frontlines
6y Evtan Shere.
A cartoon by Eitan Shere
Talent Is All In The Family
Michael Higer
JN Intern
E
itan Shere is unable to recall
when he first discovered his cre-
ative abilities.
"I've been making comic strips for as
long as I can remember;' he said. "One
day, one of my friends showed me the
comic that he drew, and I thought to
myself, 'I can do that, too!' — and I
did."
Eitan is only 11, but
already his creative
mind has given him
the ability to produce
cartoons at an electri-
fying pace.
"A normal strip
takes at least an hour
with the coloring and
Eitan Shere
the dialogue," he said.
"The toughest part is
drawing the same characters in different
positions."
Eitan, who is the son of Rabbi Rachel
Shere at Adat Shalom Synagogue in
Farmington Hills, has had creative
blood run through his family.
"Creative expression is a big part of
who Eitan is," his mother said. "He has
a grandfather, Larry Lawson, who wrote
and performed on the Dick Purtan show
for many years, and a father, Dan, who
writes and teaches screenwriting at the
University of Michigan, so Eitan has
grown up in a pretty creative environ-
ment:'
Having a screenwriter in the family
has helped Eitan develop his own skills
as a creative writer and artist, although
most of his abilities he likes to keep to
himself.
"Eitan hasn't really taught family
members how to draw, but he and his
dad do a lot of brainstorming, spit-
balling and just being goofy together
in order to come up with ideas:' his
mother explained.
Eitan has also taken after his father,
as he explains that one of his favorite
hobbies is reading and writing screen-
plays.
Entering the seventh grade at Hillel
Day School in Farmington Hills, Eitan
already has received support and rec-
ognition from some of his favorite car-
toonists.
"My favorite strip is 'Pearls Before
Swine' by Stephan Pastis," he said. "I
met Pastis at a bookstore in Ann Arbor
and showed him my comics. It was
really inspiring when he told me that I
was better than he was at my age."
"We've received very positive
feedback," Rachel Shere explained.
"Eitan got a drawing published in The
Simpsons comic book last year and
many friends and family members have
commented that when they read his
comic in the Jewish News last month
[July 24, page 41], they first laughed
and nodded in agreement with the
comic's message, and only later noticed
that an 11-year-old had drawn it."
The topics of Eitan's cartoons range
from a variety of topics that connect to
his own life. He has done everything
from a cartoon on being home alone
(pictured above) to one on the Israeli
and Palestinian conflict. Even with this
wide variety, he still makes his cartoons
with one common goal in mind.
"I like making comics that are hilari-
ous and make people jump out of their
seats, saying, 'I want more:" he said.
Eitan understands that it is a tight job
market for a cartoonist, yet that is his
career goal.
"When I grow up, I'd definitely like to
be a cartoonist more than anything, but
that's a very hard job to get:' he said.
As for which of his cartoons is his
favorite, Eitan explained, "My comics
are like my kids. I love them all equally."
One thing is for sure, Eitan still has
many comic strips ahead of him, many
laughs to deliver and many stories to
tell. ❑
CONTENTS
JN
theJEWISHNEWS.com
Aug. 21-27, 2014 I 25 Av-1 Elul 5774 I Vol. CXLVI, No. 3
Around Town
28
Arts/Entertainment ...57
Back To School
33
Business
55
42
Calendar
Family Focus
56
Fashion
36
Food
62
Health & Wellness
63
Israel ....22, 40, 43, 44
47, 48, 50
JN Archives
6
jewish®edu
43
Life Cycles
66
Marketplace
71
Metro
8
Next Generation
54
Obituaries
77
Points Of View
50
Sports
65
Spotlight
70
Staff Box/Phone List... 6
Synagogue List
54
Torah Portion
53
World
48
Shabbat Lights
Shabbat: Friday, Aug. 22, 8:05 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Aug. 23, 9:06 p.m.
Shabbat: Friday, Aug. 29, 7:54 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, Aug. 30, 8:54 p.m.
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IT'S LIKE A BIRTHRIGHT FOR MOMS.
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JOIN 100 DETROIT MOMS
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Times are from Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.
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Our JN Mission
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August 21 • 2014
3