Maus



Maus is an American comic book written and illustrated by Art Spiegelman, following the true story of his father, Vladek Spiegelman, and his struggles to survive the Holocaust as well as adjust to senior life in the then-present time of 1980. The mini-series received universal acclaim and became the first ever (and so far, only) comic book to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Why it Rocks

 * 1) Though it may seem childish, being that the Jews are drawn as mice and Nazi's as cats, it subverts such expectations and instead takes the material very seriously, showing the Holocaust through a very realistic point of view. It also helps that this series is also based on an entirely true story.
 * 2) The aforementioned symbolism helps the series in a lot of ways, making it more unique and interesting, like how Americans are also dogs (showing them being the Nazi's worst enemy).
 * 3) Interesting artwork by Spiegelman, that looks both cartoony and gritty at the same time, which is a very interesting contrast.
 * 4) Though most of the series follows Vladek and his family during the Holocaust, the moments that take place when Art is interviewing Vladek and being subject to his tumultuous life with his second wife are also very well detailed and make it feel like Art is really telling this story because he wants us to know that making a series like this takes a lot of time, effort, and genuine passion.
 * 5) A recurring theme of the series is depression, felt by Art's eventual mother, Anja, and how her later suicide effects him greatly. He even puts in an underground comic of his that details his feelings towards it called Prisoner of Hell Planet, which his stepmother's nephew discovered that he didn't want his father to know about.
 * 6) Just about the most realistic and intense depiction of the Holocaust and how difficult it was to survive, showing the hatred and threat the Jews were put through daily and the evil committed by the Nazi's even after they were defeated. It also shows how it was quite literally everyone for themselves on the Jew's side and one would be extremely lucky to find any sort of help. While not shown overly graphically (due to some obvious reasons), the descriptions Vladek gives are very heartwrenching and disturbing enough to rock you to your core.
 * 7) Art Spiegelman even had difficulty doing the latter half of the series after Vladek died of heart failure between the two, and reflects it in the beginning where he's desperate for closure in his life. In segments like these, he's aware of his selfishness and flaws and tries to overcome them, which is a very interesting contrast to the very real horrors of the Holocaust.
 * 8) Many tragic and memorable moments throughout that make the series both difficult to stomach and absolutely unforgettable, once again, subverting it's cartoonish art style. For example, Vladek has a son before Art named Richieu, who they immediately tell the audience, didn't survive. This doesn't, however, cause his ultimate death to be any less tragic and heartbreaking, and in fact makes it more so.
 * 9) Good dialogue throughout, with Art speaking fluent English while Vladek speaks very broken English in present day, for obvious reasons. Even in his past, he and his family still have a noticeable polish accent in their dialogue, which is interesting that you're able to tell.
 * 10) MetaMaus is a collection of the entire series that also comes with footage of one of Art's interviews with Vladek.
 * 11) The series ends, respectfully, with a final shot of the double-plot grave for Vladek and Anja, which gives a nice, bittersweet ending as Art has finally overcome his grief over the deaths of his parents by telling their story.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) The artwork, while secondary to the story, can be a little uncanny at times. For the most part, though, it's quite well done.