A review by therealcubcake
Maus Now: Selected Writing by Hillary Chute
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
"Maus Now". A collection of essays and writings about Art Spiegelman's landmark work, "Maus". Hillary Chute has pulled together a best of selection of pieces that explore the comic and it's impact.
What stood out to me is how many times the exact same elements were pulled out and written about over the years. But more fascinating than that, was just the way the comic was spoken about early on in its publication, to the evolution of graphic novel in more recent years.
I understand the irony here of being a critic of the critics, but I found it almost humorous that they really focused on trying to justify why a comic was worth reading, almost as though it was beneath them. One even goes on to explain the difference in the rectangular boxes used for narration and commentary vs the dialogue being in speech bubbles.
Fast forward to more recent years and it's easy to see what a groundbreaking work Maus was, not just because of its subject matter, but also for how it changed the landscape of the "comic" to a "graphic novel" and into a medium that can be, and absolutely is used to tell stories just as important and serious as non-fiction and fiction books.
One thing is clear, Maus was, and continues to be an important piece of work, for it's history, and for the ways it has influenced countless other current, and future pieces.
What stood out to me is how many times the exact same elements were pulled out and written about over the years. But more fascinating than that, was just the way the comic was spoken about early on in its publication, to the evolution of graphic novel in more recent years.
I understand the irony here of being a critic of the critics, but I found it almost humorous that they really focused on trying to justify why a comic was worth reading, almost as though it was beneath them. One even goes on to explain the difference in the rectangular boxes used for narration and commentary vs the dialogue being in speech bubbles.
Fast forward to more recent years and it's easy to see what a groundbreaking work Maus was, not just because of its subject matter, but also for how it changed the landscape of the "comic" to a "graphic novel" and into a medium that can be, and absolutely is used to tell stories just as important and serious as non-fiction and fiction books.
One thing is clear, Maus was, and continues to be an important piece of work, for it's history, and for the ways it has influenced countless other current, and future pieces.