“Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse” Goes by the Numbers

Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse (Molly Bernstein/Philip Dolin, 2024) 3 out of 5 stars

Surprisingly impersonal, Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse can be a fascinating glimpse into the world of a prolific artist, but that glimpse becomes nothing more than just that. To those readers unfamiliar with the comic-book industry, Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1986 graphic novel Maus: A Survivor’s Tale is literature with no shortage of accolades from critics and patrons. Functioning as a biography, Maus depicts Spiegelman, the novel’s author, as an anthropomorphized New York City mouse trying to help his father, Vladek, process his traumatic experiences in the Holocaust. Through the use of walking and talking animals, Spiegelman has, for forty years, opened the eyes of readers—young and old—to a human atrocity that should never be forgotten.

Helmed by Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin (The Show’s the Thing: The Legendary Promoters of Rock), Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse employs a combination of archival footage and newly filmed content to track Spiegelman’s life. The layout of the documentary and the information it unveils to the audience are serviceable enough, but the whole viewing experience feels as if the movie is driving by while you’re on the sidewalk and they scream Spiegelman’s life out to you. While a bit confused, I’m still appreciative of what I did learn from that moment.

The documentary may be annoying, but Spiegelman and his rally of critical supporters are wildly intriguing speakers from beginning to end. A highlight of the film is viewing an early cartoon that Spiegelman created of comics scholar (and film critic) J. Hoberman. Disaster Is My Muse is not a remarkable insight into one of the most important comic artists of the last century; it’s a suitable introduction at best. A better way to connect with Spiegelman on an emotional level is to read Maus and support any bookstore or library brave enough to showcase it on their shelves these days.

Patrick Howard

Patrick Howard has been a cinephile since age seven. Alongside 10 years of experience in film analysis and criticism, he is a staunch supporter of all art forms and believes their influence and legacy over human culture is vital. Mr. Howard takes the time to write his own narrative stories when he can.