Jewish Comics logo illustrated by Michael Netzer, copyright 2009

Jewish Comics Search Engine

Goodreads bookshelf montage

Google Search Window

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

pre-order The Dry Bones Haggadah - 2 days left!

Yaakov Kirschen has been successful in raising enough shekels to fund his haggadah project at Kickstarter.

However, the fundraising campaign still has 64 hours left (as of this posting). That's a period of over 2 days to finalize your decision to pre-order an electronic or print edition of The Dry Bones Haggadah, a Passover seder guide written and illustrated in the style of the Dry Bones comic strip which has been syndicated in Israeli and Jewish newspapers since 1973.

To go to the browse-rewards page (from which you can become a sponsor), please click on the following hyperlink :

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/997082407/the-dry-bones-passover-haggadah-by-yaakov-kirschen.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The comix side of the Ashkenaz Festival - Sunday

Paul Buhle will be at Toronto's Ashkenaz Festival to speak about the anthology Yiddishkeit : Jewish Vernacular and the New Land which he co-edited with the late Harvey Pekar. Buhle will present images and insights about the anthology and about his late co-editor, the iconoclastic underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality Harvey Pekar.

Venue : Miss Lou’s Room
             Harbourfront Centre
             235 Queens Quay West
             Toronto, Ontario
Date :     Sunday, Sep. 2, 2012
Time :     3:00 PM
Cost :      FREE

Full description at http://www.ashkenazfestival.com/paul-buhle

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

last chance to pre-order Golem : A Graphic Novel by Hilary Goldstein

The plot of Golem : A Graphic Novel is as follows :
They framed her for the murder of the President, executed her husband in front of her, and nearly took the life of her infant son. Big mistake. Exiled from America, Danya Ben-El'azar and her six-year-old son Jonah have become the international mercenary team known only as Golem. With sword and pistol, mother and son travel the world hunting the people who ruined their lives.
Golem is written by Hilary Goldstein, illustrated by Giovanni P. Timpano and colored by Laura Schumacher. It will be published as 4 issues, collected as a 100-page graphic novel with additional content not available in other editions. Although Goldstein has surpassed his Kickstarter fundraising goal, there is still time to use his Kickstarter project page to pre-order copies of the story.

* Those who pledge at least $10 will receive a PDF of the complete mini-series and will be thanked on the website.

* Those who pledge at least $20 will also receive an e-book story collection of 3 all-new short stories exploring the world of Golem.

* Those pledging at least $30 will also receive an exclusive Golem trade paperback exclusive to Kickstarter funders with writer notes and bonus art which will not be available in future editions ($15 extra required if it needs to be shipped outside of the U.S.).

* Those pledging at least $35 get the same rewards as they would get for $30, but their trade paperbacks will be signed ($15 extra required if it needs to be shipped outside of the U.S.).

 To take a look at all of the pledge rewards, please go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hil/golem-a-sci-fi-graphic-novel-swords-guns-and-reven?ref=live

 As of this writing, the Kickstarter campaign has just 14 hours to go until it ends.


Friday, August 10, 2012

People of the (Comic Book) retreat - CANCELLED!

Last night was supposed to be the first day of a 3-day program of speakers at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center.

Alas, the event has been cancelled. Below are the details of what had been planned (& will hopefully take place somewhere sometime in the future).

* Arie Kaplan, author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books, speaking about his book

* Trina Robbins (author of Lily Renée, Escape Artist, co-author of "Zog Nit Keyn Mol : the Partisans Song" and author of "The Triangle Fire" which was published in both Corporate Crime Comics #2 and Lilith Magazine #2) - "Writing Comics & Graphic Novels".

* Sarah Lightman (co-curator of the travelling exhibition "Graphic Details : Confessional Comics by Jewish Women") - Confessing your Graphic Details

* Rabbi Simcha Weinstein (author of p, Up and Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero), speaking about his second book Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st Century

* Hussein Rashid - Wham! Bam! Dishoom! Muslims and Americaness in Graphic Novels * David Wolkin (Executive Director of Limmud NY) - Reading Between the Panels

* Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent : Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero) - The Life and Art of Will Eisner

* Eric Greenberg - When Superman was Judenrein (a refernce to his 1998 article Is SUPERMAN ‘Judenrein?’

* Liana Finck - author of the A Bintel Brief cartoons in The Forward talking about her work

* Jeff Newelt - Remembering Harvey Pekar: The Art of Appreciation

* Lawrence Klein - Founding the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art

* Arthur Kurzweil - Comic Books and Super Heroes: What do the Jewish Sages Say?

* Holy Shabbos, Batman! Observe the Sabbath the superhero way with our special services and delicious farm-to-table kosher homemade meals.

