 By the mid @-@ 1970s , the underground comix movement was encountering a slowdown . To give cartoonists a safe berth , Spiegelman co @-@ edited the anthology Arcade with Bill Griffith , in 1975 and 1976 . Arcade was printed by The Print Mint and lasted seven issues , five of which had covers by Robert Crumb . It stood out from similar publications by having an editorial plan , in which Spiegelman and Griffith attempt to show how comics connect to the broader realms of artistic and literary culture . Spiegelman 's own work in Arcade tended to be short and concerned with formal experimentation . Arcade also introduced art from ages past , as well as contemporary literary pieces by writers such as William S. Burroughs and Charles Bukowski . In 1975 , Spiegelman moved back to New York City , which put most of the editorial work for Arcade on the shoulders of Griffith and his cartoonist wife , Diane <unk> . This , combined with distribution problems and retailer indifference , led to the magazine 's 1976 demise . For a time , Spiegelman swore he would never edit another magazine . 
