The book is a collection of short strips, reprinting a short collection of "experimental" strips from the 1970s, with an introductory batch of new strips and an afterword giving the back story of the reprinted book. The more accessible the strips, the more I was able to enjoy them. And the more the future New Yorker editor pontificates on and scrutinizes The Meaning And Practice Of Art, the less I could feign interest. It's almost as if there is a constant war between the artist, the filmmaker,

I'd recommend this to two groups of people: Spiegelman fans and Comics Are An Art Form people. Happily, I am both, so I enjoyed it quite a bit. It showcases primarily Spiegelman's early work, much of which is very in-your-face with the "I am a man who has just learned I can draw boobies and get money for it" sort of shock value mentality. That said, this is worth picking up just for Prisoner from a Hell Planet, Day at the Circuits, and of course the original Maus piece. It is a GORGEOUS book at

It's easy to forget how important Spiegelman is to the medium of comics outside of Maus. As he so eloquently demonstrates in his comics preface, the shadow of that book will Spiegelman for the remainder of his life, and rightfully so. Still, it's these early works where one can see an artist willing to experiment and play with the form of comics."Prisoner of Hell Planet," "Little signs of passion," and an early version of "Maus" are just some of the wonderful stories in this collection, and the

better than i thought it’d be. relatable in its tackling of mental illness/hopelessness/depression. educational in its portrayal of post-WWII life in NYC for polish immigrants and the world of comics

Simply sublime, it’s a meta-comic with its narrative commenting on itself while unfolding each panel revealing its mechanism. And. Yet. It’s. Not. What. You. Think.

A terrific book that chronicles Spiegelman's coming-of-age amidst a jewish upbringing condemned to neurotic blame and guilt put on by the holocaust. it's a declaration of how he arrived to be a comic book artist, his father exclaiming "you have to use what little space you have to pack inside everything you can"...one suitcase...in case the Nazis come...to "everything you can" in a tiny graphic square. he is an experimental concept artist, exploring the implications of the frame, of making victi...

A fascinating insight into Spiegelman's journey to become an artist. We see early works of Maus and we feel the rage Art used to propel the comix medium forward.

A history of the bubble gum wrapper's cartoonist's involvement with the countercultural cartoon movement. Added bonus: whacky family history.A paean to the times, likely endearing to those who cherish comic illustration.

This was so weird and excellent. Spiegelman is even more obsessed than I am with the idea that form IS meaning, and this collection provides example after example after weirdo example of that obsession. I kind of want to teach it alongside Maus, but that very graphic blow job is probably a reason not to. Lol.

Breakdowns was Spiegelman's first book, put out in 1977, so this is a new edition of some old material. Spiegelman, however, does a new comic book introduction which is half as long as the original Breakdowns, so there's also plenty of new material. The best strips are the original three-page "Maus" and the classic "Hell Planet" strip that appears in the more famous, novel-length version of Maus. Most of the other strips are creative and formal experiments, and stylistic exercises. They're not e...

Well, if nothing else, this book makes clear, to those not already aware of it, what a high opinion Spiegelman has of himself. Not that it's entirely unjustified, of course; he is a master of comics technique, as is abundantly evident here. He's also an impressive stylist, capable both of striking images in his "own" style and excellent pastiche work of various figures, not to mention cunning use of collage. But he also comes across as pretty consistently impressed with himself, which is unseeml...

I’ll say to each their own... but I found the comic strips, well, stupid. Think in terms of shock value and humorless. Or at least, that’s my take. I did manage to stick around for the author’s (very long) rambling of an afterword. Maybe I was too stuck in what I’d read in the comics, but I just didn’t care to read his life story or rationalizations for his writing “medium” as he calls it. I haven’t read his more popular work ‘Maus’ yet and I’m not sure I want to anymore.

Major hitch with this volume is it's too large to comfortably read in the manner I prefer to read: on my back, in bed. Otherwise, I.

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”― Mel Brooks

I have wanted to try to get into graphic novels for a while now, yet never found one that really intrigued me. Until I read an article about Art Spieglman. His attitude and approach sucked me in. Breakdowns is a really interesting look into Spigelman's process, motivations, psyche. This collection of his early work is varied in style and approach, all with a clear voice.

"Breakdowns" is a reprint of the same book published in the 70s except with a brief autobiographical intro by the author. The intro features nothing new to anyone with a passing interest in artists/writers: growing up Spiegelman wasn't good at sports so he turned to the life of the mind. He was influenced by MAD magazine, R.Crumb, and Peanuts. Wow, just like everyone else who grew up to be a cartoonist then. Then onto the book itself which features short strips. One is a dry and unfunny examinat...

The original three page Maus comic and Prisoner on the Hell Planet are amazing feats of comics. Prisoner on the Hell Planet has got to be one of the best comics I've read. The blown up edition of it really enhances its power outside of being an insert in the Maus graphic novel. The rest of the items in this book are basically highly meta deconstructions of the comic medium and of different aspects of storytelling. Some of them are great, others completely miss the mark. Several are just too obtu...

As others have discussed, “Prisoner on Hell Planet” and the original 3-page “Maus” are good. The stylistic variety is quite impressive, and I found the German Expressionist style chilling. I also found this book interesting when it came to better understanding some of the history around comics production and censorship.However, outside of these two comics, I felt like most of these strips felt like pretentious meditations on what makes art “good art” vs “bad art” and I felt like Spiegelman (whic...

This is a book that has completely changed my perspective not just of comics but the world altogether. I'm not raving about Art Spiegelman being a genius, which he uncontrollably is, but about the way this book has articulated his journey from one point in his life, a disillusioned artist, to another, a more self aware (even if arguably still disillusioned) artist.Breakdowns is, in every definition of the word, exactly what it means.