Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman

Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman is a carefully curated edited volume that explores Art Spiegelman's exceptional career, from underground rebellion to mainstream success. The collection showcases his versatility, from his irreverent underground strips to his iconic cover art for the New Yorker, and his cultural critique and anticapitalist positions. It also develops new approaches to his comics, such as the publication history of Maus and the cartoonist's elevation of children's comics.

Format: Hardback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2023
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi

A meticulously assembled and comprehensive edited collection, Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman, unveils the remarkable journey of this iconic artist from his underground roots to mainstream acclaim. This remarkable volume explores Spiegelman's pivotal role in the ascendancy of comics as an art form and the elevation of the cartoonist as a creative visionary. The collection delves into the extraordinary versatility of Spiegelman, showcasing his prowess in a range of artistic mediums, including his irreverent underground strips, influential avant-garde magazine RAW, the expressionist style of the iconic comic Maus, the illustrations for the Jazz Age poem The Wild Party, and his poignant response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Furthermore, the collection encompasses his iconic cover art for the New Yorker, his children's books, and various cross-media collaborations.

Spanning the entirety of Spiegelman's career, the twelve chapters in this collection serve as a means to document both continuities and ruptures that have been overshadowed by the intense focus on Maus. Through a series of original interpretations, the collection presents a diverse array of perspectives on Spiegelman's work. Spiegelman's penchant for collage, improvisation, and the powerful protest of silence reveals his allegiance to modernist art. His cultural critique and anticapitalist, antimilitary positions shed light on his vocal public persona, while his deft intertextual strategies of mixing media archives, from comics to photography and film, amplify the profound impact of his creations.

In addition to developing new approaches to Spiegelman's comics, such as examining the publication history of Maus, the history of immigration and xenophobia, and the cartoonist's contribution to children's comics, this collection firmly establishes that despite the widespread acclaim his accessible comics have received, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of the full scope of Spiegelman's achievements. By delving into the rich tapestry of his artistic endeavors, Artful Breakdowns: The Comics of Art Spiegelman offers a profound appreciation for the enduring legacy of this visionary artist.

Weight: 272g
Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496837509