Graphic Novel: Applying a Concept

                                  Sometimes Simple Cartoons Convey Critical Messages

                      Photo By: Hannah Parker, "McCloud and Spiegelman"

This semester I have the privilege to learn about the art of graphic novels, also known as comic books. Our class is starting off the course by reading Understanding Comics The Invisible Art, by a comic book expert, Scott McCloud. It is an educational text illustrated and written in comic book form that gives the reader a comprehensive up-to-date analysis of what comics are all about. It also stresses that comics can be just as important pieces of literature as non-graphic novels. So far we are into chapter one, “Setting the Record Straight,” and chapter two, “The Vocabulary of Comics.” My Graphic Novel class is also currently reading the well-known graphic novel, Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, by Art Spiegelman. This historical novel is about the comic book’s author, Art Spiegelman who is interviewing his father for his next graphic novel, Valdek Spiegelman about surviving his hard life during WWII during the Nazi reign in Europe.

Our assignment is to take a concept from McCloud’s book and apply it to Spiegelman’s graphic novel. The concept that really stood out to me while reading Understanding Comics The Invisible Art is best stated by McCloud, “By de-emphasizing the appearance of the physical world in favor of the idea of the form, the cartoon places itself in the world of concepts” (McCloud 41). He simply means that some authors of comic books choose to draw their illustrations in a less realistic cartoon style to let the reader focus more on the importance of the ideas and concepts of the writing. For example in the novel Maus, Spiegelman’s characters in the story are drawn very simplistically, as are their surroundings and backgrounds. The main characters of the story are represented as very crudely drawn mice.  In observing the illustrations of the characters, I noticed that they all looked extremely similar in the way that they were drawn; all of them possess the same sized body and face. The only way to visually distinguish between them is by what they are wearing. 

                                         Photo By: Hannah Parker, "Maus Page 38"

The simple cartoon drawings of the characters certainly have a significant symbolic meaning of their own, but it is the dialogue and the concepts that are certainly the most important parts of the work. For instance, Vladek receiving a letter from the government telling him that he is to be drafted in the war is a very weighty issue. I could easily imagine the panic and adrenaline rush that Valdek and his family had while reading those words. His wife Anja cried that she was afraid, and heartbroken that she and her baby son would be separated from Vladek. I could also feel Vladek’s quick instinct to protect his family, as well as his fear about fighting in the war. (Spiegelman 38). The illustrated icons that Spiegelman presents are plainly drawn out, but are by no means intended to be picture perfect. As McCloud points out, the reader releases the rest of the full picture in his or her mind letting the author to truly convey the essential concepts of the story (McCloud 45).

Though Spiegelman’s illustrations are basic and simplistic the storyline, dialogue and concepts of Maus; A Survivor’s Tale are quite deep.  This certainly goes along with McCloud’s theory that when the images are more simplistic, a greater focus can be placed on the concepts of the story.

Sources

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics The Invisible Art. Harper Collins Publishers. 10 East 53^rd Street, New York, NY 10022, 1994. Print

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Pantheon Books a division of Random House, Inc. Published in New York and Canada, 1992.