Critics traditionally have regarded the comic book and the graphic novel as subordinate to classic literature because the medium have relied heavily on superhero stereotypes and science fiction. However, they are becoming more broad and complex. My study focuses on Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiographical graphic novel, Maus. I argue that the complexity of the autobiographical graphic novel relies on the emotional connection the reader develops with the author and the work through the blank spaces between the text's panels which also allow the author to authenticate his work. By analyzing the text as a three-layered work, the reader can understand the connection Spiegelman establishes with his subject, his character, and the reader. The process reveals the author's focus on his or her narrative, the author-subject's perception of the narrative, and the author-subject's justification of his or her understanding of the self and the narrative.
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