Comic book store owner fights Holocaust novel ban
Action prompts Higgins to send out free copies of `Maus'
Ryan Higgins usually leaves the heroics to the costumed crusaders found in the books he stocks at his Comics Conspiracy shop in Sunnyvale.
“I just sell some Batman comics,” he says with a laugh.
But the comic book store owner is not content to sit on the sidelines when it comes to groups attempting to ban books, graphic novels and other reading materials. Instead, he joins the fight — most recently in response to the decision last month by Tennessee's Mcminn County School Board to ban Art Spiegelman's “Maus,” the award-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from use in middle school classes.
“As I've offered before with other banned comics, I'll donate up to 100 copies of `The Complete Maus' to any family in the Mcminn County area in Tennessee,”
Higgins posted on Twitter. “Just DM me your address!
The tweet quickly went viral, collecting nearly 4,000 retweets, and Higgins' generous offer drew national media coverage.
It also sparked interest from readers — not all of whom were looking to get the book for free.
“We've had hundreds and hundreds of people reach out and want to buy the book,” Higgins says.
Others were looking to donate to the cause.
“Multiple people wanted to buy additional copies to add to our donation number,” Higgins says. “We've mostly turned those down. We've recommended people support their local library.”
Although Mcminn County
School Board members reportedly objected to the use of nudity and profanity — and thus decided unanimously to ban the novel's use — “Maus” is widely considered a literary masterpiece.
The highly acclaimed graphic novel is a collection of writer-artist Spiegelman's serialized work from 1980 to 1991 addressing his Jewish father's experience in the Holocaust.
In 1992, “Maus” became the first — and still only — graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Among the calls of support, Higgins says he's been fielding phone calls from “80-year old Jewish women whose parents or relatives either survived or died in the Holocaust.” He says they'll cry to him on the phone, filled with sorrow and saying “how they can't believe this is still going on.”
“They've never read a comic book before, and they've ordered this book from me to read,” he says. “It's just been unreal. I don't have the words for the people who have reached out to me about this. It's been a pretty moving experience.”
Higgins first read “Maus” as a teen, and he always tries to keep it in stock at Comics Conspiracy.
“We always have to have it in the store,” he says. “It's one of those books. It doesn't matter if it's been a year between selling copies, we will always carry it.”
Yet, keeping it in stock these days is a tall order, as banning a work of art — as often is the case — has only increased people's desire for it. Following the school board's decision, “Maus” is now a hot seller. It shot to the top of the Amazon bestseller list immediately after the Jan. 10 decision. Nearly a month later, it's still No. 11 at Amazon and No. 3 on the Indie Bestseller list, which tracks book sales at independent bookstores.
“Everyone is sold out. Amazon was out of stock,” Higgins says. “Our distributor, Penguin Random House, said, `We are just seeing unprecedented activity on this book.'”
Higgins just received his initial big order of “Maus” and plans to send out the first 50 copies to readers this week.
“My hope is by the end of the month we have received and shipped all copies,” he says. “That's my goal.”
This isn't the first time that Higgins has fought against attempts to ban graphic novels. He made a similar offer on Twitter after a Texas school district axed the use of two other popular offerings last year.
“I will send a copy of `V For Vendetta' or `Y The Last Man Volume 1' to any kid in the district that wants one,” Higgins tweeted.
Higgins says that both graphic novels had “adult content in there” but that they were “also pretty politically strong titles.”
“Along with the other books that were banned (by the school district), it was clear that this was sort of more malicious than just, `Oh, we are just going to remove this,'” he says.