In 1986, Spiegelman broke ground on a new art form with his book-length comic Maus. Arguably the first recognizable example of the graphic novel, the comic recounted his father's experiences as a Holocaust survivor and Spiegelman's own attempts to make sense of his family's history. In this new volume of prose based on interviews with his editor Hillary Chute, Spiegelman reveals the arduous process that took him from his inspiration for the book to its impact on literary history. Where other books of this kind tend toward self-indulgence, Spiegelman takes a profoundly intimate approach, laying bare piles of concept art, family photographs, genealogies, Holocaust propaganda, rejection letters, and interviews with his wife and children. The result is an extraordinary look at the history of comics and Spiegelman's life through the lens of Maus. The book's design has been executed with as much care as the content of the interviews themselves, and scarcely a page goes by without some image to reinforce the narrative. If these aren't enough, the book comes with a DVD of supplemental materials that could keep the reader immersed in Spiegelman's world for days. (Oct.)
Richly rewarding…The book also serves as a master class on the making and reading of comics…The last frame encapsulates in one single moment the artfulness behind the tale we’ve just read, and the uneasy combination of filial pride and anger that flowed through Maus and flows through Metamaus as well.” –The New York Times Book Review
“As a floor plan for endless exploration, it is the Haus That “Maus” Built…Pick any page and gaze. The windows into these stories about the story are to be found at every turn, filling the space with insightful light.” –Washington Post’s Comic Riffs
“Art Spiegelman has done more than any other writer of the last few decades to change our understanding of the way stories about the Holocaust can be written…MetaMaus is a profound meditation on the meaning of sources and the uses we make of them.” –The New Republic
“A fascinating meditation on art, writing, and one of the darkest periods in human history.” –The Atlantic
“Mr. Spiegelman’s new book, MetaMaus, functions as a kind of artist’s scrapbook, chapbook, photo album and storage trunk. Packed with more extras than a new ‘Transformers’ DVD, it’s a look back at Maus and its complicated composition and reception…Mr. Spiegelman is a witty and testy raconteur, and Ms. Chute knows a good deal about comics and she pulls good things from him…Spiegelman is charismatic, and the photographs of him sprinkled throughout are pretty delightful.” –New York Times
“Few books have made as much impact as Maus has. MetaMaus explores this impact, as well as providing some of the original notebook material on the graphic novels…[contains] the single most powerful graphic representation of the effects of the Holocaust…If you are serious about comics or the Holocaust, this book should be on your shelf.” –San Francisco Book Review
“Spiegelman is well-spoken and insightful, and is one of those rare creators who can talk coherently about his own work and process…MetaMaus is thoroughly illustrated with excerpts from Spiegelman's sketchbook, from the original source materials he used when creating his book, and news clippings and other ephemera from the books' storied history…Gripping and smart.” –Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing
“Each page is more beautiful than the next…you’ll find yourself as engrossed in it as you were in Maus.” –Jewish Book Council Blog
“MetaMaus is an intriguing look into the guts of a massive artistic-historical project. With its visual, textual and historical components, the book untangles the tight narrative and visual knots into which the medium, the message and the process of ‘Maus’ are tied. With grist to millers of either ‘Maus,’ Spiegelman or both, it is a must-have item.” –Forward
“Like a director's commentary track, the new MetaMaus provides a kind of behind-the-scenes ‘Inside Maus’ that rewards us with insights this reviewer, for one, was too blown away to perceive the first time around…It is nothing less than a treatise on the rhythm and grammar of comics storytelling. The visual vocabulary he utilizes turns out to be more ingenious than you (or I, at least) ever suspected.” –Barnes and Noble review
“MetaMaus will leave even the most ardent admirers of Maus newly in awe of its author's creative courage, ingenuity and stamina.” –San Francisco Chronicle
“When I heard that Pantheon was putting out a commemorative book, I kept forgetting what it was called: was it MegaMaus or MetaMaus? The book, MetaMaus, published this month, is actually both: mega meta…If Maus has been a touchstone for you over the last decades, you have a new way to understand this moving and revolutionary book.” –Studio 360 “Staff Pick”
“If you love Maus, this is the book for you; it’s practically a must-have.” –Comic Book Bin
“What do you get for the classic graphic novel that has everything? MetaMaus is the answer… It’s an amazing package, one certainly worthy of awards consideration.” –Comics Waiting Room
“MetaMaus is so much more than a companion; it is a true work of genius art and design…This is a companion in the truest terms, a work of art that leaves no stone unturned, or allows for any doubt or question, and for casual readers of the Pulitzer winning book to the most intense of academics or comic book aficionados, it’s a real boon.” –ComicBuzz.com
“The three longest chapters provide nuanced and richly illustrated answers to the questions every reader has probably asked: "Why the Holocaust?" "Why mice?" and "Why comics?" Chute is a skilled and knowledgeable interviewer, Spiegelman a witty, introspective subject, so the process yields insightful observations on the nature of comics, the relationship between reality and narrative, the dynamics of families, and the Holocaust itself.” –Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“a beautiful book, both in visuals and themes, as the writer and artist is interviewed by Hillary Chute about the book that will not die, that he cannot escape, that he wishes would’ve been discovered only after 25 years after his death instead of being talked about for 25 years straight…mind-blowing.” –Bookgasm.com
“A rich, provocative and visually intriguing work of art, memoir and literary history…eye-catching and highly kinetic…a rare opportunity to witness for ourselves how a masterpiece is conceived and comes into existence.” –Jewish Journal gift guide
“A treasure trove, a wonderful way to dive as deeply into this seminal work as you wish…Maus is one of the very few [books] that can live up to this scrutiny, where the creation is strong enough and so thematically rich as to stand up to the examination, and the artist still has new insight to provide.” –ComicsWorthReading.com
