Panel discussion

Another character imbued with mythological traits, the titular hero of Asterios Polyp (Pantheon, $29.95) seems like he could have walked out of a Greco-Roman legend and into modern Manhattan. The creation of comics master David Mazzucchelli, Asterios is a snooty, abstract thinker, an architect whose designs win awards but never get made into actual buildings. Until, that is, a freak accident sends him on a journey of self-rediscovery in small-town America. There, he breaks out of his chilly, theoretical mind-set and begins to confront the hardships of his past: his stillborn twin, a divorce, a fire that destroyed his beloved house. For all the malaprops and misconceptions Mazzucchelli makes his characters muddle their way through, you don’t get the sense that he hates them. Rather, he uses awkward experiences to explore the capriciousness of life and the difficulties of understanding what’s right in front of us. In the end, Asterios Polyp reads like an intricately designed and heartfelt work of metafiction, juggling design theory, philosophy and sly nods to other cartoonists to create a dryly funny masterpiece.

Buy Asterios Polyp on Amazon.com | Buy it on BN.com

The characters in the three stories collected in The Eternal Smile (First Second, $16.95 paperback) all come face-to-face with the Big Lies that keep them content despite their grim lives. Cubicle drone Janet Oh confronts the reality of the relationship she’s struck up with a Nigerian e-mail scam artist. The medieval warrior of a fairy tale shakes off his storybook ending to realize the sadness of his life. And in the title story, cartoon character Gram’pa Greenbax is a greedy frog who wants to swim in gold until he meets his maker. Authors Derek Kirk Kim and Gene Luen Yang are rising young comics talents, and their collaboration on The Eternal Smile will make you think about what people do to achieve their dreams—and whether those sacrifices are worth their dubious returns.

Buy The Eternal Smile on Amazon.com | Buy it on BN.com

Mazzucchelli will appear at Bryant Park Reading Room Aug 19.

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