<p><strong>"The work of Art Spiegelman is one of the great sources of academic and literary legitimacy for the study of comics/graphic novels. Phillip Smith’s book not only thoroughly documents this contribution but it brilliantly analyses its roots in underground comics (<i>Breakdowns)</i>, the evolution of his masterwork <i>Maus</i>, and the continued development of the artist into <i>In the Shadow of No Towers. </i>This is a volume that every scholar of comics/graphic novels will want to add to her library."</strong> --<em>Daniel J. O’Rourke, Ashland University, USA</em></p><p><strong>"Smith makes an important contribution to comics writing with this work. History’s recent horrors are easily understood in terms of pure barbarism, yet such an explanation is unsatisfying. Inhumanity towards others often cloaks itself in the veneer of rationality. Smith makes a compelling case that Spiegelman’s work strips away that veneer by making us confront the madness of our complicity."</strong> –<em>Bond Benton, SUNY Fredonia, USA</em></p><p><strong>"[A] commendable [...] tome that contributes to our understanding of Spiegelman as well as madness, trauma, and Holocaust studies."</strong> --<em>Lim Cheng Tju</em>, International Journal of Comic Art </p>