In the Shadow of Personal History
Art Spiegelman's 9/11 Comic Memoir Memorializes Media
Sep 24, 2009
Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers is an effort by the seasoned comic artist to express his perspective on the events of 9/11. In the introduction, he states that, “outrunning the toxic cloud that had moments before been the north tower of the World Trade Center left me reeling on that faultline where World History and Personal History collide…”. Raised by Auschwitz survivors, he is no stranger to the juxtaposition of histories. Prior to creating In the Shadow of No Towers, Spiegelman was already renowned for his graphic novel Maus, which recounts the plight of European Jews during the Holocaust.
By 2001, Spiegelman had practically given up on creating comics, deeming the process time consuming and exhausting; however, after experiencing 9/11 firsthand, he felt that the medium was an applicable outlet for a frustrated and increasingly paranoid New York artist.
Composing the Shadows
In the Shadow of No Towers was produced between 2002 and late 2003, as a series of individual comics pages. Printed in large spread format by German newspaper Die Zeit, each page is designed as a collage, combining hand drawn imagery, photography, and digital compositions.
When embarking upon this project, Spiegelman had attempted to draw an image of the falling second tower, yet found the task indescribable by hand. In the end, the artist felt that the most accurate visual reproduction he could compose was with the aid of computer software. The resulting image is a noisy representation of the skeletal framework of the skyscraper, as it sizzled to the ground.
Amidst such a physical remembrance, swirls personal traumas affiliated with the disaster. Spiegelman recalls rushing with his wife to shuffle their two children to safety; the constant and uncertain media coverage; the fearful, color-coded paranoia; and the political unity and divisions that pulsed throughout the country as a whole. The man who had once considered himself to be a “’rootless cosmopolitan,’ equally homeless anywhere on the planet…” began to understand a more concrete definition of home.
As the series progresses, Spiegelman’s real time memory of 9/11 wavers between reality and abstraction. He likens the people of NY to the stunned pigeons he saw on the streets that morning, and also compares them to ostriches hiding their heads in the ground and underneath American flags. He graphically hybridizes people, animals and objects to further convey his point of view. Spiegelman also pokes fun at the powers that be by creating a mock card deck called “The Architects of Armageddon,” and visually flipping images of charging cartoon armies upside down.
Reference and Reverence
With In the Shadow of No Towers, the affinity between man and fowl extends beyond the mention of ostriches and pigeons. Charles Baudelaire’s 1859 poem The Albatross is referenced, with the author blending the image of the poem’s title character with that of the American eagle.
The poem recounts the misfortune of a seabird that lands on the deck of a ship, and is subsequently taunted by the sailors onboard. Spiegelman utilizes this classic association to depict the daze and disillusionment of America and her citizens in the times immediately following 9/11.
According to the author, by 2001, “ while waiting for some other terrorist shoe to drop, many found comfort in poetry.” The author found comfort in old comic strips. He cites the roots of the comics industry, and ties those to the newspapers, such as the New York World and the New York Journal, that were so integral in shaping printed cartoon media.
“Ground Zero” would have been teeming with entrepreneurial zest during the lives of Robert Outcault and George Herriman. Spiegelman pays homage to the old strips, by calling them “…vital, unpretentious ephemera from the optimistic dawn of the 20th Century.” He incorporates characters such as The Happy Hooligan, The Yellow Kid, Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse, The Kinder Kids and Little Nemo into this reflection upon 9/11 as either fully drawn replicas, or storyline references. The last spread is devoted to showcasing the inception of comics, offering readers both a review of New York comic history, as well as reprinted plates of some of the represented strips.
Zeroed
With In the Shadow of No Towers, Art Spiegelman has created a personal memoir, piece of current social reflection, and a background for the history of commercial art. The comics reader is introduced to both the social aspects of comics, and the current affairs that influence them. The artist relates his memories of the falling towers, smoke and ensuing stench to a W.H. Auden quote that states, “The unmentionable odour of death offends the September night.” By the time In the Shadow of No Towers was completed in 2003, the stench still offended, as “we commemorate(d) two years of squandered chances to bring the community of nations together.”
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