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96

Friday, November 30, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Publisher Jenette
Kahn guides the
DC Comic
superheroes
through the
turbulent 1980s.

BY MICHAEL ELKIN
Special to The Jewish News

1

behind
wonder woman

Meet Jenette Kahn, during the
day a mild-mannered, unassuming
female executive scheduling meet-
ings, balancing budgets and taking
lunches
But, suddently, there is a cry for
help, an urgent plea for assistance
from someone in distress. "Please,
save me!" Kahn hears a voice from
thousands of miles away. "I'm bored. I
want some action, excitement, adven-
ture!"
This is a job for = Jenette Kahn,
president/publisher of DC Comics.
"It's the greatest job in the uni-
verse," says comic-book queen Kahn
who, with a call to the distribution de-
partment, has Superman flying off to
points unknown to save yet another
young or not-so-young reader who has

.

fallen victim to that evil villian, bore-
dom.
Yes, just another job for Jenette
Kahn, the "wonder woman" behind
Superman. And Batman and Robin.
And the New Teen Titans. And Ronan.
And . . .
It all started 35 years ago in
Smallville, U.S.A. (also known as
State College, Pa.). Little Jenette, the
daughter of a rabbi, showed a strong
aptitude for reading comic books, a ta-
lent that did not go unnoticed in the
family.
"I idolized my older brother," says
Kahn, relaxing in her New York office.
He was my Daniel Boone. He blazed
the trail in all ways for me."
Brother Si's admiration for
superheroes left its impact on young

Jenette. "I truly was a Batman fan,"
she recalls. "He struck me as a
superhero that I could become. He had
a sense of complete commitment, de-
termination."
But the suave cave dweller with
the turbo-Batmobile wasn't her only
idol. "I loved Uncle Scrooge comics,"
she said. They were amazingly witty,
with a mad, lunatic humor. I never
knew anybody so wonderfully mean."
And she went gaga over Lulu.
"Totally sophisticated humor," Kahn
says of Little Lulu and friends. "I felt
these weren't comics for kids.
"I guess I should have read Won-
der Woman," says Kahn. As
president and publisher of DC Comics,
I guess I should say she inspired me.
But, to tell you the truth, I never read
her. I read only those comics my
brother read."
And, golden lasso or not, sexist or
not, he wasn't about to read Wonder
Woman.
He and his sister read practically
everything else. "My parents were
very unusual," says Kahn. They ac-
tually encouraged us to read comic
books: they thought reading comics

was terrific. In fact, they shocked the
neighborhood when they allowed us to
buy a pinball machine."
The Kahn family also encouraged
their youngsters to tilt at windmills.
They taught us that loving the world
was a wonderful thing. Their only
wish was for us t _ o be happy and fulfil-
led."
Kahn's father had a pretty good
understanding of the needs of other
youngsters as well. Benjamin Kahn, a
graduate of the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America, was the Hillel
director at Pennsylvania State Uni-
versity.
The small-town quality of State
College was idyllic," says Kahn. There
was a certain pastoral beauty in the
area that inspired an interest in the
arts. "My mother always encouraged
my interest in art and poetry."
That interest bloomed later when
Kahn studied art history at Radcliffe
College and became the first summer
intern at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York. Just about the time she
was deciding to earn her doctorate in
the subject. Kahn got a call from a

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