* Is Superman Jewish? A conversation with Danny Fingeroth, Arie Kaplan, and Simcha Weinstein Moderated by Eric Greenberg

* Women & Comics A conversation with Liana Finck, Sarah Lightman, and Trina Robbins Comics as a Religious Activity A conversation with all presenters

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Rabbi's Cat discussion / reading circle in Toronto tomorrow night

Tomorrow evening (Aug. 9th) at the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Center, Keith Friedlander will lead a discussion / reading of Joan Sfar's graphic novel The Rabbi's Cat (book 1 only).

The event is part of the "People of the Comic Book : Jews and the Graphic Novel" series, which started on July 19th.

Date : Thurs., Aug. 9

Time : 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Location : Miles Nadal J.C.C.
                 750 Spadina Ave.
                 Toronto, ON
                  M5S 2J2

For inquiries, please contact Sharoni Sibony at (416)924-6211 x154 or e-mail her at jewishlife@mnjcc.org.

Cost : $12 drop-in / $6 students with valid ID + HST (already included if you paid $45 for the full series)

The Rabbi's Cat and other books in the series may be borrowed from the Toronto Public Library or purchased from The Beguling bookstore.

 The other topics that were covered by Friedlander in previous weeks were :

* History of Jewish Contributions to Comics (July 19th)

* A Contract with God (July 26th)

* Maus (Aug. 2nd)

Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Jewish Side of Medicine and Comics

Today (Sunday) is the first day of the 3rd annual Medicine and Comics conference, this year being held in Toronto, Canada. To see the program details, please go to http://www.bmc.med.utoronto.ca/graphicmedicine/prog.html


One of the papers being delivered on Tuesday morning is titled "From Ivanhoe to Rex Mundi: Jews and medicine in comic books, comic strips, and graphic novels" and is going to be presented by this blog's moderator (Steven M. Bergson). Among the stories which will be shown and discussed (besides Ivanhoe and Rex Mundi, obviously) are the following : Joe Kubert's "A Matter of Importance", Rafael Medoff's "The Last Outrage", the "Doctor Buttcrack" chapter of Emily Steinberg's Graphic Therapy, Leela Corman's Unterzakhn and Will Eisner's A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories.


Among those who will be in attendance are : 


* Joyce Brabner, widow of Jewish comics writer Harvey Pekar 


* Paul Gravett, author of the article "From Iky Mo To Lord Horror: Representations of Jews in British Comics"


Sarah Lightman, co-curator of the travelling exhibition "Graphic Details : Confessional Comics by Jewish Women"

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Jewish Side of SDCCI 2012

Today (Sunday) is the final day of the annual San Diego Comic Convention International.

As usual, there are plenty of Jewish cartoonists and creators of Jewish-content stories in attendance.

There are also panels which might be of interest to those interested in Jewish cartoonists &/or Jewish comic stories.

Creators who will be present at the convention (most of them exhibiting and/or on panels) include :

Sergio Aragones (who illustrated the "Fanny Hillman : Jewish Madam" books and adapted the Jonah story for Testament)

Jonathan Baylis (author of So ... Buttons mini-comic)

Alison Bechdel (author-illustrator of the syndicated GBLT comic styrip Dykes to Watch Out For. Among the characters introduced in the strip were : Naomi, who came out as a bisexual Jew ; Thea, a Jewish lesbian with multiple sclerosis; and Stuart Goodman, a straight Jewish male who became involved with bisexual Sparrow Pidgeon and who had a child with her)

Mike Carey (co-author of the comic series The Unwritten, including the "Jud Suss" issue)

Howard Chaykin (author-illustrator of American Flagg, as well as Batman / Houdini : The Devil's 
Workshop
)

Peter David (who infamously used the names of seder plate items for aliens in a Star Trek novel and who wrote the stories for The Incredible Hulk #386-387 ; see http://www.leaderslair.com/noexcuses/hulk2-386.html and http://www.leaderslair.com/noexcuses/hulk2-387.html)

Ben Edlund (creator of Arthur {aka Mothman}, the Tick's Jewish sidekick)

Mark Evanier (author of a Crossfire story for a Free Comic Book Day comic involving a Holocaust survivor who tries to kill a suspected Nazi war criminal) 

Stan Goldberg (illustrator of the revamped Mendy and the Golem series)


Paul Gravett (scholar who wrote the online article "From Iky Mo To Lord Horror: Representations of Jews in British Comics")

Larry Hama (author of the Mossad story in G.I. Joe Special Missions #2)

Sid Jacobsen (author of Anne Frank : The Authorized Graphic Biography)

