Jim Rugg, Fantagraphics Pull Controversial Maus Parody Cover for Ed Piskor’s Red Room

Publisher Fantagraphics pulls artist Jim Rugg’s controversial Maus parody cover for Ed Piskor’s Red Room following immense backlash from readers.

Following immense backlash from readers and other viewers, artist Jim Rugg and publisher Fantagraphics recently pulled a controversial variant cover for Ed Piskor’s Red Room Trigger Warnings #3, which parodied Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel, Maus.

In addition to the cover’s removal, the publisher issued a statement including Rugg’s apology. “Fantagraphics, Ed Piskor, and Jim Rugg have decided to not publish the variant cover for Red Room: Trigger Warnings #3 that referenced the comic Maus,” the publisher wrote. Ruggs’ apology read, “I am sorry for my latest Red Room cover. I have drawn several variant covers for the Red Room series and I had fun parodying famous and iconic comics and graphic novel covers, but I realize (now) that the morally charged subject matter of Maus made it an inappropriate subject for the necessarily over-the-top Red Room treatment and I apologize for my misjudgment.”

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Fantagraphics went on to add that it regrets the fact that the issue was not brought up during the editorial process– a point that many have raised online. Across social media, viewers have continued to criticize the apparent lack of oversight and insensitivity displayed by those involved with the parody cover, which replaced the anthropomorphic mice on Spiegelman’s cover with humans enduring torture. Given Red Room‘s splatterpunk nature, the cover has been interpreted as suggesting Jewish Holocaust victims as the subject of what has been described as torture porn.

Maus depicts the events, victims and perpetrators of the Holocaust, represented by a variety of animals. The tragedy is explored from the perspective of Spiegelman’s father, a Polish Jew, as he discusses his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. The story was originally published in Raw magazine, in chapters, beginning with Raw‘s second issue. A new chapter of Maus appeared in each issue until 1991.

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Over the decades, Maus has continued to receive critical acclaim and has been used in schools to teach history, language and illustrate a variety of topics, including racism, psychology and more. However, the novel returned to news recently following its banning from a school in Tennessee. The McMinn County School board voted to ban cartoonist Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus from its curriculum, arguing that the contents of Maus are inappropriate for school-age children.

Spiegelman himself responded to the banning, expressing his shock and criticizing the school board’s decision, describing it as “Orwellian.” In an interview, the author said, “I’m kind of baffled by this… It’s leaving me with my jaw open, like, ‘What?'” Students, comic book writers and publishers expressed their support for Maus‘ inclusion in schools, with some raising money to provide as many students as possible with a copy of the Holocaust novel.

KEEP READING: Why Maus Opened the Door to Comics as Literature in Schools

Source: Twitter

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