It was pretty good, but I can think of five more popular books that cost less and are better off the top of my head.

u/theamazingape · 1 pointr/comicbooks

I really hope you see this and follow through.

Asterios Polyp is fantastic and will absolutely blow your mind. The main character is Greek and studies Greek architecture, and a whole bunch of the book is meant to mirror the story of Orpheus and Euridice. There is even an extended scene with the descent into Hades.

I'm about 99% sure it is the exact thing you are looking for.

u/shazammicus · 0 pointsr/comicbooks

Asterios Polyp

Hear me out on why this is one of the absolute must-read:

It is quite possibly the best graphic novel ever written. I put it right beside Watchmen. It is David Mazzucchelli's magnum opus, a triumph of the use of sequential art as a medium to convey a story's thematic elements. It is the kind of presentation that can only be done in comic form, and it is David Mazzucchelli (Batman: Year One) at his very best. Even the way the book is presented mirrors the story's themes. It is an insightful look at love, philosophy, and life. This guy even wrote an entire masters thesis on it. It won four Eisner Awards in 2010, and three Harvey awards.

Asterios Polyp, go read it.