Phil Jimenez (illustrator of Wonder Woman: Donna Troy #1 and the Heroes online comic "Wireless Part One")

Lynn Johnston (author-illustrator of the syndicated comic strip For Better or For Worse which had the Jewish character Lovey Saltzman )

Joe Kelly (author of the JLA storyline "The Obsidian Age", which introduced The Anointed One, hero of ancient Israel)

Peter Kuper (author-illustrator of the short biographical story "Promised Land"(Bleeding Heart #2), as well as the book-length autobiographical Stop Forgetting to Remember : The Autobiography of Walter Kurtz)


Scott Kurtz (author-illustrator of PVP, the Eisner-award-winning online comic strip which in 2006 made a joke about the Superman Returns movie being "a Jewish conspiracy to convince Christians that Jesus was gay")

Stan Lee (Jewish comics legend who co-created the Fantastic Four {which has a Jewish chartacter called The Thing} and who appeared in the story "What if the Original Marvel Bullpen was the Fantastic Four?" in What If? #11)

Paul Levitz (author of "Tradition" in DC Comics' 9-11 September 11th 2001)

Miriam Libicki (author of the jobnik! series, the first volume of which has been collected in trade paperback)

Rob Liefeld (illustrator of stories in the Youngblood series of comics, which included the Israeli superheroine Masada)

Stan Mack (author of of The Story of the Jews)

Elliot S! Maggin (author of the Passover seder-inspired short comic story "The Miracle Monday Dinner") {in Superman #400})

Steve Niles (author of the golem story Criminal Macabre: Feat of Clay)

Jimmy Palmiotti (co-creator of the short-lived golem series The Monolith from DC Comics)

Dan Piraro (author-illustrator of the syndicated comic strip Bizarro, including a one-panel joke in which hunted pigs seek refuge in a Hasidic house)

Trina Robbins (author of Lily Renée, Escape Artist, co-author of "Zog Nit Keyn Mol : the Partisans Song" and author of "The Triangle Fire" which was published in both Corporate Crime Comics #2 and Lilith Magazine #2)

Arlen Schumer (author-illustrator of Captain Israel)

Bill Sienkiewicz (illustrator of the story "Into the Abyss" in New Mutants #27, which had the Israeli mutant character Legion)

Gail Simone (who wrote the story "Li'l Krusty in Give a Hoot, Stay in School" in Simpsons Comics #62, as well as "A Contagion of Madness" in Action Comics #835)

J. Michael Straczynski (author of the Amazing Spider-Man story "You Want Pants with That?" and the Rising Stars story "Selah")

Herb Trimpe (illustrator of the Incredible Hulk story "In the Shadow of the Golem")


JT Waldman (author-illustrator of Megillat Esther and illustrator of Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me)

Len Wein (writer of the golem story in Strange Tales #174 - see http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/golem1.htm)

Marv Wolfman (author of The Tomb of Dracula #27, The New Teen Titans #24 and Homeland : The Illustrated History of the State of Israel)


Recommended Panels
 THURSDAY

4:00-5:00, Room 9
Abrams ComicArts
Among the forthcoming works that will be discussed is Barry Deutsch's Hereville Book 2: How Mirka Met a Meteorite, the sequel to the Sydney Talor Award-winning graphic novel Hereville : How Mirka Won Her Sword.

5:30-6:30, Room 26AB Batman's Biggest Secret: The Bill Finger Story Based on five years of research for the new book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, Marc Tyler Nobleman (Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman) reveals startling, never-published information about Bill Finger, uncredited co-creator of Batman-including the game-changing discovery of Finger's lone heir. Michael Uslan, executive producer of The Dark Knight Rises, on the book: "Purposefully and meaningfully (and beautifully) written." 

FRIDAY

10:00-11:00, Room 9
Remembering Jerry Robinson and Joe Simon
Jerry Robinson was a key artist on Batman in the 1940s, the co-creator of The Joker, and later an accomplished newspaper strip artist and political cartoonist. Joe Simon was half of the legendary team of Simon and [Jack] Kirby, the co-creator of Captain America and other Simon-Kirby classics, and later the creator/editor of Sick magazine. We've recently lost both of these legendary figures in comics, so let's pause to remember them along with Paul Levitz, Michael Uslan, Anthony Tollin, Marv Wolfman, Paul Dini, Batton Lash, Steve Saffel and moderator Mark Evanier. 11:00-12:00, Room 9 Siegel and Shuster and Finger Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created a character you may have heard of. Bill Finger co-created one or two himself. These men are the subjects of two new books that unlock many secrets as to how some young men gave the world some of the greatest icons of fantasy ever. Hear Larry Tye (author of Superman: The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero) and Marc Tyler Nobleman (author of Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman) as both discuss their works with moderator Mark Evanier. 

