16 | OCTOBER 28 • 2021

continued from page 14

OUR COMMUNITY

torically Jewish neighborhood
that retains a strong sense
of its Jewish heritage today.
Lockhart spent a lot of time
there growing up.
“I felt this connection
partly because I had studied
and read about the history of
the LES for another project
and because I grew up going
there,
” Lockhart said. “I felt
this connection of my own
family to the city, and our her-
itage was entwined with that.
”
Lockhart then created the
neighborhood in Gotham City
that’s based off of the LES,
called Down River.
Whistle (aka Willow
Zimmerman) exists in that
neighborhood and develops
superpowers after getting
sucked into the criminal
underworld of Gotham City
in order to make money for
her family.
“Her mom is single and
a professor of Jewish histo-
ry who had to quit her job
because she’s really sick and
they have no health insur-
ance,
” Lockhart explains.
“
After she gets superpowers,
she decides to fight for good
rather than evil and protects
the neighborhood.
”
Whistle’s sidekick dog,
Lebowitz, is named after author
and social commentator Fran
Lebowitz, who is also Jewish.
“Whistle’s powers and
identity are not centered on
religious beliefs nor on the
trauma of the Holocaust, but
she’s culturally Jewish, a per-
son who’s deeply connected
to a historically Jewish neigh-
borhood that she protects,
”
Lockhart explains.

EMPOWERING READERS
Lockhart knows how import-
ant representation is in media,

and hopes young adult audi-
ences, Jewish or not, connect
with it.
“It’s very valuable for young
people to see themselves on
the page in empowered situ-
ations, but I also really tried
to write something that was
morally complicated about
being a superhero,” Lockhart
says. “I hope the book will
make people think about
what it means to be a good
person and how challenging
it can be to find a path for-
ward.”
While Lockhart’s book
is mostly targeted at young
adults, Schwartz wrote his
book with two audiences in
mind.
“For comic book and pop
culture fans, I hope it’s a fun,
interesting journey through
comic book lore and history,
”
he said. “For Jewish readers,
I hope it brings them an
appreciation for our cultural
contribution. We know about
Hollywood, Broadway and
standup comedy, but now
they’ll be able to fully appre-
ciate our very significant
contribution to such a pop-
ular and ubiquitous piece of
Americana.
”
As far as the future of Jews
in the comic book world,
Lockhart believes it’s a bright
one.
“I think the comic book
world is opening up and it’s
going to continue to open up
more,
” Lockhart said. “I’ve
seen tons of representation in
really wonderful and creative
ways.
“We’re at the start of a
very exciting time when
we’re going to see more and
more heroes reinvented and
invented by a wider range of
creators.
”

DANIEL SHERBERT, M.D. F.A.C.S.
Certifi
ed by The American Board of Surgery,
The American Board of Plastic Surgery & Fellowship
Trained in Aesthetic & Reconstructive Breast Surgery

Specializing in Cosmetic Surgery &

Aesthetic & Reconstructive Breast Surgery

W est Maple
Plastic Surgery

(248) 865-6400

5807 W. Maple • Suite 177 • West Bloomfi
eld

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