“A truly inspiring look at the creative process.” –Forces of Geek Holiday Gift Guide
“For the past sixty years, Holocaust survivors have expressed their stories in writing. However, few have revolutionized the way people looked at the Holocaust as much as Maus. In his new autobiography, MetaMaus, Spiegelman takes the reader through the inception, process, and completion of his innovative graphic narrative...perhaps the most enchanting and captivating part of this autobiography is the artwork that enhances each page. The book is filled with Spiegelman’s rough sketches, inspirations, previous work, and even family photos.” –Jewish Book World
“A fascinating look into how art and history are made.” –Sacramento News & Review
“I found myself repeatedly surprised, even shocked, by new information regarding a book I felt pretty confident I knew a lot about already…If anyone wants to argue about the ideal form of books about comics, I think Spiegelman has offered a hell of an opening argument with MetaMaus.” –Comic Book Resources
“I found myself repeatedly surprised, even shocked, by new information regarding a book I felt pretty confident I knew a lot about already…If anyone wants to argue about the ideal form of books about comics, I think Spiegelman has offered a hell of an opening argument with MetaMaus.” –Comic Book Resources
“At the risk of ruffling Donald's feathers, it could be argued that Maus, Art Spiegelman's aching Holocaust tale, is as compelling a comics creation as the best of Mickey. MetaMaus details the back story and making of Spiegelman's masterpiece, now 25 years old, and as an invaluable bonus it moves the entire saga onto interactive DVD, with hyperlinked audio commentary, voice recordings of Spiegelman's father, working sketches and essays.” –NPR.org
“The final component of his now legendary Maus epic and a fascinating look into the creative journey Spiegelman undertook to bring it all to light.” –Critical Mob, Critical Books of 2001
“Contains a wealth of extra material. In addition to the many photos, sketches and art samples throughout the book, an accompanying enhanced DVD contains thousands of sketches, video footage of Auschwitz, an archive of illustrated pamphlets by Polish camp survivors, audio recordings of Spiegelman’s interviews with his late father and—most impressively—the entirety of Maus in an annotated and searchable digital format…It was a comic about horror and survival, and if it had never been we would be all the poorer for its absence.” –New City
“The 300-page full-color hardback and companion DVD abound with source materials…The title transcends footnote: MetaMaus is a work of criticism in itself, providing not only notes on process and sources, but considering the entirety of a family, and the thinking of influences of an artist now and at the time the work was created.” –Art in America Magazine
“Opens previously unseen doors in Spiegelman’s iconic text…a pleasure to dip into. Throw in that DVD copy of The Complete Maus, and this truly is the only version of Spiegelman’s graphic memoir that you should ever need. If only we treated all our modern classics so well.” –Culture Mob
“Striking…a treasure trove of material.” –Shelf Awareness
“Fascinating and often provocative…the accompanying DVD will satisfy the insatiable appetite.” –Kirkus
“Sure to breed excitement.” –Library Journal
“Why the Holocaust? Why mice? Why comics? Spiegelman answers intelligently, articulately, and with a high degree of psychological and aesthetic penetration.” –Booklist, starred review
"There's a 5000 pound mouse breathing down my neck!" Spiegelman tells us about the book that "both made' [him] and haunted [him] ever since." For 25 years, it's been: Why comics? Why mice? Why the Holocaust? For the silver anniversary of the only graphic narrative to have won a Pulitzer Prize, Spiegelman has created a companion volume about the how and the why, plus transcripts, family history, and the original three-page Maus cartoon—all copiously illuminated with hundreds of drawings, photos, and letters (including rejection letters from major publishers), many in color. An accompanying multimedia DVD provides a complete e-copy of Maus, home movies, audio interviews with father Vladek, thousands of additional sketches and cartoons, essays, more interviews, and still additional material. VERDICT Informative about everything you may or may not have thought to ask about Maus and the Spiegelmans, this exhaustive purgative has been well organized and packaged and succeeds in being grimly entertaining, indeed almost addictive. Required reading for serious students of graphic narrative and students of history, and bargained priced as well.—M.C.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the creation, impact and aftereffects ofMaus.
The cultural significance of the Pulitzer Prize–winning work by Spiegelman(In the Shadow of No Towers,2004) is beyond dispute. Not only did it establish the critical respectability and mainstream market for what have come to be called "graphic novels," but its unsentimental account of family tragedy and dynamics showed a way that art could deal with death-camp genocide without descending into what the author terms "Holokitsch." On the 25th anniversary of the publication ofMaus I,this volume serves as the publishing industry's version what the music industry markets as a box set—with extended bonus material, contextual analyses and previously unreleased cuts (some 7,500 drawings and sketches are but a small fraction of the offerings on the accompanying DVD). Included within the book are an exhaustive interview with the author by English professor Harriet Chute, shorter (but not short) interviews with his wife and their offspring on the artist and his art, plenty of illustrations from sketchbooks and inspirations, family photos, family trees, rejection letters (from major publishers), the source-material transcript of the author's discussions with his father about the latter's experiences in Auschwitz and Dachau and the original three-page version of "Maus" from 1972 that spawned the two-volume masterpiece. For Spiegelman, the key questions to address (at length) provide chapter titles: "Why the Holocaust?"; "Why Mice?"; "Why Comics?" The answers are intermittently fascinating and often provocative, though only an obsessive or an academic is likely to need a two-page response to the question: "You kept lots of pictures of mice and other animals around while you were working. Which ones were especially significant?" Yet the accompanying DVD will satisfy the insatiable appetite, with "a digital reference copy of The Complete Maus" (with audio and visual links) plus "MetaMeta" supplements that make the printed volume seem like an appetizer.
The power ofMausdoesn't require such exhaustive explanation and annotation, but those with a taste for it will find their appreciation enhanced.