12:00-1:30, Room 26AB
Comics Arts Conference Session #6: Revolution and Reaction
Trina Robbins (Lily Renée, Escape Artist) details the art and amazing life of Holocaust survivor Lily Renée Wilheim, one of the most successful women cartoonists during World War II and Fiction House's only woman cartoonist to draw covers as well as interior stories. Cori Knight (University of California, Riverside) and Sean Sagan (University of California, Riverside) present joint research on aspects of the gospel tracts of Jack T. Chick, an author whose comic-book-style evangelical tracts have circled the globe and have been translated into over 40 languages, and consider the tracts' status as sacred objects and as warnings to the world at large.

2:30-3:30, Room 26AB
Comics Arts Conference Session #8: Jack Kirby, Modernism, and Abstraction
Jack Kirby is increasingly emerging as an important 20th century American artist even beyond the realm of the comics world. His art provided pen-and-ink counterparts to the formal concerns of Abstract Expressionist painting, formalizing compositions and graphic rhythms with as much sophistication as artists such as Jackson Pollock or Franz Kline. Even "Kirby crackle" can be compared to the notion of "all-over" mark-making in abstract art as championed by Clement Greenberg. Outer space scenes especially, requiring innovative graphic forms to suggest sublime and unrepresentable space phenomena, provided occasions for some of Kirby's most powerful abstract compositions. This panel will discuss the relationship of Kirby with abstract art, his deeply modernist artistic achievement, and his influence on art and abstract comics. Andrei Molotiu (Indiana University, Bloomington; Abstract Comics: The Anthology) will give a presentation on the topic, then will discuss the subject with artist Mark Badger (Batman: Jazz, Martian Manhunter) and other surprise guests.

8:00-9:00, Room 23ABC
CCAS (Christian Comics Arts Society) Mixer
Join the Christian Comic Arts Society for their annual fellowship mixer. Open to all comics, media, and pop culture fans.

SATURDAY 1:00-2:00, Room 9
Spotlight on Stan Goldberg
Cartoonist, colorist, and Comic-Con special guest Stan Goldberg was there at the beginning of the Marvel Age of Comics, designing the color schemes for characters such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and many others. As an artist, he is best known for his over 45 years of work at Archie Comics as one of the Archie artists. Stan talks about his career and what he's doing next in this spotlight panel.

2:00-3:00, Room 23ABC
Will Eisner and the Graphic Novel
Moderator Paul Levitz (writer, 75 Years of DC Comics, Legion of Super-Heroes, former Eisner publisher), Klaus Janson (artist/inker, Daredevil, The Dark Knight Return, comics educator, SVA), Denis Kitchen (artist, author, publisher; Eisner's agent and longtime friend), Charles Kochman (editorial director, Abrams ComicArts), and Diana Schutz (comics educator; executive editor, Dark Horse Comics; Eisner's editor) explore the pivotal role Will Eisner's evangelism of the comics artform plays in the evolution of the American graphic novel, followed by a short Q-and-A period.

4:30-5:30, Room 26AB
The Legacy of Harvey Pekar
J. T. Waldman (Megillat Esther) discusses the legacy of Harvey Pekar's work through the lens of the just-released memoir with Waldman, Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me. Told over the course of a single day in Cleveland, the book explores Pekar's loss of faith in the modern state of Israel. Waldman discusses this work and the mark Pekar has made on graphic memoir.

6:00-7:00, Room 4 CAS Panel: Spiritual Themes In Comics
The always lively CCAS panel examines spiritual themes in both contemporary comics and pop culture in general, with a special nod this year to Ridley Scott's Prometheus. Join Wayne Gardiner (Crucidel Productions), Sergio Cariello (The Action Bible), Leo Partible (The Action Bible), moderator Buzz Dixon (Savage Angels), and others for this fascinating analysis.

SUNDAY

10:00-11:00, Room 5AB
The Annual Jack Kirby Tribute Panel
There might not be comic book industry were it not for Jack Kirby...and if you don't know who that is, you really don't belong at this convention. Each year, his friends and co-workers gather to talk about Jack and his work and to marvel (no pun intended) at the length and breadth of his influence, not just on comics but on TV, movies, and all the arts. This year, the dais will include Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk), Stan Goldberg (Marvel colorist), Paul Dini (Batman), and Charles Hatfield (Hand of Fire), all chatting with moderator Mark Evanier (Kirby: King of Comics).

10:00-11:00, Room 32AB CCAS
Sunday Devotional and Christian Comics Panel
Join fellow Christian fans and artists for a brief devotional period, followed by an in-depth analysis on interpreting the Bible in graphic format with Sergio Cariello (The Action Bible), Billy Tucci (A Child Is Born), and moderator Buzz Dixon (Savage Angels). Open to all who wish to attend.

