what is the first thing you notice about spiegelman's method of presentation?

He uses different animals to stand for different nationalities/ethnic backgrounds. The main theme of this is predator and prey: Cats and mice. The fact that he moves around into history and the present is also noticeable. He is telling a story that is not truly only his to tell in the book.

I also find it interesting that when he presents the story of his mother's death, he does so by showing a comic he wrote in college. In this comic, the characters are people. This is a story that is his own, first hand. Please note the source link for this excerpt below.