In any creative medium there are always those works that transcend whatever confines bind it to a format and can be appreciated by everyone Many who dont like opera still think Mozarts Marriage of Figaro is the shizzle and for anyone who thinks comics are just for kids then Maus, by cartoonist Art Spiegelman, is the exception to that rule. The first issue was published in 1980 and the series was completed in 1991, it tells the story of Spiegelmans father and his experiences both during the Holocaust and after as he made a new life for himself in America. Spiegelman drew all the characters are animals - Nazis are cats, Jews are mice etc and in doing so exploited the narrow viewpoint that the medium of comics was inherently unimportant and trivial delivering this heavyweight effort. The story itself is both heart breaking and life affirming and as powerful as the subject matter deserves with the drawings done in a simple yet emotive style. In 1992 Maus went on to win the Pulitzer Prize, the first graphic novel to ever do so, all of which make Maus an essential alternative comic book you must read.