Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller - Old and Rare Books

Raw, Vol.1 (Complete in 8 Issues) [THE MAUS COLLECTION, INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL SERIALIZATION] [WITH] Funny Aminals [sic]

Spiegelman, Art; Francoise Mouly (eds.)

New York: Raw Books and Graphics Inc., 1980-1986. First edition. Softcover. Folios. 14 1/4 x 10 1/2". Eight issues with inventive illustrated color printed wrappers, one cover is die-cut. This is a complete run of Volume 1 of Raw. Our set includes all seven of the separately inserted original parts of Spiegelman's "Maus: A Survivor's Tale." The first part of Maus appears in the second issue of Raw, as a bound in 15-page insert (7 x 5 1/4") printed in black & white. In the following issue the size format is the same, but going forward the inserts have covers printed with color, and they have continuous running pagination. Starting in Raw #4 (Maus chapter 3) and continuing until the final issue, the inserts are printed in a larger format of 9x6". Our copy of Raw issue #7, which was intentionally issued with a torn upper left corner of the front cover, is the best looking example of this issue that we've seen. The torn piece has been mostly restored and glued back on. You can still see the torn effect, but it preserves more visual content on the front cover and the comic on the verso than any other copy that we are aware of. Our set is lacking 3 additional inserts not related to Maus (Spiegelman's "Two Fisted Painters" inserted in No. 1, the gum and cards inserted in No. 2, and the vinyl record inserted in No. 4).

This collection is special as it includes not only the original serialization of Art Spiegelman's Maus in Raw (in it's final form), but also the earliest proto-version from "Funny Aminals" (1972). This version displays a more detailed artistic style, with more expressive character depictions than the later version, and is very abbreviated, being only 3 pages long.

Maus is considered a powerful and groundbreaking work in the history of comics. Being inspired by Spiegelman's family history of survival and loss during the Holocaust, the work took the form of the graphic novel into the new arenas of the memoir, biography, and historical drama genres. The initial 6 parts (chapters) of the work, here serialized in Raw, were subsequently collected together into a single volume, and published in 1986 as "Maus, a Survivor's Tale." Upon release, the work reached a much wider audience, changing both the popular acceptance of the comics medium and the perception of its literary possibilities. Notably for the genre, it became the subject of much academic and literary analysis, and in 1992 it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. It is still commonly used as text to examine Holocaust literature, and to teach about the history of the Holocaust.

Raw, an anthology running eleven issues from 1980 to 1991, was founded Art Spiegelman and his wife French designer and publisher Françoise Mouly. It is considered among the leading underground American comic series of the era, and emblematic of the so-called Alternative Comics movement of the 1980s. This movement was a natural progression from the pioneering first wave of self-published "Underground Comix" in the 1960s-70s, and took influences and irreverent style from the punk rock era. Spiegelman, a veteran of the earlier era, sought to move into more highbrow, artistic and avant-garde directions with this new series. Contributors included many acclaimed previous collaborators such as R. Crumb, Bill Griffith, Lynda Barry, Kim Deitch and Justin Green, as well as other newer visionary artists and writers including Ben Kachtor, Charles Burns, Gary Panter, Mark Beyer, Kaz and Mark Newgarden. Under the influence and auspices of Mouly, the series also provided a platform and exposure for noted international comic creators such as Ever Meulen, Pascal Doury, Jacques Tardi and Javier Mariscal. The Japanese manga tradition is also here represented by the inclusion of of Yoshiharu Tsuge's "Red Flowers" (originally published in "Garo"), as a 16 page insert in issue #7 - in a rare English translation of the author's work. The series is noted for its idiosyncratic and highly artistic large format covers and artwork.

Other credited contributors to this first series include include Bruno Richard, Geoff Robinson, Joost Swartz, Jerry Moriarty, Patricia Cairee, Lynne Tillman, George Griffin, Gerry Capelle, Mark Caro, Paul Boyer, Norman Dog, Sue Coe, and many others.

The first six chapters of Maus, with slight modifications, were collected and published in book form by Pantheon in 1986. Chapter Seven, noted above in Vol. 1, #8, is the beginning of Maus II, collected and published later as "Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began", in 1991. See below for bibliographic details.

"Raw" / "Maus" bibliography:

Raw #1, (4), 8, (15)-36pp.
Though "Maus" does not begin until the next issue, it still contains a double-spread of drawings by Spiegelman.

Raw #2, 34pp. w/
"Maus, a Survivors Tale" Chapter One. (1)-16pp. Tipped in on the inside back wrapper.

Raw #3, 50pp. w/
"Maus, the Honeymoon" Chapter Two. (17)-31pp. Stapled at inner margin of page 28.

Raw #4, (4), 42pp. w/
"Maus, Prisoner of War" Chapter Three. (32)-61pp. Tipped in on the inside back wrapper.

Raw #5, (8), (15)-38, (8)pp. w/
"Maus, The Noose Tightens" Chapter Four. (62)-85pp. Tipped in on the inside back wrapper.

Raw #6, 74pp. w/
"Maus, Mouse Holes" Chapter Five. (86)-120pp. Stapled at inner margin.

Raw #7, 49, (1)pp. w/
"Maus, Mouse Trap" Chapter Six. (121)-152pp. Stapled at inner margin. [Also with] (16)pp. booklet of the "Red Flowers" comic by Yoshiharu Tsuge, stapled to the inside back wrapper).

Raw #8, 78pp.
"Maus, Mauschwitz" Chapter Seven. (2), (153)-179pp. Stapled at inner margin.

Some of the covers in the collection with minor to light rubbing to extremities, and some with minor smudging, and/or minor creasing near extremities. Interiors overall very clean. Issue #1 with a few light stains to the front and back covers. #2, with a tiny stain near the bottom of the front cover. #4 with a minor stain to the top of the back cover. #6 with a minor stain to the bottom of the back cover. Issue #7 has its intentional tear, as issued on the front cover, and a small instance of tap residue on the title page. #8 has a small closed tear to the very bottom of the front cover, and a barely noticeable closed tear on p.37. Covers in very good to near fine condition, interiors in very good+ to near fine condition overall. All Maus inserts are in pristine condition. Issues protected in modern mylar.

[WITH]

Zwigoff, Terry (ed.). Funny Aminals. San Francisco, Apex Novelties. 1972. First edition. Quarto. Staple-bound illustrated wrappers. This famed one-off comic includes work from many of the great underground comics artists of the era, including R. Crumb, Justin Green, Jay Lynch, Shary Flenniken, Bill Griffith, and Michael McMillan. Most notably the comic contains the very earliest version of Art Spiegelman's "Maus." A very few instance of minor rubbing to extremities. Light age toning to the edges of pages throughout. In near fine condition overall. vg to near fine. Item #51104

Price: $3,950.00