Art Spiegelman is an American comic book artist with European sensibilities. His style and content are probably as far as you can get from Superheros. He (and his wife Françoise Mouly) started a comix magazine called Raw, which focused on alternative comic stories by non-mainstream artists. Spiegelman’s contribution to Raw was an autobiographical story which he titled Maus. The story was eventually collected into two volumes and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. So, what exactly is Maus?

Speigelman’s father Vladek was a Holocaust survivor who was in Auschwitz (along with Spiegelman’s mother Anja). The story is basically a biography of Vladek from just before he met Anja to when they were reunited after the war. But the story also touches on the strained father-son relationship, Anja’s suicide (and Vladek’s second marriage) and the overall weight of history. As Spiegelman says at one point, how do you compete with a father who can fix anything and survived the Holocaust. But, as we see Vladek, we are also left wondering if he actually survived.

Vladek Spiegelman was a salesman in Poland when he is introduced to a young woman named Anja. After clearing up his personal and professional commitments, he moves to be near Anja and they are quickly married. They have a child Richieu and then Anja has a nervous breakdown. Around this same time, Germany and the Nazis are starting to cause trouble in Poland. As Anja heals and the couple return back to the family, the first of the restrictions on Jews start. Vladek is resourceful and quick-witted and these traits help him survive in the new environment. But, eventually they are captured and sent to Auschwitz . They had sent Richieu off to live with a family friend in a supposedly safe area, but, as they find out after the war, when trouble started Richieu died along with the friendly family.

In Auschwitz, Vladek uses is talent to help himself survive. But at this point Art starts getting tied into historical knots. How can he portray his father as a resourceful and quick-witted person who used his talents to survive the Holocaust when there were many other resourceful and quick-witted people who died? How can Art show his father’s talents without making it seem like the people who died were less talented or less deserving? This dance around Vladek’s talent vs luck as well as around Vladek’s relationship with the world after his ordeal is what makes Maus so special. Art Spiegelman does a great job in showing his father, warts and all. And the character of Vladek is compelling. His life is truly historical and well worth documenting.

Maus deservedly won a Pulitzer Prize as it is an amazing tale. Art Spiegelman has created a genuine classic comic that deserves a large audience, not only for the story, but for how it’s told. Highly recommended.