Asterios Polyp Discussion Guide: Home

(Photo via)

Information about the author is available at the Lambiek Comiclopedia website.

(From the Association of College and Research Libraries - Residency Interest Group)

1. Which aspects of Asterios’ personality are redeemable? Which are irredeemable? Is there some kind of theme here? For example, how might this tie into the notion of duality?
2. What did you think of the artwork? His use of color? What is conveyed by both his style and use of color, if anything?
3. In what way does his style deviate from others you’re familiar with? In what ways is his style similar to others you’re familiar with?
4. Would you say Mazzucchelli favored style over content? If so, how does this fit with the many metaphors in the book? Or doesn’t it?
5. Asterios is a “paper architect” - a designer and not a builder. Is this a metaphor for something? Could we apply this as a metaphor to other aspects of Asterios’ life?
6. What is the dynamic between Hana and Asterios? In what ways does their relationship work? In what ways doesn’t it?
7. You could spend quite a bit of time trying to tease out all of the metaphor, symbolism, and references to other works in this book. What did you notice?