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A review by jsjammersmith
Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*! by Art Spiegelman
5.0
It's easy to forget how important Spiegelman is to the medium of comics outside of Maus. As he so eloquently demonstrates in his comics preface, the shadow of that book will Spiegelman for the remainder of his life, and rightfully so. Still, it's these early works where one can see an artist willing to experiment and play with the form of comics.
"Prisoner of Hell Planet," "Little signs of passion," and an early version of "Maus" are just some of the wonderful stories in this collection, and the massive size of the book allows the reader to simply disappear into the linework and textures and worlds Spiegelman creates.
This book will obviously disappoint readers looking for plain or direct plots. This book isn't about that. These are stories interested in the form, with playing with the medium of comics. These early works show an artist finding a creative voice and seeing what is possible through comics and for that reason I took my time with every page just studying, or often drooling, at these layouts and the emotional register that was being conveyed.
Breakdowns is a really underappreciated book, and so if the reader is interested in exploring the medium, or else observing Spiegelman's early work then Breakdowns is absolutely a must-read. I will open this book for inspiration over and over again finding something new and wonderful and inspiring.
"Prisoner of Hell Planet," "Little signs of passion," and an early version of "Maus" are just some of the wonderful stories in this collection, and the massive size of the book allows the reader to simply disappear into the linework and textures and worlds Spiegelman creates.
This book will obviously disappoint readers looking for plain or direct plots. This book isn't about that. These are stories interested in the form, with playing with the medium of comics. These early works show an artist finding a creative voice and seeing what is possible through comics and for that reason I took my time with every page just studying, or often drooling, at these layouts and the emotional register that was being conveyed.
Breakdowns is a really underappreciated book, and so if the reader is interested in exploring the medium, or else observing Spiegelman's early work then Breakdowns is absolutely a must-read. I will open this book for inspiration over and over again finding something new and wonderful and inspiring.