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The original 1977 edition was made up of short, experimental strips, some of which were autobiographical, made between 1972 and 1977. At that stage in his career, Spiegelman was more interested in the formal elements of the comics medium than in its content or storytelling aspects. He experimented
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The expanded 2008 edition made use of a swirl or squiggle motif. The seemingly tossed-off squiggle is used in a variety of contexts. It is first introduced as the expression of surprise of the character on the cover slipping on a copy of the first edition of
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with and explored the relation of panels to each other on the page, pictorial manipulation, and how far one could take a story formally before it became incoherent. He parodied and paid homage to his cartoon heroes, notably
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over repeated variants of the same image. The title is written in shaky block letters, implying both visual and psychological breakdowns.
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Spiegelman visually relates the story of a boy who bullied him and spat on his mother in his youth, echoing with irony the well-known
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advertisements such as "The Insult that Made a Man out of Mac" that ran in comic books. He fills the dialog balloons with text from
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The volume failed to capture a wide audience. Spiegelman says this indifference was the impetus to take on
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McGlothlin, Erin (2011). "Art
Spiegelman and AutobioGRAPHICal Re-Vision". In Chaney, Michael A. (ed.).
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was originally published in an edition that sold less than 3000 copies in 1977 by Belier Press as
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Spiegelman depicts himself in the vest that has become synonymous with his image since
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and
Breakthroughs: Finding Art in Young Spiegelman". In Chaney, Michael A. (ed.).
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Graphic
Subjects: Critical Essays on Autobiography and Graphic Novels
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Graphic
Subjects: Critical Essays on Autobiography and Graphic Novels
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Witnessing the
Disaster: Essays on Representation and the Holocaust
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Faster Than a
Speeding Bullet: The Rise of the Graphic Novel
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Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!
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Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!
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Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@*!
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1302:Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary
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16:Anthology of comics by Art Spiegelman
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941:A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge
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802:Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts
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523:Lorah, Michael C. (2008-10-29).
628:and the Afterimages of History"
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1:
1186:Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers
636:University of Wisconsin Press
554:University of Wisconsin Press
481:University of Wisconsin Press
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247:'s essay "Art as Technique".
194:Breakdowns: From Maus to Now
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1025:In the Shadow of No Towers
976:The Beauty Supply District
929:Comics from Pantheon Books
756:In the Shadow of No Towers
575:Mercer, Nik (2008-10-24).
446:Blau, Rosie (2008-11-29).
216:In the Shadow of No Towers
144:Dream of the Rarebit Fiend
35:Cover to the first edition
1345:The Complete Crumb Comics
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86:is a collected volume of
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1228:San Francisco Comic Book
622:Young, James E. (2003).
595:Weiner, Stephen (2003).
467:Brodzki, Bella (2011). "
88:underground comic strips
1412:Autobiographical comics
508:. Skyhorse Publishing.
502:Heller, Steven (2002).
409:Alber & Heinze 2011
90:by American cartoonist
1242:Tits & Clits Comix
1207:"Omaha" the Cat Dancer
431:. Walter de Gruyter.
209:in 2008 and retitled
1417:Metafictional comics
997:The Cardboard Valise
809:The Narrative Corpse
411:, pp. 235, 237.
251:Reception and legacy
1397:1977 graphic novels
1330:Books and one-shots
1039:The Jew of New York
849:Legal Action Comics
673:by Paul Gravett at
185:Publication history
1402:1977 comics debuts
1200:Gothic Blimp Works
1004:Chicken with Plums
638:. pp. 23–45.
235:Style and analysis
66:BĂ©lier Press Press
1407:Underground comix
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1366:It Ain't Me, Babe
1137:American Splendor
1117:Underground comix
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1074:Read Yourself Raw
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842:Garbage Pail Kids
645:978-0-299-18364-6
614:978-1-56163-368-5
583:. Anthem Magazine
577:"Art Spiegelman,
567:978-0-299-25104-8
515:978-1-58115-974-5
494:978-0-299-25104-8
438:978-3-11-022904-2
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1320:Keep on Truckin'
1312:Individual works
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245:Viktor Shklovsky
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134:Rex Morgan, M.D.
106:From Maus to Now
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556:. pp.
483:. pp.
418:Works cited
385:Mercer 2008
373:Weiner 2003
349:Heller 2002
337:Heller 2002
1386:Categories
1338:Breakdowns
1277:Young Lust
1270:Yellow Dog
1235:Slow Death
1179:Comix Book
1158:Armageddon
1060:La Perdida
969:Black Hole
888:(daughter)
795:Little Lit
749:Breakdowns
677:'s website
667:'s website
587:2011-06-07
536:2015-12-15
469:Breakdowns
459:2012-04-18
397:Lorah 2008
321:Young 2003
309:Young 2003
265:References
229:Breakdowns
221:Breakdowns
190:Breakdowns
179:Breakdowns
168:Breakdowns
128:Dick Tracy
83:Breakdowns
23:Breakdowns
1284:Zap Comix
1193:Gay Comix
1032:Ice Haven
1011:Epileptic
530:Newsarama
361:Blau 2008
152:India ink
59:Publisher
1359:God Nose
116:Overview
1294:Stories
1263:witzend
41:Creator
1249:Weirdo
1172:Cherry
1151:Arcade
1129:Series
1018:Habibi
882:(wife)
873:Family
788:Arcade
741:Comics
697:Comics
683:Portal
671:Review
661:Review
642:
611:
564:
512:
491:
435:
199:Arcade
161:(2008)
137:, and
1119:works
834:Other
560:–50.
487:–58.
1067:Maus
770:Maus
640:ISBN
626:Maus
609:ISBN
562:ISBN
510:ISBN
489:ISBN
433:ISBN
258:Maus
175:Maus
102:Maus
97:Maus
54:1977
51:Date
824:Raw
663:at
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125:'s
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485:51
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289:^
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518:.
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441:.
399:.
387:.
363:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
_Breakdowns_cover.jpg)