Analysis Of The Novel Asterios Polyp Color - 1522 Words

Color is commonly used in various art forms as a way to represent feeling and symbolize a greater meaning than a written text or black and white shading could. In David Mazzucchelli’s graphic novel Asterios Polyp color is used to express both emotion and time through his use of the printer primary colors, cyan, magenta and yellow. Because of Mazzuccehlli’s use of color and the abstract form of his comic panels, his comic is considered an alternative comic. Breaking the barriers of what readers are familiar with when it comes to the aesthetics of a comic, while at the same time being able to make it not seem vastly unfamiliar. Asterios Polyp takes the reader to a whole other world as they are navigated through the mind and memories of Asterios by narration from his dead twin brother. Similar to Mazzuccehlli, Paul Thomas Anderson incorporates meaning through color in his film Punch-Drunk Love (2002). In this essay I will compare the use of color in both Asterios Polyp and Punch-Drunk Love with regards to its significance in both, and how form is used to express both emotion and time. With regards to form, I will focus on the Mazzuccehlli’s eccentric panel distribution and the variation of space in between the panels, which separates it from most comics. Anderson’s film alike separates itself from the classic romantic movie form through both its plotline and cinematography. Had either Mazzuccehlli or Anderson not incorporated the symbolism of color within their works, I feel