Reading List

---

I am in the midst creating the reading list for my Graphic Novel Seminar, and I figured I would share what we are reading with you all in case you wanted to join in!

This is a working list, it still may have some twists and turns, some additions and subtractions, but I feel pretty strongly about these titles.

I want to begin with, what I think is the BOOK of the year:

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli



Now, this book is special in many ways. It's creator has always been a favorite of mine... From his superhero beginnings (Two of my favorite superhero runs are Daredevil: Born Again, and Batman: Year One, both drawn by Mazzucchelli) to his journey into independent comics, he has always been an innovator and trailblazer.

It has been years since we have seen a larger piece of work from Mazzucchelli, dare I say, fifteen years?

But let me finish with, it was well worth the wait. In Asterios Polyp, DM has created a game-changer. Not only is it a narrative and illustrative masterpiece, it is an education in comics storytelling. It is a masterwork that understands the language of comics and essentially weave it into the narrative.

From the Publisher:

"Meet Asterios Polyp: middle-aged, meagerly successful architect and teacher, aesthete and womanizer, whose life is wholly upended when his New York City apartment goes up in flames. In a tenacious daze, he leaves the city and relocates to a small town in the American heartland. But what is this “escape” really about?

As the story unfolds, moving between the present and the past, we begin to understand this confounding yet fascinating character, and how he’s gotten to where he is. And isn’t. And we meet Hana: a sweet, smart, first-generation Japanese American artist with whom he had made a blissful life. But now she’s gone. Did Asterios do something to drive her away? What has happened to her? Is she even alive? All the questions will be answered, eventually."

I am running short on time... I will continue this post in a Part II segment tomorrow!