I’m no prescriptivist – I don’t really care what people call comics. Comics are a medium, and “graphic novel” is a category used to sell the long-form comic in bookstores. A comic’s genre can be anything.
But if graphic novels are called “novels”, which refers to a literary genre that is fictional, can we use the term “graphic novel” to refer to works of non-fiction?
We don’t say “non-fiction novel” – for non-fiction, I think we tend to refer to them by their genre: biographies, history, self-help…
If Maus had been delivered as prose, it would be considered a memoir.
But it wasn’t prose, because Spiegelman, a cartoonist active in underground comix, knew the power of the comics medium for storytelling.
Eventually published as a complete collection, Maus was the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. As far as I know, it is still the only comic to have earned this award.
If a panel contains multiple word bubbles, like in panels 2 and 6 of this page, there is an intended reading order for the flow of the conversation. The narrative pacing of comics is also unique to the writers; the text in each panel influences our perception of time.
But if graphic novels are called “novels”, which refers to a literary genre that is fictional, can we use the term “graphic novel” to refer to works of non-fiction?
We don’t say “non-fiction novel” – for non-fiction, I think we tend to refer to them by their genre: biographies, history, self-help…
If Maus had been delivered as prose, it would be considered a memoir.
But it wasn’t prose, because Spiegelman, a cartoonist active in underground comix, knew the power of the comics medium for storytelling.
What is Maus?
Between 1980 and 1991, Art Spiegelman released his comic Maus in the Raw comics anthology he co-edited with his wife. In Maus I and II, Spiegelman depicted his father Vladek’s experiences during the Holocaust, as well as his interactions with Vladek in the present during interviews. Oh, and Spiegelman uses anthropomorphism to illustrate throughout, portraying Polish Jews as mice and Germans as cats (and more).Eventually published as a complete collection, Maus was the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. As far as I know, it is still the only comic to have earned this award.
“Why comics? Why mice? Why the Holocaust?”
If you’re interested in background information (I always am when it comes to comics), Spiegelman did release a book in 2011 called MetaMaus which contains interviews and other details.
But yes… why comics?
Comics are a unique art form. They’re static images, text, etc, but dynamically read in linear progression, silent, but we can hear dialogue or when a car goes VRRRM. Makers of comics have complete control of delivery in what we read, yet the perception is entirely our own.
Inner voices, multiple narrators, individual art styles, including the style of lettering, are just a few of the techniques available to cartoonists through the comic medium.
Not to mention the explicit control over which details to share during a scene or a panel, contrasting implicit motions or thoughts we can perceive based on details like panel border size.
In this page, Spiegelman is the narrator of the first text box in the first panel. The page ends with Vladek as the narrator in the last text box underneath the 8th circular panel. Although switching narrators is possible in other art forms, the visual point of view to the reader is always exactly what the comic-maker plans. Visually we might see one thing on the page but “hear” another, or vice versa!
Maus was drawn in a purely black and white expressionist cartoonist style, in part inspired by Frans Masereel (among others). Most cartoonists have background knowledge in visual art and utilize techniques of other art forms to influence the representation of ideas on the page. There's a certain level of freedom in representation in comics that often impacts the delivery.
Panels, the often-but-not-always-bordered containers of images, aren’t the only sequentially understood element of comics.
Comics are a unique art form. They’re static images, text, etc, but dynamically read in linear progression, silent, but we can hear dialogue or when a car goes VRRRM. Makers of comics have complete control of delivery in what we read, yet the perception is entirely our own.
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| The Complete Maus, Page 12 |
Inner voices, multiple narrators, individual art styles, including the style of lettering, are just a few of the techniques available to cartoonists through the comic medium.
Not to mention the explicit control over which details to share during a scene or a panel, contrasting implicit motions or thoughts we can perceive based on details like panel border size.
In this page, Spiegelman is the narrator of the first text box in the first panel. The page ends with Vladek as the narrator in the last text box underneath the 8th circular panel. Although switching narrators is possible in other art forms, the visual point of view to the reader is always exactly what the comic-maker plans. Visually we might see one thing on the page but “hear” another, or vice versa!
Maus was drawn in a purely black and white expressionist cartoonist style, in part inspired by Frans Masereel (among others). Most cartoonists have background knowledge in visual art and utilize techniques of other art forms to influence the representation of ideas on the page. There's a certain level of freedom in representation in comics that often impacts the delivery.
Spiegelman implies time perception with panel sizes. The fifth panel takes up the entire width of the page. It’s the only panel of this size - I visually interpret this almost as a camera panning across the room from detail to detail.
It shows details that the reader is meant to linger over as they read, combining silence and sound at the same time. The time is distorted as we hear what Vladek says, watch him pedal on his bike, see Art smoking as he listens to his father, and see the numbers on Vladek’s arm.
It shows details that the reader is meant to linger over as they read, combining silence and sound at the same time. The time is distorted as we hear what Vladek says, watch him pedal on his bike, see Art smoking as he listens to his father, and see the numbers on Vladek’s arm.
Panels, the often-but-not-always-bordered containers of images, aren’t the only sequentially understood element of comics.
In Chapter 4 of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, he states that "words introduce time by representing that which can only exist in time - sound".
If a panel contains multiple word bubbles, like in panels 2 and 6 of this page, there is an intended reading order for the flow of the conversation. The narrative pacing of comics is also unique to the writers; the text in each panel influences our perception of time.
Memoir Comics
Maus’ success paved the way for many other memoir comics to become successful for Western mainstream audiences. Its fame has given literary scholars a reason to start adding similar comics to the literary canon. No longer is the “serious” comic passing silently through underground circles. Other cartoonists are comfortable, following the success of comics such as Maus and Persepolis, creating similar work for public consumption because this type of comic has become its own genre.
They aren't just graphic memoirs or historical picture books - that implies no requirement of juxtaposed sequential art. I think this is the best term for comics of this nature.
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