When we remember things, we aren’t aware of how much are representations of the past can be altered by time and the discourses surrounding us. Art Spiegelman’s Maus deals with autobiographical recollections of the past. Specifically, Art Spiegelman’s father Vladek provides a narrative about his hardships in Auschwitz. Art presents Vladek’s memories by remembering what his father told him about… Read more →
Political cartoons can be dated back to the 18th century, originating as part of the editorial column. However, along with simple single panel cartoons, politics has been taken to a grander scale such as Persepolis or Maus. Both of these graphic novels have become world famous for their distinct perception of reality. To put the Iranian Revolution and the Holocaust… Read more →
When looking to begin the creation of a comic book, many people don’t know where to look for the basics. Scott McCloud authored abook called Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art in order to help those looking to make their own comic books, delving into what makes them a unique medium. McCloud goes through the beginning of how to not only draw,… Read more →
The Holocaust it one of the darkest events in world history. To this day there are people who lived through these horrors that still cannot talk about them. It is a gory lesson in history, with many lives lost and many crimes against nature. And, yet we must find a way to teach it to children. Through the use of… Read more →
In junior year of high school, I took an english elective course on diaspora. My original course had been cancelled so I had been randomly placed into an elective I knew nothing about. I learned that, in short, diaspora meant displacement and a lot of the stories we’d be exploring involved cultural or religious diasporas. It was then that I… Read more →
History is a fascinating and interesting topic. Students learn about the developments of their own countries, the cultures that have come about, the inventions that we see today, the understanding of our civilizations, and the wars that seem to never end. While history can teach us all of that and more, there are a few limitations. History is taught differently… Read more →
I’d like to start my first work for this blog to address something of a concern of mine which while I consider important, not necessarily interesting enough to go into outside of this type of format. As someone who’s been only really following comics for the last three to four years, one thing that’s always bothered me is the classification… Read more →
In my short time studying Graphic Novels, I’ve noticed a trend in which many storytellers are choosing to describe large-scale conflict in the style of a comic. The most recent example of this practice is David Axe’s new graphic novel, Army of God: Joseph Kony’s War in Central Africa. The book was released in March, according to The Guardian, and… Read more →
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale is an unencumbered narrative produced by Art Spiegelman about his father’s experience as a jew in Nazi Germany. I had never heard of Maus before last Wednesday but, since then, I have done what any burgeoning academic does nowadays: Google it. ~~~~~ The narrative is woven between two timelines: The first takes place in Rego Park, New York circa 1978-79. Spiegelman (the latter) interviews… Read more →
While reading Will Eisner’s A Contract With God, I was immediately struck by the similarities I was able to draw from it to Art Spiegelman’s Maus, almost in a Lincoln/Kennedy kind of way. I’ve come up with a small list of these similarities which I’ll try to elaborate on without giving too much away about Maus, which I highly recommend reading. Black… Read more →