Raw, Vol.1 (Complete in 8 Issues) [THE MAUS COLLECTION, INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL SERIALIZATION] [WITH] Funny Aminals [sic]

Spiegelman, Art; Francoise Mouly (eds.)

Published by Raw Books and Graphics Inc, New York, 1986

About this Item

Folios. 14 1/4 x 10 1/2". Eight issues with inventive illustrated color printed wrappers, one cover is die-cut. This is a complete run of Volume 1 of Raw. Our set includes all seven of the separately inserted original parts of Spiegelman's "Maus: A Survivor's Tale." The first part of Maus appears in the second issue of Raw, as a bound in 15-page insert (7 x 5 1/4") printed in black & white. In the following issue the size format is the same, but going forward the inserts have covers printed with color, and they have continuous running pagination. Starting in Raw #4 (Maus chapter 3) and continuing until the final issue, the inserts are printed in a larger format of 9x6". Our copy of Raw issue #7, which was intentionally issued with a torn upper left corner of the front cover, is the best looking example of this issue that we've seen. The torn piece has been mostly restored and glued back on. You can still see the torn effect, but it preserves more visual content on the front cover and the comic on the verso than any other copy that we are aware of. Our set is lacking 3 additional inserts not related to Maus (Spiegelman's "Two Fisted Painters" inserted in No. 1, the gum and cards inserted in No. 2, and the vinyl record inserted in No. 4). This collection is special as it includes not only the original serialization of Art Spiegelman's Maus in Raw (in it's final form), but also the earliest proto-version from "Funny Aminals" (1972). This version displays a more detailed artistic style, with more expressive character depictions than the later version, and is very abbreviated, being only 3 pages long. Maus is considered a powerful and groundbreaking work in the history of comics. Being inspired by Spiegelman's family history of survival and loss during the Holocaust, the work took the form of the graphic novel into the new arenas of the memoir, biography, and historical drama genres. The initial 6 parts (chapters) of the work, here serialized in Raw, were subsequently collected together into a single volume, and published in 1986 as "Maus, a Survivor's Tale." Upon release, the work reached a much wider audience, changing both the popular acceptance of the comics medium and the perception of its literary possibilities. Notably for the genre, it became the subject of much academic and literary analysis, and in 1992 it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. It is still commonly used as text to examine Holocaust literature, and to teach about the history of the Holocaust. Raw, an anthology running eleven issues from 1980 to 1991, was founded Art Spiegelman and his wife French designer and publisher Françoise Mouly. It is considered among the leading underground American comic series of the era, and emblematic of the so-called Alternative Comics movement of the 1980s. This movement was a natural progression from the pioneering first wave of self-published "Underground Comix" in the 1960s-70s, and took influences and irreverent style from the punk rock era. Spiegelman, a veteran of the earlier era, sought to move into more highbrow, artistic and avant-garde directions with this new series. Contributors included many acclaimed previous collaborators such as R. Crumb, Bill Griffith, Lynda Barry, Kim Deitch and Justin Green, as well as other newer visionary artists and writers including Ben Kachtor, Charles Burns, Gary Panter, Mark Beyer, Kaz and Mark Newgarden. Under the influence and auspices of Mouly, the series also provided a platform and exposure for noted international comic creators such as Ever Meulen, Pascal Doury, Jacques Tardi and Javier Mariscal. The Japanese manga tradition is also here represented by the inclusion of of Yoshiharu Tsuge's "Red Flowers" (originally published in "Garo"), as a 16 page insert in issue #7 - in a rare English translation of the author's work. The series is noted for its idiosyncratic and highly artistic large format covers and artwork. Other credited contributors to this first serie.

Seller Inventory # 51104

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Raw, Vol.1 (Complete in 8 Issues) [THE MAUS COLLECTION, INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL SERIALIZATION] [WITH] Funny Aminals [sic]
• Publisher: Raw Books and Graphics Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 1986
• Binding: Softcover
• Edition: First edition.
• Condition: vg to near fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature