Maus
Nathalie Castro
Maus
Topics for Discussion: Comics Technique
In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud argues that a face drawn with great detail can represent only one specific person, but that a face drawn with few details—a smiley face, for instance— could be almost anyone.

Source: Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics (DC Comics, 1999): 31.
Describe the faces in Maus. Are they iconic (could be anyone) or particular (could only be Vladek)?
The faces in described in Maus are intensely descriptive and illustrated. For example, the Germans are drawn as cats, the Poles as pigs, Jews as mice, Americans as dogs, and lastly, the French were drawn as frogs. The faces could go either way; they could be iconic or particular. They could have the glasses like Vladek or they could look alike, like the prisoners at Auschwitz. It all depended on the relationship that Vladek had to the characters described in the graphic novel. Close friends or family were distinguished with details and traits that represented them, whereas strangers were plain and rarely given any special physical characteristics. All in all, the faces illustrated in Maus described and emphasized the importance of the individual characters that Vladek had encountered during the Holocaust.
What adjectives would you choose to describe Spiegelman’s artwork? Generally, comics artist draw their works twice the size of the eventual published product. When the artwork is reduced by half, the resulting image is crisp and detailed. Spiegelman drew Maus at its actual size. Why do you think he did? Look carefully at the frames (the lines around the panels) and the gutters (the space between the frames). Gaps in the borders and lines intruding into the gutters are considered “unprofessional”. Why do you think Spiegelman drew Maus this way?
You must choose your words wisely when you begin to describe Spiegelman’s artwork. Some adjectives that come to mind when you think of Spiegelman’s artwork are
Maus
Topics for Discussion: Comics Technique
In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud argues that a face drawn with great detail can represent only one specific person, but that a face drawn with few details—a smiley face, for instance— could be almost anyone.

Source: Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics (DC Comics, 1999): 31.
Describe the faces in Maus. Are they iconic (could be anyone) or particular (could only be Vladek)?
The faces in described in Maus are intensely descriptive and illustrated. For example, the Germans are drawn as cats, the Poles as pigs, Jews as mice, Americans as dogs, and lastly, the French were drawn as frogs. The faces could go either way; they could be iconic or particular. They could have the glasses like Vladek or they could look alike, like the prisoners at Auschwitz. It all depended on the relationship that Vladek had to the characters described in the graphic novel. Close friends or family were distinguished with details and traits that represented them, whereas strangers were plain and rarely given any special physical characteristics. All in all, the faces illustrated in Maus described and emphasized the importance of the individual characters that Vladek had encountered during the Holocaust.
What adjectives would you choose to describe Spiegelman’s artwork? Generally, comics artist draw their works twice the size of the eventual published product. When the artwork is reduced by half, the resulting image is crisp and detailed. Spiegelman drew Maus at its actual size. Why do you think he did? Look carefully at the frames (the lines around the panels) and the gutters (the space between the frames). Gaps in the borders and lines intruding into the gutters are considered “unprofessional”. Why do you think Spiegelman drew Maus this way?
You must choose your words wisely when you begin to describe Spiegelman’s artwork. Some adjectives that come to mind when you think of Spiegelman’s artwork are