Maus I : My Father Bleeds History (1986) and Maus II : And Here My Troubles Began (1991) took Art Spiegelman 13 years to create and he had thought during the time that he would have to get the damned thing self-published. Who would want to bother with yet another Holocaust survivor tale – haven’t we had a million of those - and this one as a graphic novel – yes, a comic book, that’s right – with this jarring characterisation of Jews as mice, for God’s sake, and Germans as cats, and P [...]

Vol 2. Pulitzer prize winning book.Art Spieglman takes us deep inside in concentration campsd really shows us how life was day to day.This book is so hard to put down once you beginIt's so frickin sad --- ( we take the in horrors on probably the deepest of deepest levels, from a book about the Holocaust) The graphic depictions are the most brilliant creation of all everything about these illustrations works ---( their artistic design and purpose are flawless).

“The advantage to using the stuff of real life is that one really is left with people who are far more interesting than what one could ever make up.”OK, when I first started reading about this book and people were saying that this book was I have to admit I was sceptical. Graphic Novel Fun Fact: Maus was the first graphic novel I ever read and anyone knows me and my reading tastes will know that I will defend the graphic novel to the death.So, needless to say, it made an impression on me. Th [...]

I have a (new?) intense admiration for those among us who study and know a thing deeply. Perhaps because librarianship tends to reward broad knowledge, rather than deep, or perhaps because I am at heart lazy, I don't think I know any one thing deeply. This book presents deep understanding of the creation of Maus, which I read before could record my reviews. I recognized Maus as important, but my appreciation for it grew as I came to understand the graphic novel form (for which I owe so much to [...]

Spiegelman just earned an extra star as I was waiting for my tablet to start and GR to load. I can't really tell you why but I guess it's important to point out straight off that there was one star lacking on my way to my review.Nothing to do with Spiegelman himself though. Or Vladek whom I love for some g*d damn reason. I guess I have a soft gooey spot for the ones who're just such a*holes. And have survived the holocaust. Silly me, eh?Spiegelman had done a whole load of research for the Mice ( [...]

MetaMaus is based off a series of interviews Hillary Chute conducted with Art Spiegelman over the course of several years. The book is set up in a Q&A format that mirrors the process Spiegelman used to interview his own father for the information in Maus. Intentionally, I'm sure. It's meant to be Spiegelman's definitive word on the intentions and creation of Maus.The book is divided into three large sections, reflecting what Spiegelman says are the three questions that he's asked most often [...]

Got this out of the library so as to have a light and inconsequential read for the holiday season. It fulfilled that role admirably but it also made me want to read Maus again, which I didn't expect. Spiegelman is good company and often very amusing, but he also takes his work seriously - in this book one often leads to the other. A good example is the case of the German edition of the book. Spiegelman was very particular that all countries would reproduce the cover art exactly, which was a bit [...]

This was an excellent companion piece to Maus. Most of the book consisted of a series of interviews of Art Spiegelman. In them he talks about the creative process of bringing Maus to life. He describes the struggles of trying to convert his father's story into a comic book that people would take seriously. He also talks about the many influences of books and comics on the shaping of Maus. Along with the interviews, the pages are full of his sketchbook pages, concept drawings, and rough drafts of [...]

Extremely insightful thoughts by Art Spiegelman about the creation of Maus. He discusses all aspects of the book: Why Mice? How to accurately portray Vladek's story? Why comics? What was the impact on Art? On Art's family?Although there were many moving moments from the book, there was one that really made me stop and think. It showed two family trees. The first family tree showed all of Art's extended family on his mother's side before WWII. The second family tree had taken out every relative w [...]

I was first introduced to the magnificent Maus books when I was doing my student teaching at Shorewood High School in 1994-1995. The faculty had selected it to use as a text in an English course there. I was fascinated by the story and the painstaking attention to detail that Art Spiegelman had infused in his masterpiece. It was such a strange text that included the meta-narrative of Spiegelman's relationship with his mother and father, an interlude, "Prisoner of Hell Planet" that noted and inve [...]

Mitä tästä voi sanoa. Hollywood -elokuvien Näin tehtiin -dokumentit ovat kenties vastenmielisintä mukadokumentarismia mitä maa päällään kantaa. Meta Maus on jotain muuta. Jos luet sarjakuvia vain viihtyäksesi tai jos mestariteosten taustat tahi tekijän intentiot eivät sinua kiinnosta, älä edes aloita tätä kirjaa. Jos sen sijaan kaipaat tietoa Spiegelmanin valinnoista kkuten miksi hän piirsi puolalaiset sioiksi tai mihin viittaa Auschwitzin kuolemanparakeista nousevan savun seko [...]

Sometimes I feel like a good graphic novel is a lot like pornography--I don't know how to define it, but I know it when I see it. I am not an artist, but I feel a bit closer to artists when I read GNs since their art is laid out a bit differently than in a painting or other more traditional medium and when you layer in narrative and word play, I feel like I am seeing a 3D rendering of how the artist works through thoughts on a subject visually. I love that. With good language and good art-a grap [...]

What can I really say about this book on the evolution of the great two part Holocaust classic, MAUS. If you haven't read it than read it first before you read this. This book is completely written from long interviews with Art Spiegelman about his family, the history of his parents surviving the Holocaust, the effect on him, the effect MAUS has had on his life and his children's life and, for me, most amazing, the actual, specific evolution of the drawings. He sees MAUS, for which he won a Puli [...]

True to its promise written in the backcover which is " groundbreaking as the masterpiece whose creation it reveals", MetaMaus seals the deal as the ultimate companion to Art Spiegelman's Maus. It reverberates what its predecessor is exploding with: raw truth, tenderness and entertainment altogether with a dip of emotional wounds and pinches of humour in every page.

