[2] At that stage in his career, Spiegelman was more interested in the formal elements of the comics medium than in its content or storytelling aspects.

[3] He parodied and paid homage to his cartoon heroes, notably Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, Rex Morgan, M.D., and Winsor McCay's Dream of the Rarebit Fiend.

It is first introduced as the expression of surprise of the character on the cover slipping on a copy of the first edition of Breakdowns (rather than a clichéd banana peel).

[1] Spiegelman depicts himself in the vest that has become synonymous with his image since Maus, in contrast to his appearance in the comics from the original Breakdowns.

[10] Spiegelman visually relates the story of a boy who bullied him and spat on his mother in his youth, echoing with irony the well-known Charles Atlas advertisements such as "The Insult that Made a Man out of Mac" that ran in comic books.