To read the Globe's review of the books listed here, click on the title.
Asterios Polyp
By David Mazzucchelli, Pantheon, 344 pages, $34
This is an epic, emotionally rich, symbol-laden work that promises to redefine the graphic novel. Asterios Polyp is a “paper” architect who has won countless awards for his countless groundbreaking designs, none of which has ever been built. He’s a textbook womanizer and major-league egoist. David Mazzucchelli has made a beautiful, elaborate construction that coyly juggles style and content in a way few cartoonists are capable of. Brad Mackay
Logicomix
By Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, art by Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna, Bloomsbury, 347 pages, $28.50
Logicomix is a mix of powerful ideas, ingenious storytelling, compelling illustration, wit and even a love story or three. (How could any narrative with Bertrand Russell and other famous philosophers and scientists at its core not be?) The common theme tying it all together and driving it on is an abiding curiosity about math. No thinking person could leave this book without recognizing the ineluctable connections between arithmetic and the humanities. Douglas Bell
The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
By Robert Crumb, Norton, 214 pages, $31
The marriage of R. Crumb illustrations and a biblical storyline works with surprising harmony and fluidity to recast the Genesis story as an unfolding linear account of the history of a tangible tribal people. There are few precedents for Crumb’s ambitious project, but the end result is a visceral, fascinating vision that invites the reader to view the Book of Genesis with a renewed freshness. Brian Gable
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