Maus

Book: Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale, My Father Bleeds History

Author: Art Spiegelman

Genre: Graphic Novel

As suggested by Professor Jennifer Nelson, I first read Maus I at the end of the spring semester of the 2007-2008 school year. In fact, this was my first graphic novel experience, and one that I believe shaped the standard for which I read and judge graphic novels to the present day. Art Spiegelman’s execution and exaction is nothing short of amazing. Spiegelman is able to mesh personal memory and collective experience with grace concerning a subject that references a horrendous time in the scope of human history. Despite the atrocities during the Holocaust and the events preceding and following it, Spiegelman, with the voice of his father seems to express the way that personal histories and experiences collide to create a collective memory. Reading Maus I is proof that great writers and novels still exist. Furthermore, this is a novel worth reading, and one that I am absolutely positive will always remain at the top of my book lists.

Book: Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale, And Here My Troubles Began

I recently finished Maus II, and found that it was equally enthralling as the first of the two novels by Art Spiegelman. In this second part, Spiegelman describes the events that his father tells of Auschwitz, and the events of his survival. In addition, Spiegelman weaves in the experience he has of his father’s bouts with old age, and the changes that develop in their relationship. This graphic novel is one that I wish would not end simply because of the deliberateness in voice, the immediacy through which the experiences are translated, and the way that visuals and text are married to relay the very humanness of our actions and experiences. This humanness is important because in the end the reader is left to experience what only the best pieces of literature and art ever evoke—a need to be better and a conscious want to be knowledgeable about our experiences, collective memory, and personal history.

S. Clark

Note: Art Spiegelman will be at UND in a couple of weeks for Writer's Conference!

Blankets

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Genre: “An illustrated novel” taken from the front cover

Craig Thompson is a very young artist to reach the achievement that he has. While inking for DC comics, Dark Horse, Marvel, and National Geographic, he penned his own way through his second graphic novel, “Blankets”. An autobiography at a mere 592 pages, this graphic novel is a coming of age story about a Wisconsin native. Thompson moves from high school to college, experiences first love, and escapes his stifling evangelical upbringing, while these beautiful memories haunt the pages via swirling sketches within this book. More of an under-current within the novel is Craig’s relationship with his brother—the most sincere of all the relationships— I find that this is the most pivotal narrative of the novel—and one that sticks with me even as I write this.

Steph

Kristen's note: we don't own this book

Persepolis and Persepolis 2

Being a big fan of both comic books and graphic novels, I decided to read Persepolis and Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi. Both books are available in the Popular Reading Collection. I knew going in that these books were highly regarded by fans of graphic novels. I also wanted to read them before the Persepolis movie was released on DVD in June.

Persepolis is an autobiography set in Iran during the Iran/Iraq War of the 1980s. Marji is a rebellious child who struggles under the repressive Islamic government before leaving Iran to spend her high school years in Europe. Persepolis 2 continues the story, which includes her return to Iran for college. Personally, I preferred the first one, as I found it easier to view Marji as a young child suffering under a cruel regime, as opposed to a spoiled, self-absorbed teenager living in Vienna. The art is black and white and very straightforward. I appreciated this approach, as the art did not take away from the story itself. I heartily recommend both titles, even for those readers who dislike “comic books.”

Curt Hanson, Department of Special Collections

Kristen's note: Sandi's comment has a link to a news story, "Persepolis Creator won't return to Iran. Click here to jump to that article.

Review: Stop Forgetting to Remember

Author: Peter Kuper
Graphic Novel/ Autobiography/Fiction

Recently attending UND’s Writer’s Conference, Peter Kuper is a successful underground/ mainstream cartoonist and graphic artist. Within Stop Forgetting to Remember, Kuper explores his alter ego, Walter Kurtz. The aesthetics of this graphic novel are stunning and high contrast. The dialogue and narrative of the novel are fresh and sophisticated. Indeed, Walter Kurtz has led an adventurous life and Kuper leads us along throughout varied hilarious and absurd situations exposing that sometimes living in alternate realities can be an outlet from our assumed realities. For those interested in graphic novels, Kuper is most definitely an artist and author to follow in his redefinition of the comic and the graphic novel.

Stephanie Clark
Sophomore