Art Spiegelman is a contributing editor and artist for the New Yorker, and co-founder/editor of Raw, the acclaimed magazine of avant-garde comics and graphics. His drawings and prints have been exhibited in museums and galleries here and abroad. Honours he has received for Maus include the Pulitzer Prize, a Guggenheim fellowship, and nominations for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He lives in New York City.
“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
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