MetaMaus begins with three questions author and artist Art Spiegelman has heard most often from people who have read his seminal and Pulitzer prize-winning graphic novel, The Complete Maus. This current autobiographical work poses those questions in comic strip format: "Why Comics?" "Why Mice?" "Why the Holocaust?"
Spiegelman spends the rest of the book, built around interviews he did with a professor at the University of Chicago, answering those questions with personal, exhaustive detail.
Maus was the first long-form "comic" to deal in any real way with the events of the Holocaust, as told from the perspective of a boy listening to his father, a survivor of the World War II atrocities. The work is a masterpiece of visual storytelling from both a historical and artistic perspective. MetaMaus enlightens readers about the initial creation of Maus and its publication, touching on both the artistic process and a discussion of the place art has in society. The book comes with a DVD full of supplemental materials, including audio and unedited transcripts of source interviews, a digitized reference copy of The Complete Maus, family documents, essays and Art Spiegelman's private sketchbooks.
Fans of the original work of literature and students of both history and art would be well advised to read this book and immerse themselves in the creation of a classic work of literature about one of the most significant historical periods of the last century. MetaMaus is an unpretentious look at the making of Maus from the creator himself--a truly important glimpse into this powerful work of art. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer & editor