Which characteristics of comics can be seen in Maus by Art Spiegelman, and how is the mood or tone of the book provided by comic book elements?

Art Spiegelman's Maus uses comic book characteristics to tell a realistic story of the Jewish experience and generational trauma of World War II. Spiegelman uses panels in ways to direct the reader's attention and reading pace. In a more traditional novel, a flashback would be told in blocks of text, but in Maus, panels serve as snippets of time that slow the reader's reading pace, inviting us to spend more time on each panel. The black and white, heavy-inked pen drawings also allow for the characters to stand out more from their background and create a sense of classicism despite the anthropomorphism of the characters. Anthropomorphism is another technique that Spiegelman uses. Soldiers are depicted as a variety of animals, such as pigs, while Jews are depicted as mice and Germans as cats. Working both as symbolism and as a means of identifying the characters, anthropomorphism is a strong tool used in Maus.