I think juxtaposition plays a very important role in the narrative of Asterios Polyp. One part showed the natural human side of a married couple in an intimate fashion (in 2 pages only) that is truly transparent and unforgettable. I think comics like Asterios Polyp are a powerful representation of the idea of narrative, there is a great reliance on the ability of the audience to make conclusions about the structure and the characters. I appreciated the fact that there was a strong sense of characters, i could imagine how each character sounded like in reality mostly because of the articulated facial expressions.
I did not really understand why and how Asterios’ twin showed up and controlled everything instead of him (it would be great if anyone reflects on that).
I also found the twin’s role in the book to be confusing. I think he was used because he could act as a more objective narrator than Asterios would be able to, since Asterios ha a very specific view of the world. I think the twin was also meant to help us connect more with Asterios and that even though he wasn’t the most relatable character, he had his reasons for being the way he was.
One thing I found interesting was the way the graphic narrative medium lent itself to some of the more thematic juxtapositions that you were referencing. What I had in mind specifically was a scene in which Asterios is discussing the intrinsic duality of the universe with a colleague who disagrees with him. At the top of the page, they are shown on opposite sides of a table, but each character is in his own panel. There is a concrete spatial divide between them — in a sense, they are dual. This split is ostensibly self-referential. When Asterios and his colleague reach some common ground, the panels merge and they are shown in the same panel. This is a clever thematic choice that wouldn’t be possible in a purely textual novel.