In the "Time Stands Still" article in BOS, McGlothlin focuses on Spiegelman’s newer comic entitled “In The Shadow of No Towers.” The difference between this piece and Maus is that Spiegelman was present during the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center skyscrapers on September 11, 2001. Maus was a depiction of the memories he learned from his father, whereas “No Towers” was an actual event that occurred in which Spiegelman was deeply affected because of its immediacy. Not only did he live a few blocks from the disaster, but was forced to run with his family as the north tower collapsed. Although the terrorist attack on 9/11 can not be compared to the Holocaust, this was an event in which Spiegelman was affected and always will be, much like his father with the experience of the Holocaust.
Maus and “No Towers” differ as a whole, as far as the story is concerned. However, the way in which the graphics of the comics are portrayed are quite different as well. In Maus the pictures are organized in order and are displayed simply in black and white. “No Towers” introduces us to a more chaotic form of comic. By chaotic, I mean less organized of a setup than Maus. Spiegelman uses watercolors and more of a collage-type frame for the graphics. I’m not exactly sure why he chose to portray the story this way, but from the reading I think he did it to show the sense of urgency that the event actually took place in his life not long ago. Maus was more of a historical story to him and to us as an audience, so it was portrayed in black and white with a more organized storyline.
Although we get to see glimpses of “In The Shadow of No Towers” out of the readings in BOS, I would be quite interested in tracking this down to read the entire thing for myself. Because I liked both volumes of Maus, I would be interested to see if Spiegelman’s other works also appeal to me.
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I bought In The Shadow of No Towers a few weeks ago if you'd like to borrow it. Just email me at scotts60@uwosh.edu. I'll try to remember to bring it to class Wednesday. I haven't read it yet though, so I'll need it back :)
ReplyDeleteI also think that the difference in the art form have to do with the sense of urgency. 9/11 happened quickly so I see his use of water color and messy setup as describing the event as chaotic. It made him feel chaotic and confused so he chose the best way to depict his feelings. Then compare that to Maus, where the Holocaust was a prolonged event. Not to mention what you said with Art is trying to depict it in modern times where he did not actually live through the Holocaust. I hope that makes sense....I must say very interesting observation.
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