And a large part of that was because of Maus. Do you feel a pride and a satisfaction?
Kind of. Um, y'know, I have questions about the phrase 'graphic novel,' and I have even questions about that particular form over other forms of comics. Comics is bigger than graphic novels. I've been called the father of graphic novels, and I'm still looking for a blood test. It has to do with... there's a number of great books coming out now, one of them has great content, but there's something really whacked about it. Best American Comics. Now, the material's really good, and it's a symptom of just how interesting things are right now. There's a fantastic opening strip by Lynda Barry, but when I look at the work inside, my eye is sort of repelled, even though I Iike the work. It has to do with the fact that nothing wants to be that size except the few pieces that were made that size. And it's an aspect of the graphic novel that's led to its strengths, and also, in a misguided way, led to a book that doesn't want to be that size except that it is.
Do you feel that, since comics have now moved to the realm of "graphic novels" readership expectation is now out of whack?
The phrase 'graphic novels' has a lot of problems. For one things it stresses the novelistic aspect somehow, suggesting a long story with digressions. That's one thing that comics can do, and that's great. But I was referring to No Towers and to this book as 'graphic novelties.' Basically comics itself is bigger, it has a lot it can do. Can you imagine if someone just invented a word for what Cervantes had made called the novel, and then someone like Milton came along... 'Eh, it's not very novel-like. What are all these rhymes doing?' It would limit the possibilities if that was all that was happening. But of course it's not. Cartoonists have now been given a license to kill. So anything not only can happen, but is happening right now. It's a time of great ferment. But 'graphic novel'? Eh, it's a marketing term. I can live with it, even though I don't love it.
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Excerpts: Art Spiegelman's Breakdowns, Dark thoughts, Rockets men, More 
- Excerpts: Art Spiegelman's Breakdowns
Comic excerpts from Art Spiegelman's Breakdowns .
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Josie and the Pussycats were sexy for cartoons, but they were a fairly chaste trio — too shy to appear in full-frontal shower scenes.
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