 Spiegelman lived close to the World Trade Center site , which was known as " Ground Zero " after the September 11 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center . Immediately following the attacks Spiegelman and Mouly rushed to their daughter Nadja 's school , where Spiegelman 's anxiety served only to increase his daughter 's apprehensiveness over the situation . Spiegelman and Mouly created a cover for the September 24 issue of The New Yorker which at first glance appears to be totally black , but upon close examination it reveals the silhouettes of the World Trade Center towers in a slightly darker shade of black . Mouly positioned the silhouettes so that the North Tower 's antenna breaks into the " W " of The New Yorker 's logo . The towers were printed in black on a slightly darker black field employing standard four @-@ color printing inks with an overprinted clear varnish . In some situations , the ghost images only became visible when the magazine was tilted toward a light source . Spiegelman was critical of the Bush administration and the mass media over their handling of the September 11 attacks . 
