Asterios Polyp

Asterios Polyp

This was a fantastic story. I really love how early on we were aware of Asterios’ ego. I was waiting for Hana to call him out and when she did it was a beautiful clash of her red and his blue. The way the art was used to emphasize mood was very clever and effective.

I think we all know a few people like Asterios, highbrow know-it alls that could judge a person harshly just be looking at them. It was fun to look deeply into a character like this and to see his world get broken and rebuilt. His attitude in New York and the small town are very different. In New York, before his place burned down he always spoke of things as they were. He spoke his opinion as if it were hard fact. In the town he either didn’t speak much of his opinion or he would start with “I used to think.” This alone showed clear development of his character.

The theme of duality is very strong in this piece. No doubt, Asterios is obsessed with duality because of his twin brother whom died in the womb. This obsession with pairs affects his building designs, his philosophy, and his love life. Hana’s argument with him not only marks the end of a relationship but also shakes his world.  He was wrong about duality. He used to think love was just a mixture of mutual attraction and shared interests but it’s so much more than that. Asterios does learn though. His midlife crisis has greatly changed him, humbled him. Made him significantly less self-centered. Safe to say, he’s not a huge asshole anymore. So Asterios confronts his other, Hana, to prove it and then an asteroid destroys them both and it over. It was an ending I didn’t see coming. The ending does fit though, midlife crisis are about live like you’ll die tomorrow. And in the end I think Asterios was truly proud of himself.