Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

62 | MARCH 16 • 2023 

‘Lives of Our Times’
T

he front page of the March 14, 
1947, issue of the JN carried 
an announcement for a new 
feature. Its purpose was to “bring to 
readers, in a reader appeal form [i.e., 
illustrated], the fact that the Jewish 
people have made, and are making, 
great contributions to the world ...” This 
new feature was called “Lives of Our 
Times.” 
I’ve run across this 
cartoon strip — or to 
be more precise, brief 
illustrated history — many 
times while cruising 
through the William 
Davidson Digital Archive 
of Jewish Detroit History. 
At a recent JN editorial meeting, we 
discussed the state of current Jewish 
cartoons, so I thought I would write 
about a very fine one from the past.
“Lives of Our Times” debuted in 
the March 21, 1947, issue of the JN. It 
remained a weekly feature from 1947-
1949 and was republished five times 
afterward in 1953, 1970 and 1973.
This “cartoon” was unique. Every 
episode was a mini-biography of an 
important Jewish American, European 
or Israeli, sometimes well-known, 
sometimes not. All of them, however, 
made their mark on modern world 
history.
Various writers produced the text for 
“Lives of Our Times,” but the illustrators 
were the brothers Norman and Sol 
Nodel. Each of them had an important 
role in American illustration history.
Sol Nodel (1912-1976) was the more 
famous of the two brothers. Educated at 
Washington University School of Fine 
Arts, St. Louis, and the Grand Central 
School of Art in New York, his works 
can be found around the world. In 
America, collections of his work are in 
the National Archives, the Library of 
Congress and the Franklin D. Roosevelt 

Library. He was also 
a famed designer of stained-glass 
windows such as those for the 
Mount Sinai Memorial Chapel in 
St. Louis. For hobbies, he played 
the violin, refurnished furniture 
and decorated his wife’s cakes 
(those must have been something 
to behold!).
Norman Nodel (1922-2000) was a 
great illustrator of children’s books. 
He began his career as a map 
maker for the U.S. Army during 
WWII. After the war, Norman 
became a successful artist, 
creating works for numerous 
magazines, comic books and 
children’s books. Most notably, 
he was a chief illustrator of the 
famous Classic Comics.
Created by Albert Kanter, Classic 
Comics was a series of comic books 
(1941-1969) that were illustrated, 
abridged versions of classic literary 
works. For example, the first issue was 
The Three Musketeers. In total, 169 
issues of Classic Comics were published, 
all drawn from the classics. Millions of 
children were introduced to the world’s 
great literature when reading these 
comic books. 
“Lives of Our Times” reminds me 
of the Classic Comics. They combine 
the great artwork of the Nodels with a 
wide range of great stories about Jewish 
contributions to our modern world. 

Reading weekly epi-
sodes, one learned the history of peo-
ple such as Rabbi Meir Berlin, for whom 
Bar-Ilan University in Israel is named 
(Sept. 14, 1973, JN). Or the famous 
American Zionist Dr. Abba Hillel 
Silver (Oct. 15, 1954) and Brig. General 
Yaakov Dori, first chief of staff of the 
Israeli Defense Forces (Dec. 24, 1948).
The JN published nearly 100 “Lives of 
Our Times.” This is good reading and 
viewing. Just search by the title in the 
Davidson Archive. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation 
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.
org.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