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Jewish Side of TCAF 2012 - May 5th and 6th

This weekend, readers, writers, artists, publishers and fans of comix will converge at the Toronto Reference Library to take part in the the FREE Toronto Comic Arts Festival (which will, again, coincide with Free Comic Book Day on Saturday).

Among the talented people who will be at TCAF this year are a small number of comix professionals who have done comic art using Jewish characters or themes.

* Alison Bechdel (author-illustrator of the syndicated GBLT comic styrip Dykes to Watch Out For. Among the characters introduced in the strip were : Naomi, who came out as a bisexual Jew ; Thea, a Jewish lesbian with multiple sclerosis; and Stuart Goodman, a straight Jewish male who became involved with bisexual Sparrow Pidgeon and who had a child with her.)

* Willow Dawson (a talented Canadian artist, who has illustrated the anthology No Girls Allowed : Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure, written by Susan Hughes and published by Kids Can Press. The anthology includes the story of Esther Brandeau, the first Jewish person to immigrate to Canada.)

* Guy Delisle (French-Canadian cartoonist, well known for his graphic travelogues. Delisle's most recent work is Chronicles : A Year In Jerusalem. On May 3rd, the Carlton Cinema will host an evening with Guy Delisle, featuring the official launch of his book, a rare live interview by Prof. Nick Mount, a screening of the short documentary The Guy Delisle Chronicles a Q-and-A, and author signing. For details about that event [including ticket info], please go to http://torontocomics.com/events/an-evening-with-guy-delisle/.)

* Tom Gauld (author-illustrator of the Biblical graphic book Goliath, described as "a traditional narrative reworked, remade, and revolutionized")

* Farley Katz - (author illustrator of the webcomic "Kids are Dumb", which has included a set of 3 mock Passover cards

* Diana Nock (cartoonist whose work includes "Bleeding Tree", a minicomic adaptation of a Jewish folk tale)

* Jim Ottaviani (author of Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love and Fallout : J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and the Political Science of the Atomic Bomb)

* Jon Rosenberg (author-illustrator of the webcomic Goats, which includes the Jewish character "Jon", as seen in the strip from Nov. 24, 2005)

* Editions Tchai (publisher of fictional and semi-autobiographical fiction featuring Israeli characters, such as Hungry Heart, Ah, Gilgamesh! or Swim on Your Own Risk and Rock Testament

* Li-or Zaltzman (cartoonist currently working on a 100+ page coming of age story that takes place in Tel Aviv ; Li-Or will be at Matt Madden's table)

Super Jew Comics - Hadas Gallery Exhibition

The Hadas Gallery is hosting the exhibition "Super Jew Comics" until June 17th.

The exhibition shows reproductions from Shaloman comics and a new comic titled Israel Defense Comics

Details below from the Hadas website :

Opening Reception: April 15, 4- 7:30 pm
Comics 101 Workshop: May 17, 7:30 pm
Closing Reception/ Jews ‘n’ Comics visual lecture: June 17, 4-7:30 pm

Hadas Gallery is proud to present the comic artwork of Al Wiesner and Joshua H. Stulman.

“Super Jew Comics” is an exhibition of original production artwork for the Jewish comic book series, Shaloman and Israeli Defense Comics. The exhibition celebrates Jewish identity in the graphic medium. Several events are planned to coincide with the exhibition, including a presentation by “Up, Up and Oy Vey” author, Rabbi Simcha Weinstein.

Shaloman, created by Al Wiesner, first appeared in Mark 1 Comics #1 in 1987. It was an instant success and the epinimously titled series began shortly thereafter. Wiesner has self-published the adventures of Shaloman ever since. His artwork fuses action, Yiddish humor, and Jewish education to create a unique hero. Wiesner’s work reveals a love of Judaism and golden age comics. Shaloman’s popularity has carried through in nearly 40 issues and four volumes. Wiesner’s artwork has been recognized in numerous articles, academic books, as well as complete collections held at the libraries of Ohio State, Michigan State Univ. and Hebrew Union College. In 2010, Al Wiesner was honored with the Inkpot Award at the San Diego Comic Con for his achievements in the graphic arts.


