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Nicolas Cage's Pig is currently in Netflix's Top 10 Most Watched English Language Movies, so I thought it might be the right time to revisit what went into making it. Imagine my surprise when, during my investigation, I spotted a name that any comic fan will be familiar with: David Mazzucchelli. Yes, apparently the legendary Daredevil and Batman artist (whose collaborations with Frank Miller are widely considered some of the best comics the Big Two have ever produced) deeply influenced the film, and I'm here to tell you how.

But first, a quick refresher: Pig is a 2021 drama starring Cage as an outdoor truffle hunter. When his loyal pig is stolen, Cage's character searches high and low throughout the culinary scene of Seattle to determine who would steal his porcine pal and to get her back. The film inspired a podcast, the Caged in Pigcast, and in 2022, Pig's director Michael Sarnoski appeared on the show to discuss the film's inspirations.

"My my biggest [way to approach] directing," Sarnoski told his interviewer, "Is the writing. The script was pretty specific about the tone and the vibe of certain things. So I think that was most of the battle. There were a couple little things, like I remember I sent Nic some books. I still don't know if he's read that comic book, but I gave him this graphic novel, Asterios Polyp, that I think had some elements to it.”

Sarnoski didn't go too deep into what the common elements between PIg and Mazzucchelli's 2009 experimental graphic novel, Asterios Polyp, were. However, as you can surmise from the image above, it's reasonable to think that the director used at least some of Mazzucchelli's imagery in planning out the shots.

Beyond the visuals, though, there are some commonalities we'd argue the titular character of Mazzucchelli's graphic novel shares with Rob, the character Cage plays in the film. Both had worked for a while in elite social settings (Asterios was a college professor, Rob was a Michelin-star chef) who left their cities for simpler work (Asterios takes a job as a mechanic, Rob finds and sells truffles) after a personal tragedy (Asterios's house burns down, Rob's wife dies).

Even if Cage didn't end up doing Sarnoski's homework, Asterios Polyp's fingerparts are all over the film. And hey, I might be willing to put money on Cage having read the graohic novel, whether Sarnoski knew it or not. I mean, I have to imagine that the guy playing Spider-Man: Noir couldn't go too long without running into some David Mazzucchelli. 

Pig is streaming on Netflix now.  

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