Maus is essential reading. Not just for seasoned or even burgeoning comics readers, but for readers in general. It possesses a salience no other comic can really equal, and that's largely down to its subject matter, with Art Spiegelman's book offering an anthropomorphised retelling of his father's experiences during the Holocaust.
Spiegelman's work is a classic, and a testament to the power of the comics medium to relay real-world subject matter in a way no other medium can. It's why it's so revered, as it was instrumental in terms of reiterating the importance and indeed uniqueness of comics as a storytelling tool, sparking great interest from academic circles and literary scholars across Europe and elsewhere.
There are hundreds of accounts about the Holocaust that should be considered essential reading. One would argue that now, in our current political climate, that these stories and accounts have taken on another, more urgent kind of salience. Spiegelman's account in particular stands out as one that should and must be seen, both because it's an impressive work of art, and because it tells a vital story in a way only a comic book could.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
