OF MICE AND PENS
It’s in the name: comics are supposed to be comical. The funny pages are a place for lasagna-craving kitties, pet pilots and friendly tigers — certainly not the stage on which to unpack heavy emotions or examine brutal histories. Right? Well, Art Spiegelman would beg to differ. And while the name “comics,” may prove deceiving, the name “Art” was a prophecy.
The legendary cartoonist, now 77, saw the potential in comics to be deadly serious. Spiegelman is best known for his graphic novel Maus, which was serialized between 1980 and 1991 and won him a Pulitzer Prize shortly thereafter. Widely considered one of the greatest graphic novels of all time, Maus tells the harrowing tale of Spiegelman’s father Vladek surviving the Holocaust, following him from his pre-war home in Poland into the dark heart of Auschwitz.
Maus alternates between Vladek’s perspective and Spiegelman’s own, zooming out to tell a concurrent meta-narrative about Spiegelman’s process interviewing his father and their complicated relationship. Its art style is backboned by a simple metaphor: the Jews are mice, and the Nazis are cats.
Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse marks the first documentary focused on Spiegelman and his work. As directed by Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin, it’s formally straightforward, but thorough and well-constructed nonetheless. Spiegelman takes the helm with a charming humility that juxtaposes his larger-than-life reputation, a tension that makes his presence even more endearing. When Spiegelman is drawn as a godlike figure in the film, it’s never by his own hand.
Interviews with Spiegelman’s loved ones, colleagues and cartoonist peers pepper the rest of the documentary, helping contextualize Spiegelman’s artistic journey and massive impact. The frequent inclusion of read-aloud comics on screen adds a particularly dynamic element to Disaster, successfully recreating in small spurts the feeling of reading comics, as well as allowing for fine-toothed examinations of excerpts of Maus and other works.
Fans of Maus will delight in getting a peek behind the curtain of the beloved novel, as well as an intimate sense of Spiegelman’s personality, influences and lesser-known work. For those unfamiliar with Spiegelman, Disaster serves as a solid introduction, especially because its scope expands beyond just one artist.
Rather, the film is a testament to the transgressive nature of comics and the underground culture of comic-making that so shaped Spiegelman. Because he shook up the landscape of comic-making so profoundly, Spiegelman becomes the perfect vehicle for a holistic investigation into the art of comics as a political and emotional force.
In its final act, Disaster weaves in a new storyline that makes a strong case for the documentary’s timeliness. In 2022, Spiegelman became the face of an anti-censorship movement sparked by the banning of Maus in a Tennessee middle school. This recent battle, along with the looming threat of fascism in Trump-era America, add an urgency to Disaster that invigorates the film as it winds down and carries its message beyond the final credits.
One of Disaster’s most striking sequences comes in its final moments: a montage of famous cartoonists doodling signatures on their own works and acknowledging the doors that Spiegelman opened for them. While Spiegelman wrestles with the overwhelming legacy of Maus in the film, his work has ultimately become much bigger than him. It’s not easy being the figurehead of an entire genre, but Spiegelman shoulders the responsibility with grace.
photos courtesy Zipatone Films, LLC
Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse
2024 | 98 minutes | documentary | USA
released February 21, 2025
now playing through March 6, 2025, at Film Forum, NYC
and playing nationwide; visit Fandango
for more info and screenings, visit Art Spiegelman