Israeli Defense Comics is a brand new series featuring the superhero Magen, the Shield of Israel, by Joshua H. Stulman. Israeli Defense Comics is an ongoing project to discuss social/political issues and Israel pride. Stulman is a working artist and painter, whose artwork develops from issues found within the large diversity of the Jewish community.   

info@hadasgallery.com
 Hadas Gallery
541 Myrtle Ave.
Brooklyn NY 11205

Friday, April 27, 2012

The Jewish Side of MOCCA Fest 2012

This weekend (April 28th and 29th), the 10th annual Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival will be held at the Lexington Avenue Armory (Lexinton and 25th) in Manhattan (New York), between the hours of 11 AM and 6 PM. Among the creators of Jewish comic stories / art who will be in attendance are :

* Abrams (publisher of Auschwitz and Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land)


* Orli Auslander (author-illustrator of "Matchmaker" and "Mazeltov")

* Jonathan Baylis (author of So ... Buttons mini-comic)

* Center for Cartoon Studies (publisher of Houdini : The Handcuff King)

* Leela Corman (author-illustrator of Unterzakhn and illustrator of the Dave Danger comics in Reform Judaism magazine

* Drawn and Quarterly (publisher of the berlin comic book series, as well as the graphic travelogue Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City)

* Fantagraphics (publisher of the forthcoming Jewish Images in the Comics)

* Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero)

* First Second Books (publisher of Klezmer, as well as the 3 books in the Resistance series)

* Drew Friedman (cartoonist who illustrated ""What If Chris Rock Performed At A Bar Mitzvah?" [MAD Magazine #419] and "Marnin Rosenbrg in 'Bad Luck with Women'" [National Lampoon - June 1987])

* Dean Haspiel (illustrator of Harvey Pekar's autobiography The Quitter, as well as other works by Pekar)

* Last Gasp (publisher of Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero, from the Creators of Superman)

* Peter Kuper (author-illustrator of the short biographical story "Promised Land" in Bleeding Heart #2, as well as the book-length autobiographical Stop Forgetting to Remember : The Autobiography of Walter Kurtz)

* Josh Neufeld (author-illustrator of A Few Perfect Hours)

* NBM Publishing (publisher of the A Jew in Communist Prague series, The Big Khan, and Brownsville)

* Pantheon (publisher of Unterzakhn)

* Marsha Pugachevsky (author-illustrator of "My Worst Job Interview Ever")

* Ellis Rosen (illustrator of the story "Aaron Lansky and the Recovery of Yiddish", published in Yiddishkeit and 1 page of an adaptation of "Fire" written by Isaac Bashevis Singer)

* Maggie Siegel-Berele (author-illustrator of "My Unborn Children")

* Leslie Stein (author-illustrator of "Someone is Yelling at Me Over the Phone" [Comics Festival, 2005] and Eye of the Majestic Creature)

* Fredrik Strömberg (author of the forthcoming Jewish Images in the Comics)

* Paul Swartz (author-illustrator of "The Magnificent Mockingbird Presents: A Vanishing Act")

* JT Waldman (author-illustrator of Megillat Esther and illustrator of the forthcoming Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me)

* Lauren Weinstein (author-illustrator of the anthology Girl Stories, which includes the story "Chanukah Blues" and writer-illustrator of the story "Horse Camp" which appeared in the anthology Stuck in the Middle)

* Li-or Zaltzman (cartoonist currently working on a 100+ page coming of age story that takes place in Tel Aviv)









Sunday, April 01, 2012

The book launch tour of Leela Corman's new graphic novel Unterzakhn (Yiddish for "underthings") continues in New York this week. According to a private chat with Leela, the graphic novel will depict Jewish life in the Lower East Side, life in a European shtetl, prostitution, women's health, abortion, and really bad dancing.

On April 3rd, Leela will be appearing at WORD bookstore at 126 Franklin St. at 7:00 PM. The event is free, but advance RSVP is requested by calling 718-383-0096.

On April 5th, Leela will be at the Tenement Museum at 103 Orchard St. at 6:30 PM. Free, but advance RSVP is requested by calling 212-982-8420.

On April 28th and 29th, Leella will be a guest at MOCCA Fest at the 69th Regiment Armory at 68 Lexington Ave. Times and fees to be announced.

Leela was recently interviewed by This Wekk in New York and the interview may be read online at http://twi-ny.com/blog/2012/03/31/twi-ny-talk-leela-corman/.

