Mario’s work appears only occasionally in his two brothers’ classic series, but I always find it interesting how different it is in form & tone than their work. Personally, as someone fascinated by life processes, this short story reminded me a lot of how wild certain planktonic life cycles can be, with animals going through multiple stages before reaching their adult forms. Side note– I loved how Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama got in on that action, hehe.
Ah, and the language! To me it’s just as original and unique as the art & concept, with new words being invented, familiar words being used as different word-forms, and so forth. Not unlike the wonderfully inventive short poem Jabberwocky, which appears in Alice in Wonderland.
Note: if it’s not clear, the six-page story is viewable by clicking the title, or right here.
Btw, the story title is almost certainly a tribute to a YES song from their 1971 album, Fragile. If you’d like to give it a listen, check it out below: