Art Spiegelman, �In the Shadow of No Towers�
Yes, this book has 38 pages. Why then is this one of the biggest books that I have on my shelf?
It�s not the thickest, that honor goes to my dictionary, followed closely by the biography on Edward R. Murrow. It is, however, as thick as the recent Betty Page biography I finished, which clocked in at 288 pages. Using cardstock instead of normal pages, each page is roughly the same thickness as a dime (or the five pence coins for you limey bastards).
That�s not really the problem though. No, what makes this book totally ridiculous is the height. You know how most bookcases are set up so as to have one shelf that can fit oversized coffee table type books? That�s not even close to accommodating this sucker. You could practically attach wheels and trucks to this and turn it into a skateboard. With the thickness of the pages, it would probably hold your weight, too.
I�ve read interviews with several cartoonists who complain about the miniaturization of their art to where you can�t see anything. I think the only reason Berke Breathed from Bloom County returned for Sunday strips was after striking a deal that guaranteed him the entire fold.
Good for him. I�m glad he had the clout to make such demands. But after seeing his huge pieces, I can�t help but wonder if other artists turn silent when he walks into a bar.
If that is the case, then Spiegelman (most known for turning the Holocaust into a Tom and Jerry graphic novel) must get jumped from behind when he enters the bar for all the space awarded to him for this piece.
Okay, okay, sorry about the Tom and Jerry crack. Both Maus books were excellent pieces of work. And in this book, describing Spiegelman�s reaction and paranoia after the buildings fell in New York near his neighborhood, the trickery of the United States government in the aftermath, and comparisons to the political climate of the WWII in the pages of the comics, he�s using a lot of drawings and text to illustrated his points. If he had been forced to use a smaller format, this might cause serious headaches and wrinkle lines.
So I excuse the massive height of the book. But I still have to wonder why he needed such thick cardstock. And while Spiegelman obsesses over how Sept. 11 is a result of the unending capitalist monster, I can�t help but think that using normal pages would result in a pamphlet-sized book that�s about the same size as your average X-Men comic.
You couldn�t charge $20 bucks for that.
Hmmmm...
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I need to mention that I don�t know when I�ll be able to post again. Both the last bit of reviews that I have to transfer from the old defunct site and the reviews I have for February and March from this year are in line behind two books that I need to get images scanned in for, and I can�t say when that�ll happen.
Yes, that means I have Family Circus books that I�ve improved. It should be worth the wait, but I suppose that depends on how long the wait is.