Halachos of Superheroes

by R. Yossi Sirote, dated Purim 5772 (March 2012)

Table of Contents


Shiur 1: Origins.....................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................3
May one become a Superhero knowing that it may endanger one’s life? ...............................................3
What are the Hashkafic implications of Superhero-“gods” like Thor? .....................................................6
Are Superheroes liable for the collateral damage that they cause?...........................................................6
Are magic talismans Avoda Zara? ......................................................................................................7
Does multiplying count as a minyan?....................................................................................................7
Is one allowed to read others’ minds?.........................................................................8
If you had 8 arms how do you put on teffilin? ................................................................................9
Shiur 2: Shabbos .........................................................................................................................................10
May a Superhero violate Shabbos?....................................................................................10
Can Wolverine eject his claws on Shabbos?.......................................................................10
Is there a problem with super-speed (exercise)?..................................................................11
In life threatening situations, must a Superhero minimize violation of the Shabbos? ...................12
May one move a muktze object by telekinesis on Shabbos?......................................................................13
Can a time traveler travel in and out of Shabbos? Can he skip a shabbos?..........................................13
Shiur 3: Eruvin......................................................................................................................................16
May Clark Kent wear his glasses in a place with no Eruv on Shabbos?....................................................16
May one wear his Superhero costume under his secret identity clothing without an Eruv?..........18
May one fly in a Reshus Harabim? ..........................................................................................18
May one carry in a Reshus Harabim while flying? ....................................................................19
May one fly out of techum shabbos?........................................................................................22

Edge City comic strip - Passover and Holocaust storylines

Today (April 2nd) marks the start of what's become an annual tradition - the Edge City Passover storyline, which this year will run for only 1 week (i.e. until March 8th).

You may view the comic strips using the following URLs (as soon as they are available) :

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-01.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-02.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-03.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-04.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-05.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-06.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-07.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-08.php

Following that, Terry LaBan and his wife Terry will start a 3-week Holocaust storyline. Although, the subject of the Holocaust is nothing new to the comic strip page, this may be the first time that the Shoah has been the focus over so many consecutive days. The story will draw from Patty's experience working with survivors in the Philadelphia area as part of her job at a local assisted living center.




The closest I think anyone has come thus far is Jordan Gorfinkel, who was commissioned by the Munich Jewish Museum to produce a set of 10 comic strips featuring his Everything's Relative comic strip characters.

You may view the Holocaust-themed Edge City comic strips using the following URLs (as soon as they are available) :

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-09.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-10.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-11.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-12.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-13.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-14.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-15.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-16.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-17.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-18.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-19.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-20.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-21.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-22.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-23.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-24.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-25.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-26.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-27.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-28.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-29.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-04-30.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-05-01.php
http://www.chron.com/entertainment/comics-games/comic/Edge-City/20498/2012-05-02.php

Monday, February 27, 2012

Graphic Details Symposium

This past Sunday, a symposium was held at Yeshiva University Museum, discussing Jewish women who tell their stories using comix.

Below are the program details, as provided at the Jewish Arts Salon blog.

9:00 Registration; meet and greet

9:45 Introduction Sarah Lightman (University of Glasgow) and Rachel Lazin (Yeshiva University Museum)

SESSION ONE, 10:00 - 11:30

Panel I: The Sequential and the Scriptural
Chair: Karen Green (Columbia University Libraries)
Rebecca Levi (University of Virginia), “Image as Midrash: Text, Gender, Representation and Interpretation in The Comic Torah
Sharon Rosenzweig (The Comic Torah) and Andrea Kantrowitz (Teacher’s College, Columbia University), “First We Do, Then We Understand: How God Became a Woman”

Panel II: Picturing the Body
Chair: Sasha Semach (Yeshiva University Museum)
Tahneer Oksman (CUNY Graduate Center), “Self-Creation in the Comics of Vanessa Davis
Fabio Mourilhe (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), “The Graphic Memory of Aline Kominsky Crumb
Jennifer Glaser (University of Cincinnati), “Graphic Inheritances: Jewish Women Comic Artists and the Jewish Body”
Joanne Leonard (University of Michigan), “Miscarriage made visual: Diane Noomin's Baby Talk and Joanne Leonard's Journal”

11:30 - 11.45 COFFEE BREAK (coffee/tea and light refreshments will be provided)

SESSION TWO, 11:45 - 1:15

Panel III: Drawing in Yiddish: A Schmooze with the Artists
Chair: Alisa Braun (Jewish Theological Seminary)
Leela Corman (Unterzakhn)
Liana Finck (Six Points Fellowship)

Panel IV: Between Diary and Memoir: Forming Comic Identities
Chair: Michael Green (Hershey Medical Center, Penn State University)
Natalie Pendergast (University of Toronto), “The ‘Outlaw’ Genre: Erasing the Line Between Form and Content in Ariel Schrag’s Comic Chronicles”
Heike Bauer (Birbeck College, University of London), “Graphic Lesbian Contiuum: Ilana Zeffren
Judy Batalion (Writer and Performer, NYC and London), “The Comedy of Confession”
Evelyn Tauben (Independent Curator and Writer, Toronto) “Mi Yimtza? Finding Jewish Identity Through Women’s Autobiographical Art”

