Discovering the Depths of Creativity: A Captivating Review of ‘Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse’ (2025) | Roger Ebert

Back in the late 1970s, a good friend of mine started his journey as a cartoonist at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He had two notable teachers. One was Harvey Kurtzman, a founder of MAD Magazine, known for his lively and quirky style. My friend liked him a lot. The other instructor was Art Spiegelman, a more unconventional figure. At first, my friend was shocked by Spiegelman’s work. He drew a raw and emotional comic strip about his mother’s suicide titled “Prisoner on the Hell Planet.” My friend found it disrespectful, especially since he lived with his mother until she passed away. However, over time, he recognized Spiegelman’s honesty and integrity, even if he still felt uneasy about the subject matter.

Spiegelman’s art remains impactful today. His work appears in the book Breakdowns, which is a collection of his pieces. If you only know Spiegelman from his work at The New Yorker, Breakdowns might surprise you with its intensity and depth.

Now at 76, Spiegelman is an engaging figure. He is well-known for his graphic novel Maus, which explores his past and his father’s experience as a Holocaust survivor. This powerful story is intertwined with his mother’s history as well. Maus is noted for its candid and artistic storytelling, along with dark humor. It gained massive popularity and won a Pulitzer Prize, which was both a blessing and a burden for him. The tragic events of 9/11, which he and his daughter witnessed, reignited his creative spark and led him to create In The Shadow Of No Towers.

The documentary “Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse,” directed by Molly Bernstein and Philip Dolin, explores Spiegelman’s life and work. It captures his journey from the underground comix scene to mainstream success. In the film, you see conversations around a dinner table with fellow artists like R. Crumb and his wife, Françoise Mouly, who is now an art editor at The New Yorker. Spiegelman fondly recalls his time with Topps, where he created “Wacky Packages,” funny parodies of popular products. This job provided financial support for his ambitious comics magazine, Raw. Even now, he continues to work diligently at his drawing board.

Spiegelman is very insightful about his creative process. When discussing Maus, he focuses more on how he structured it rather than the heavy themes it addresses. He explains his artistic choices, like using woodcut styles in Hell Planet. Friends and fellow artists, including film critic J. Hoberman and avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs, share their thoughts, providing a richer context for his influences, such as Bernie Krigstein’s impactful comic, Master Race, which paved the way for Maus.

The film concludes with Spiegelman reflecting on the rise of troubling political trends during the first Trump administration. He laments the return of fascism, repeating, “We’ve gone from ‘never again’ to ‘never again and again and again.’” It’s clear he’s concerned about the current state of the world, but many believe he will develop new work that resonates with the moment.