Comic book store owner Ryan Higgins was a teenager when he read “Maus,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust.
The 1986 narrative and its sequel tells the harrowing story of the author’s father, who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. The books, featuring mice as Jewish prisoners and cats as Nazi oppressors, were soon among Higgins’s favorites.
“Reading ‘Maus’ opened my eyes,” Higgins said. “I remember thinking, ‘This is about more than superheroes fighting bad guys.’ It was heartbreaking and emotional, and it brought a whole new window to something I had little knowledge about.”
When Higgins bought the Comics Conspiracy shop in Sunnyvale, Calif., near San Jose, he decided to make sure that the shelves were always well-stocked with cartoonist Art Spiegelman’s story detailing his father Vladek Spiegelman’s experiences, and the resulting trauma. For 16 years, that’s been the case.
When Higgins learned Jan. 26 that the McMinn County School Board in Athens, Tenn., had voted unanimously to ban the graphic novel in middle school classes because of the board’s objection over profanity and nudity, he was stunned.
“It’s just so bizarre — the actual images of the Holocaust are the most graphic, nightmare-inducing images in the world,” he added. “Why take ‘Maus’ out of the curriculum when it makes this horror more teachable to a wider and younger audience?”Higgins, 42, said he knew he had to do something.
Higgins said he had a hunch that sales of the graphic novel would surge, so he quickly ordered 100 copies of “The Complete Maus” to give away.
“I’ll donate up to 100 copies of The Complete Maus to any family in the McMinn County in Tennessee,” he wrote on Twitter. “Just DM me your address!”
He would also pay for the shipping.
About 60 students and parents who reside in the McMinn County school district have contacted him wanting copies, he said, and he plans to ship them later this week as soon as his book shipment arrives. His tweet has gotten more than 12,000 likes.
In December, when a Texas school district banned the graphic novel “V for Vendetta” and comic book series “Y: The Last Man,” Higgins did the same, offering on Twitter to send copies to anyone in the district who wanted them.
“I didn’t get a huge response, but a couple of people reached out and were happy to get copies,” he said.
But he figured “Maus” might be different.
One of the people Higgins heard from was Malachi Cates, a 15-year-old sophomore at McMinn County High School, asking for a copy through his mother.
Malachi said he felt embarrassed when he looked at his cellphone last week and saw the school board’s decision-making worldwide headlines.
“I was shocked — I couldn’t believe what they had done,” he said. “I hadn’t ever read the novel, but when I heard about it being banned, I knew I had to read it.”
Background on this story is actually kind of interesting. Ryan has actually done this before, but this time it just happened to blow up. Also, please follow his advice:
If you want to help a library, reach out to them or donate cash. They don't need 100 copies of the same comic book. They need funds and support, and trust that they can manage their money. Get involved in local politics. He read transcripts of the school board meeting where the book was removed from the curriculum and it was absurd. The book was (at least on paper) removed because in a single panel you saw a mouse penis. Having rational people on these boards can go a long way to change this.
Spartan2470 on February 3rd, 2022 at 17:56 UTC »
Here is a higher quality version of this image.
According to here:
masoyama on February 3rd, 2022 at 17:57 UTC »
Ryan has a weekly podcast that he has been doing for the past 10 years and I have been listening to him talk for almost that whole time. Link for the latest episode found here: https://comicconspiracypodcast.com/2022/01/31/the-comic-conspiracy-episode-532/
Background on this story is actually kind of interesting. Ryan has actually done this before, but this time it just happened to blow up. Also, please follow his advice:
If you want to help a library, reach out to them or donate cash. They don't need 100 copies of the same comic book. They need funds and support, and trust that they can manage their money. Get involved in local politics. He read transcripts of the school board meeting where the book was removed from the curriculum and it was absurd. The book was (at least on paper) removed because in a single panel you saw a mouse penis. Having rational people on these boards can go a long way to change this.Q_whew on February 3rd, 2022 at 18:03 UTC »
My sister has this book...now i feel like i should have read it.