Maus

Maus is one of those Graphic Novels that you have to read for it's influence throughout Comic and Graphic Novels. Created by Art Spiegelman, the book tells the story of his father stories of what it was like to be in the holocaust as a Jew in World War 2. One of the ways that makes this story interesting is the way the characters are portrayed. The Jews are envisioned as mice, the non Jewish community as pigs and the Nazi's as cats.

I was given this book as a Chanukah  present and since my family and I are Jewish, they thought it would be an important read for me. This was a time I was getting into Comics Books and Graphic Novels and after reading it, it was probably one of the more eye opening books I have read considering on how it expanded on how Graphic Novels convey stories. The art style may have not been my favorite out of all the graphic novels I have read, but it definitely fit the mood of the story it wanted to tell. The pen work is thick and scratchy, the aesthetics are wonderfully gloomy for the atmosphere provided for the setting. The story itself is incredibly well done and has kept me interested all the way to the ending with its pacing. I also liked the way the creator implemented himself in there and how his character shows more connection with his father as the story progresses.

I also learned a lot about the books influence on the Graphic Novel industry. This was one of the stories that defined the term "Graphic Novel" and was one of the ones responsible for the transition from underground comics to graphic novels. These new kinds of books were able to tell longer stories that felt more like a complete story than just a typical elongated comic book strip. After looking back on it, I think it has held up rather well and would be something that I probably make my kids read when they are young (Assuming if I ever have kids).

So go check this out for yourself if you are ever interested with seeing the graphic novel that started it all.

For this week, I decided to look at an old classic, Bloom County. Created by Berkley Breathed, it was strip that focused mostly on creating satire of politics and culture while taking place in a small town called Bloom County. The strip was also the start of one of the most popular (Or should I say, the most popular) character Breathed has created, Opus the Penguin.

What made this comic strip so unique was the fact that despite that fact the comedy was based on real world happenings, the main characters were not, for example, the majority of the main characters of the strip were either two kids who often acted a lot older than their age and more mature than their parents and animals. These character would often make fun of these mature discussion, even though the time this strip was out it was usually the characters in other comics who would make the jokes about politics and such were the adult character who were more grown up.
 In a way, the whole town of Bloom County can be seen of a place that has been turned upside down, you have kids discussing politics, a group of animals developing a rock band who's main singer is a mentally ill cat who somehow gets all the women and fame, and you have a man in a wheelchair who role-plays Star Trek while speeding down hills at fast speeds.

Anyway, I was always fond of these comics and it's a shame that finding collections of strips is pretty expensive. Although I can't say paying around more than a hundred dollars for the books is worth it, I recommend at least trying to find some strips online to see if it's your kind of thing.