1:15 - 2:00 LUNCH (not provided)

SESSION THREE, 2:00 - 3:30

Panel V: Scrutinizing Israel: Travelers, Tourists, and Citizens
Chair: Amy Feinstein (Independent Scholar, New York City)
Maya Balakirsky Katz (Touro College), “Drawing Israel: Friedel Stern on the Sabra”
Maya Barzilai (University of Michigan), “Reframing the Holy Land: The ‘Adventures’ of
Jewish Women Cartoonists in Israel”

Panel VI: Trauma, Memory, and the Imaginary, Part I
Chair: Bella Brodzki (Sarah Lawrence College)
Ariela Freedman (Concordia University), “Charlotte Salomon: Graphic Artist”
Maeve Thompson-Starkey (University of Cambridge), “Berenice Eisenstein's I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors: Autobiographical Hybridity – the Possibilities of the Multinarrative”
Christopher Couch (University of Massachusetts at Amherst), “American Widow and Urban
Identity: Grief, Memory, and the Fabric of Multicultural New York”
Maya Hajdu (Concordia University), "Fragmented Memories in the Graphic Novel: Works by Miriam Katin, Berenice Eisenstein, and Miriam Libicki

3:30 – 4:00 Viewing of Graphic Details Exhibition in Gallery

4:00 – 6:00 Artists in Conversation (two artist roundtables open to the public)
Introduction by Dan Friedman (The Jewish Daily Forward)

ROUNDTABLE I (4:00 – 5:00)

Trauma, Memory, and the Imaginary, Part II: An Artist Roundtable
Chair: Sarah Lightman (Graphic Details Curator, University of Glasgow)
Sarah Leavitt (Tangles)
Caryn Leschen (Aunt Violet Productions)
Janice Shapiro (Bummer)

ROUNDTABLE II (5:00 – 6:00)
A Conversation with Artists from the Graphic Details Exhibit
Chair: Michael Kaminer (Graphic Details Curator, The Jewish Daily Forward)

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

pre-order a signed copy of the Graphic Details catalog - 12 days to go

The folks behind the Graphic Details exhibition (Michael Kaminer and Sarah Lightman) - would like to continue the tour of this unique look at the lives of Jewish women cartoonists as told through selected excerpts from their comic books and graphic novels. However, to do so they must raise funds. Thus far, the exhibition has toured galleries in San Francisco, Toronto, and New York City (where it may be seen at Yeshiva University Museum until April 15, 2012.

To help realize their goal ($10,000 USD), Sarah and Michael have set up a Kickstarter page at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/graphicdetails/graphic-details-confessional-comics-by-jewish-wome (no, that's not a typo ; there's no "n"at the end).

Although, pledges may be as small as $1, the lowest "reward level" is $20. If the project is funded, those who have pledged $20 will be sent a Graphic Details catalog signed by one of the participating artists - something suitable for both your personal library and/or your Judaica library (yes, safranim, I'm talking to you). Other rewards include a signed graphic book by one of the artists (min. $40), a signed, original collectors'-item drawing by a Graphic Details artist (min. $100), an original painting by acclaimed artist Miss Lasko-Gross (min. $250), a copy of Twisted Sisters 2: Drawing the Line signed by every contributing artist (min. $500) and a private drawing lesson and critique with Eisner Award nominee Miriam Katin in New York City.

The artists whose work has been displayed in the show thus far are : Miriam Katin, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Miss Lasko-Gross, Miriam Libicki, Sarah Lightman, Sarah Lazarovic, Diane Noomin, Corinne Pearlman, Trina Robbins, Racheli Rottner, Sharon Rudahl, Laurie Sandell, Ariel Schrag, Lauren Weinstein, and Ilana Zeffren.

I would like to think that if the curators reach their goal (and especially if they surpass it), there is the possibility that they might consider including other autobiographical Jewish female cartoonists whose work isn't yet part of the show, such as Phoebe Potts, Emily Steinberg and Sarah Leavitt.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hanukkah comic book guest-starring Ragman - a self-censored post

I've censored the following, in protest of a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet--a bill that could pass THIS WEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to stop internet censorship, visit: http://americancensorship.org/posts/36457/uncensor

█████ and the ████ #14 ████████ a ████████ █████ ███████ up ██████ ████ ██████'s ██████ █████████ ██████

Here's a censored image of the final page in which we see Ragman (in his civilian guise, Rory Regan) lighting the Chanukah menorah.






















The image is © DC Comics 2011 and is reproduced without their permission, but also without my charging anyone to view it. As with any material I promote on this blog, I highly encourage you to go out and buy a copy for yourselves so you can see all of the pages, instead of just this censored one.


Uncensor This