Literature of Comics and the Graphic Novel

Maus was written over a period of thirteen years and was originally published in two volumes. The work received a special Pulitzer Prize in 1992 and Art Spiegelman has received a number of other awards for Maus as well as his other work. Spiegelman became an influential figure in underground comix during the 1960-70’s founding publications such as Arcade and Raw . It was in Raw that images of Maus first appeared. Spiegelman is a huge advocate of comics and has even taught courses on the subject. He still writes and one of his recent publications included In the Shadow of No Towers , about his experience of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.         Maus tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman’s experiences in Poland during the 1930-40’s, as the Nazis came to power and swept across Europe. At the same time, Art Spiegelman tells his own story focusing on his broken relationship with his father as he tries to find out about his past. Th...

In the 1960’s came the arrival of underground comics, which was a surge of hippie inspired comic books that dealt with social as well as political issues of that time such as sex, drugs, rock n roll, and anti-war protesting. Because of the sensitive subject matter these ‘comix’, now with the emphasis of an x rating, were not publically sold. These comix originated from a variety of sources, which can be traced back to the 1950s. First there was the influence of the Mad tradition. Also, underground newspapers such as The East Village Other which featured articles, music reviews and hippie news, started to publish comix and attract more work. A major underground influence was also the anti-censorship reaction to the imposed 'comics code.' The underground comics movement was a movement truly dedicated to its time. In the late 1960s, the hippie movement in America was very much involved with protests against the Vietnam War, civil rights, anarchism, women’s suffra...

Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner Will Eisner is often considered the father of the graphic novel. He coined the term ‘graphic novel’ in order to basically make selling a comic book sound more respectable. Even though the medium itself is a respectable medium, the American mindset was that a comic is more for children instead of for all ages as intended. Will Eisner was a master comic book artist and story teller. In this nook is his philosophy about comic books and sequential art. The art of sequential story telling which puts one image and juxtaposes it next to another in order to create time and mood. He goes deep into the making, how they work, what the frames are, how to create frames, etc., etc. The novel is almost like a course in sequential art and storytelling visually. It is extremely important for artists to be able to communicate using visuals and be able to tell a story through them. Eisner was a master at this as well as expression and exp...