A few weeks ago, our ASTU class read “Maus”, a comic by Art Spiegelman. “Maus” is the first graphic memoir that is about a serious topic, such as the Holocaust. Before this, comics were known by being funny and for children. However, Spiegelman “broke” this stereotype, by narrating his father’s experience in Auschwitz. The book had such an impact that it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996.

There are many interesting characteristics in this particular comic, such as portraying the Jews like mice and the Germans like cats; the use of black and white in the images, among other things. However, the thing that was most interesting for me was the representation of time in the comics. Throughout the book, it is seen that there are two “eras”: the first one is when Artie is interviewing his father, and the second one is the WWII era, where the memories of Vladek (Artie’s father), are being portrayed.

First of all, when Vladek is telling his story about Auschwitz, Artie won’t appear in the scenes. When the WWII era is happening, Artie is no longer narrating the story, Vladek is. A clear example of this is: “But I kept shooting and shooting! Until finally the three stopped moving. Who knows; otherwise he could have shot me!” (Spiegelman 50). It is important to mention that this is not a dialogue in a frame, it is actually the narrator’s voice.

Another important thing to notice is that every time the time is changing, especially from the World War scenes to Artie talking to his father, the first panel isn’t surrounded by a border, like it usually is.

Lastly, the characters are portrayed different in the times. As mentioned before, Artie doesn’t appear in the war scenes but Vladek shows a lot of differences throughout the scenes. Vladek seems like a nicer person when the war scenes happen, since he is always trying to be really supportive and positive to his wife. When he is talking to Artie, you can sense that he is no longer that person, in the sense that he is really mean to his new wife and pretty impatient with his son. Also, when reading the comics, sometimes people forget that the icons also have a meaning, the words in the book aren’t the only thing giving a message. Taking this in mind, you can see how Vladek seems older and younger on the different panels, depending on the time.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book since it was the first time I read about the Holocaust in a comic form. Also, the fact that this is someone’s story had a bigger impact on me because in a way, it is felt more personal than historical facts or narratives. If you haven’t read the book, I strongly suggest you to do so.

References:

• Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Penguin Books, London;New York;, 2003.
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/08/11/why-maus-remains-the-greatest-graphic-novel-ever-written-30-years-later/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1ae676a49328