Art Spiegelman and 9/11

sometimes i feel like i've been living in a cave... here i am in buenos aires, shopping for some new reading material at ateneo on avenida santa fe (my favorite bookstore in the world, a renovated theater) and i run across something i didn't know existed - art spiegelman's "In the Shadow of No Towers..." i had already bought my new stock of bathroom, airplane and pre nite-nite libros and had decided to browse some more... i stumbled across it and started to flip the pages... when i realized what was in my hands, i immediately retreated to the confiteria that occupies the former stage, ordered a cafe grande con dos medialunas and started to read... wow! is all i can say... i laughed out loud, i felt tears welling up and chills ran up and down my spine... this is from the online description...

In 10 large-scale pages of original, hard hitting material (composed from September 11, 2001 to August 31, 2003), two essays, and 10 old comic strip reproductions from the early 20th century, Spiegelman expresses his feelings of dislocation, grief, anxiety, and outrage over the horror of the attacks---and the subsequent "hijacking" of the event by the Bush administration to serve what he believes is a misguided and immoral political agenda. Readers who agree with Spiegelman's point of view will marvel at the brilliance of his images and the wit and accuracy of his commentary. Others, no doubt, will be jolted by his candor and, perhaps, be challenged to reexamine their position.

i'm not into making book recommendations but i sure recommend THIS one... you may remember that spiegelman is the pulitzer-prize winning cartoonist of maus, the series on nazi germany and the jewish pogrom...


Spiegelman: DOOMED! Doomed to drag this damned albatross around my neck, and compulsively retell the calamities of September 11 to anyone who'll still listen!...
Eagle: EVERYTHING'S CHANGED! AWK!
Spiegelman: I insist the sky is falling; they roll their eyes and tell me it's only my Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder...
Eagle: GO OUT AND SHOP! AWK!


Spiegelman: That's when Time stands still at the moment of trauma... ... which strikes me as a totally reasonable response to current events!
Eagle: AWK!
Spiegelman: ...I see that awesome tower, glowing as it collapses!...
Eagle: Be AFRAID!

amazing...! incredible...! i am s-o-o-o glad i found this...

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