MAUS Rejection Letter

The quote below is from an early 1980s rejection letter for MAUS by Art Spiegelman. It was reprinted in this month's Atlantic Magazine. (This piece is not online so far as I can tell, so to read more you would have to buy the paper copy):

"The contrast between the seriousness of the subject and the apparent frivolity that 'a cartoon with Jews as mice and Nazis as cats' inspires is so great I had in several cases to talk for five minutes just to convince someone to even read the book. I believe to overcome this you would have to enlist the support of well-respected individuals in many fields — get strong quotes and endorsements from a variety of people (not 'cartoon people')."

The above rejection letter is just one tiny part of METAMAUS, a new book full of background documents about the Pulitzer Prize winning 1983 graphic novel, plus a DVD with a digital version of the 2 volume book as well as the original audio recordings Mr. Spiegelman made with his father. The 300 page hardcover is scheduled to be published next month by Pantheon.