20 | NOVEMBER 28 • 2024

T

he Eastern Michigan
University Center for Jewish
Studies is bringing veteran
Batman editor, Jordan B. Gorfinkel
— known as Gorf — to campus for
a pre-Chanukah event.
Not only have Gorf’s creations
(Batman: No Man’s Land; Birds
Of Prey) served as the inspiration
for television, movies and games,
but his studio Avalanche Comics
Entertainment also produces enter-
tainment and branding content for

corporations and multimedia. In
addition to all of this, Gorf also
works actively on Jewish themes
and material.
As a cartoonist, Gorf produces
the weekly comic strip @
JewishCartoon (Instagram,
Facebook). He is the creator/
producer of the No. 1 bestselling
Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel
and Esther Graphic Novel (Koren
Pub., Jerusalem), and is at the
forefront of the Jewish Graphic

Novel Initiative. Gorf is also a
musician, pioneering professional
Jewish a cappella. He participates
in vocal groups Kol Zimra and the
Y-Studs, which regularly perform.
At EMU, Gorf will present the
Third Annual Martin B. Shichtman

Lecture, “The Four Children: The
Superhero, The Supervillian, the
Mentor and the Sidekick.”
In this multimedia presentation,
using movie clips, popular culture
icons and the Passover Haggadah
Graphic Novel, Gorf illuminates
how graphic novel-style storytell-
ing makes classic texts relevant
and new.
This event will take place at 7
p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, in
room 330 of the Eastern Michigan
University Student Center (900
Oakwood St., Ypsilanti).
It is free and open to the public.
For information, contact
jewish.studies@emich.edu.

Robert Erlewine is the director of the
Center for Jewish Studies at Eastern
Michigan University.

Batman Editor
Coming to EMU

ROBERT ERLEWINE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Gorf coming to campus Dec. 4 to talk
about graphic novel-style storytelling.

Gorf brings a discussion of
graphic novels to Eastern
Michigan University.

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