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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