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Gotham City!!

Celebrating the
Jewish heritage
of comic books.

12 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021

PIXIBAY

Superman
and Harley
Quinn

PIXIBAY

Gotham City!!

Superhero
Superhero

“T

he comic book is a
Jewish invention.
The superhero
genre is a Jewish invention.
The comic con [convention]
is a Jewish invention,
” writer
Roy Schwartz explained during
Motor City Comic Con week-
end.
On Oct. 17, the “People
of the (Comic) Book” panel,
presented by the JCC of Metro
Detroit’s Detroit Jewish Book
Fair, did a deep dive into the
history of Jews in comics.
On the panel was Roy
Schwartz, author of Is
Superman Circumcised? The
Complete Jewish History of the
World’s Greatest Hero, and E.
Lockhart, author of the new
DC graphic novel Whistle: A
New Gotham City Hero, the first
originating Jewish superhero to
join the legendary DC Comics
universe in more than 40 years.
As thousands of comic
con-goers dressed up as their
favorite character and roamed
the inside of the Suburban

Collection
Showplace
in Novi,
Schwartz
and Lockhart
dove deep
into the much
unknown, yet rich
history of Judaism
in the comic book
world — and their own
contributions to it.

JEWISH INVENTIONS
Comic books, superheroes,
comic cons … How are all
these Jewish inventions?
Schwartz explains that
during the 1930s and 1940s,
Jews were ostracized and mar-
ginalized in respectable cre-
ative industries, and the comic
book industry was seen as
the lowest rung on the ladder
of publishing. As result, Jews
effectively created something
out of nothing.
“These were working-class,
Eastern European Jews in New
York that couldn’t find a job

due to the
Depression
and the ris-
ing antisemitism
of the ’30s and ’40s, who,
very much like Hollywood,
created an industry of their
own,
” Schwartz said.
Schwartz says Jewish cre-
ators consciously and uncon-
sciously borrowed from their
background and tradition
when creating comic book
characters and stories.
“When you look at them
from this perspective, they are
very rich in Jewish themes and

DANNY SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER