One can see a striking difference in the arrangement of the panels on the page. For example, consider one of the spreads of an issue of the Golden Age of Comics and compare it to one of the contemporary issues. The composition in a comic book requires a separate detailed discussion. Everything else seems to be non-existent. Characters, objects, their shape, and color are what the author pays attention to. It is worth noting that on most pages, there is no background at all. The author masterfully maintains the emotional tension between the characters and emphasizes their individuality through unusual visuals. It is Mazzucchelli’s ability to weave his ideas into the main plot that complements the comic perfectly. For example, here, the author reflects on the peculiarities of each person’s perception of reality, suggesting that reality is only an extension of ourselves (Mazzucchelli 25). Through Ignazio’s mouth, the author speaks of his thoughts and ideas. It is from his words that the reader is introduced to the character and his life. The story seems very simple, but one of the comic book features is the narrative on behalf of his dead twin brother, Ignazio. After meeting his girlfriend, Hanna, his life changes, and their relationship are idyllic until a turning point. Nevertheless, he was not always like that. A typical representative of the intelligentsia, and at times he is nothing but a snob. Asterios is a middle-aged man, an architect by training, and a teacher whose projects have never come to fruition. The story, reminiscent of Scott McCloud’s “The Sculptor,” is riveting in its emotionality and narrative peculiarities (Aldama 157). To analyze Mazzucchelli’s work with color discussed in the secondary source, I selected Beyond Stereotypes: Understanding Color and Characterization in David Mazzucchelli’s “Asterios Polyp,” I will turn to the plot of the comic. He went beyond the comic book we are accustomed to while creating a form of storytelling all his own. “Asterios Polyp” can be called Mazzucchelli’s most groundbreaking work. He also stops following any rules of storyboarding, sometimes abandoning them altogether.

However, the most exciting thing here is that, while simplifying the drawing, David gives it significant meaning through composition and color. In my opinion, this evolution of drawing can be called unique: the artist removes everything superfluous from the drawing, depicts the background quite conventionally, and the characters look more and more like schematic sketches. The change is striking if one compares several of his works.

Asterios polyp comic