MetaMaus: A Look Inside a Modern Classic, Maus

The bulk of the book is comprised of interviews with Art Spiegelman. In these interviews, he discusses how the book was made, what inspired his art, and why he made major creative decisions. Getting an in depth breakdown of Maus is fascinating enough, but like the work itself, it is colored by what Maus depicts, both as a historical work and a personal story. Moreover, the book also let me know what Spiegelman is like, and he is quite the conversationalist. There are little detours into other aspects. I found the interview with Spiegelman's wife to be particularly affecting, because she provides a whole new perspective on Vladek that leads to an extremely poignant anecdote. The book is chock full of panels, sketches, studies and other pictures relevant to the story of telling the story. The only part that could have been improved is the transcript of the first interview with Vladek -- the print is simply too small. This transcript, and others, are on the DVD, which I've just delved into. So far, I haven't experienced some of the problems others have had, but I would agree that having the DVD insert in the front cover is better in concept that in execution. But the flaws are minor, and should not detract from this welcome addition to the Maus canon.

Great book!

Meta Maus Is a great inside luck to the novels. It is full of questions that you might have and full of questions that you never would’ve thought off and the answers flow from them. It takes in other family members other than Art himself. It speaks of how and where this novel came from. It is a worthwhile read.

I'm giving this book five stars because it is an amazing collection of interviews, essays, and illustrations related to the creation of Art Spiegelman's classic work. However, it's important to note that the DVD is not an ideal mechanism for delivering this sort of information. I have spent several hours struggling to get my computers to read the disk. Most new computers do not even come with DVD drives. This is not the fault of the publisher or of the very talented design team that put the disk together. When they published this book, the DVD drive was ubiquitous. It would be great if the publisher could create some sort of digital download version of the content -- even a plain old ISO file -- to make it easier for customers to view this supplemental material. Having said all that, even though the DVD medium is frustrating, the book is worth every penny. Highly recommended.

Meta Maus gave me answers to several questions I had after reading Maus. I really recommend this book for all people who want more after reading Maus.

I bought this book only because it had the transcript of Vladek's account of the Holocaust. The only comic/cartoons I am "interested" in come with my Sunday paper. I fell in love with this book right from the start as it begins with an interview with Art Spiegelman. His intelligence, talent, passion and honesty jump right off the page. I ended up learning about him and his family, his relationship with his father, his craft, the personal history of both him and Maus, and even more. It brings so much more to Maus that when you re-read it after this book (which I am sure you will), it will be like reading it for the first time!

This is as close to an annotated Maus as we'll probably get. Mr. Spiegelman walks the reader through his creative processes as he pens (and inks) a modern literary masterpiece. While some may argue that the author is merely "milking the franchise," one must remember that Mr. Spiegelman has shown incredible restraint and reverence for his family's and all Holocaust victims' stories by not cashing in as he had ample opportunity to do. Read and enjoy this volume. Consider it not only a companion book to the two-volume set of Maus, but consider it a map through the creative maze.

The book was fine but the DVD-R is missing. Not the complete product.

Umfangreiches Werk, mit dem man sich lang beschäftigen kann!

This rare look into the genesis of a highly unusual contribution to the Holocaust literature gave a pertinent look into how we do and don't hear our parents' tales, how only a certain maturity can allow us to apprehend and appreciate our forebears' experience in life, to distill the life messages for ourselves and our era. The photographs were compelling: after reading the "Complete Maus", I felt I knew everyone in them. The paths taken from idea to execution on the page show how much reflection went into each step, what principles guided the handling of the story, the drawings themselves, the inner journey of the author-artist. These two books are rarely on my shelf as I am constantly asked to lend them out--which I do, reminding the borrower that I am "REposessive" of my volumes.

Acquistato "usato come nuovo", pagato meno della metà (e meno di un terzo della versione italiana by Einaudi) e...arrivato in fretta, praticamente non solo nuovo ma con tanto di plastica trasparente che custodisce la prima di copertina (cartonata) e il relativo DVD che è una vera miniera di contenuti extra. Dato che la Einaudi si è guardata bene dal tradurne il contenuto (nonostante i dieci euro in più richiesti al pubblico italiano) direi che questo è davvero l'unico punto in comune tra le due edizioni. Per il resto 100 volte meglio la prima edizione americana. Grazie Amazon (Warehouse), siete davvero Amazing!!! Ora sto aspettando di ricevere un altro "come nuovo" da Amazon, un altro affarone. Come prima esperienza col Warehouse: davvero strepitosi. Ho deciso anche di lasciare untouched l'etichetta per ricordarmi l'esperienza gradevolissima.

MetaMaus is an amazing "companion" to Maus Compete (or Maus 1 & 2). I use quotation marks as it includes Maus 1 and 2 on its DVD-ROM. Unfortunately, it is an unwieldy version, only available through a QuickTime program that works on PC and Mac so forget your phone, Kindle or tablet. There still isn't a proper eBook version of Maus and it's a crying shame. MetaMaus is a long interview with Art Spiegelman, the author of Maus which talks about the book, the effect of the graphic novel on his life and other people's lives as well as a broader context of his family and the events depicted in the novel. It is well written, sometimes TOO well written which detracts from the candid interview format, and features a gorgeous design where every page is different and loaded with illustrations and pictures that compliment and enhance the text. The DVD-ROM also features even more content like actual recordings of the interviews with Art's father which lead to the creation of Maus. An amazing resource for academic research and a fun read to boot for Maus fans. Recommended.

O livro responde a todas as perguntas que nos ocorrem quando se lê o extraordinário Maus (edição completa, I e Ii). Resultado de entrevista inteligente, com a adesão total do autor, sobre suas dúvidas, escolhas, dificuldades, e consequências psicossociais do empreendimento corajoso que lhe rendeu o Prêmio Pulitzer.