Art Spiegelman: Macabre to Maus
Art Spielgelman is releasing a new edition of his book “Breakdowns: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!” to showcase his evolution from early cartoons to his Pulitzer Prize winning “Maus” (pictured). Things to look forward to in the latest version, updated from the original 1978 book, include a picture so violent and grotesque that fellow underground comic artists, notably Robert Crumb, forbade him in their homes, so offended were they. The picture depicts ‘a decapitated man being fucked in the neck’ (direct quote). I’m not sure that fits my tastes for illustration, but I salute Spiegelman’s attempt to unnerve even the most unnerving.