When I first heard about Maus, I think the novelty of the 'gimmick' (you know, that comic book about the holocaust where the Jews are mice and the Nazis are cats) both drew me to it and made me skeptical of the whole thing at the same time (I was already pretty into comics / graphic novels / whateveryouwanttocallthem at the time). In hindsight my skepticism, by virtue of lowering my expectations, set me up to be absolutely floored by that book as the story unfolded. I've been a devotee of Mr. Sp [...]

Maus I and Maus 2 are among the most powerful books I've read, and so I was interested to find out the story behind the story. MetaMaus takes the form of a book-length Q&A (like everything else of Spiegelman's put together over several years) covering most of the questions he has gotten about the books since they were published. I had always assumed that Spiegelman took some poetic license to make the Maus narrative work in comic form. What struck me most forcefully was the lengths Spiegelma [...]

The Complete Maus (Maus I & II) is such an overwhelming story that I'm glad I found MetaMaus which explains much of the background material for Spiegelman's book. You will find here a complete transcript of Art's interview of Vladek, a family tree for Vladek's and Anja's families, sketches to show how the comic page was developed, and much of the "theory of comics" -- or at least Spiegelman's theory. Spiegelman explains how he drew a panel when he wasn't sure Vladek was telling the truth or [...]

MetaMaus is a "behind the scenes" look at Art Spiegelman's most famous graphic novel series Maus. Spiegelman answers questions regarding, "Why the Holocaust and why use mice?" with lots of graphic embellishment in the form of early drafts and unused artwork. The book is a nice addition to the Maus experience, and alone I'd give it three to four stars.That being said, the real treat is the companion DVD which contains not only an electronic version of Maus but interview clips of Vladek Spiegelman [...]

Tan recomendable como Maus. Y al leer este libro, te vienen ganas de releerlo de nuevo. Y de descubrir a autores que menciona Spiegelman. Sus reflexiones sobre el cómic son geniales, y hacen avanzar una futura lectura de Little Nemo in Slumberland.Próximamente, en el blog, inauguraré un apartado de citas con este libro.EDITO 20/2/2015: el DVD no es un DVD, es un CD-ROM. Dos cosas:1) no hay traducido NADA del CD-ROM al español. Todo en inglés. Si lo editas en español, lo coherente es traduc [...]

This was a great book about writing the best graphic biography I have ever read (also the only one, by the way). Of particular interest to me was Spiegelman's coming to a definition of how he sees himself as a Jew. His perceptions by non jews as being Jewish and perceptions by religious jews as being a non Jew. Something I have grappled with throughout my life as a secular Jew. For those interested in comic illustration it is also filled with a lot of information about the technical issues invol [...]

Erstaunlich, aber das Buch über die Hintergründe des weltbekannten Graphic Novel "Maus" ist genau so intensiv und mitreissend wie der Comic. In langen Gesprächen gibt Art Spiegelman preis, wie er mit seiner Familiengeschichte umging, wie er den Comic erstellte und was er sich alles dazu überlegt hat.Mit vielen Blicken hinter die Kulissen, Zeitdokumenten und Archivaufzeichnungen ist "MetaMaus" ein Ausnahmeprodukt, ein Making-Of erster Klasse und extrem aufwühlend. Für alle Leser des Comics [...]

Maus was my first graphic novel, and I've been fascinated with it ever since. Metamaus is a compendium of all things Maus, including an indepth interview with Spigelman, drafts and early versions of the story, his drawings, and a DVD with even more. Really an amazing example of a multimedia "book" in itself--and very detailed about the creation and execution of the work of art that is the Complete Maus.

I'm always excited to get to see an artist's process, and Spiegelman's comprehensive look at the creation of his classic book Maus doesn't disappoint, supplementing plenty of insightful text with a host of drawings, sketches, notes and other preparatory and supplemental work. As if that weren't enough there's a DVD with even more material, which I probably won't look at for a long time because it feels overwhelming to have access to that much material.

Incredible insights into Spiegelman's process of writing Maus. It was very humbling to read about the detailed research, deliberation over so many decisions, his grasp of the craft of really using the page, and struggles to have the book properly understood in the market. Read The Complete Maus first, then this, then Maus again.

If you love Maus, you will love love love this book. It's an extended Q&A with Spiegelman where he gets into lovely detail about things like what it was like to work on Maus for 13 years, what it was like to live with Vladek, his father, what the impact of the work has been on his wife and kids, and all sorts of wondrous stuff about his process. Brilliant, truly.

A really in depth look at Maus. Chute was an excellent choice as in interviewer. It was so interesting hearing Spiegelman reflect on his work after some distance with wonder, joy, and bitterness. It was a great perspective and fascinating to see his influences, and what he tried to do with art and writing together, the symbolism, the history, and his reaction to the impact his work has had.

I'd love to see this level of self-analysis and background for some other great works.

Wonderful.

I hope it's not blasphemous to say I enjoyed MetaMaus more than I did Maus. I read Maus in high school, because it looked interesting and it had gotten a lot of praise, but I didn't think as a comic it was that successful. You have whole pages where the artist is just a talking head in frame after frame, and the style doesn't even allow nuances of facial expression. Too much of the page is taken up with text, and the images themselves aren't usually the kind of art you want to stare at-- too ske [...]

It should speak volumes to the readability of MetaMaus that, though I've got a couple other books and a few magazines going, I finished this before anything else I'm reading. I suspect a good portion of that credit goes to the heavily graphic-oriented content, but also the fluidity of Spiegelman's patter contributes quite a bit. The bulk of the book is given to interviews with Spiegelman (which appear to have been conducted in text) wherein he loosely tackles the three major questions that seem [...]