Art Spiegelman
The first time I really met Art Spiegelman, 57, was two years ago in his studio in Manhattan. I was on a book tour, and I was thrilled to be able to spend time with the Great Art Spiegelman. He is the reference for any cartoonist. He showed me that comics can be more than superhero stories; reading Maus made me want to become a cartoonist. I wanted to meet him to apologize, to make it clear that while some compared my book, Persepolis, to his, I would never do so. He told me not to worry. We spent the afternoon smoking cigarettes. The Great Art Spiegelman smoked three times more than I. He's a better man than even I had expected.
Satrapi, author of Persepolis, has a new book, Embroideries, coming out this month
From the Archive
The Way We Live Now: How do you write about the world after it has been upended? Two books take on life after Sept. 11