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Tomorrow, comic fans will be gathering together over the next 3 days at The Amazing Vegas Comic Con (assuming they've chosen to head there, rather than the Wizard World Philadelphia Convention which got scheduled for the same weekend).
Among those in attendance will be creators of "Jewish comic stories"(i.e. comic stories which contain at least one identifiable Jewish character).
These creators include :
* Miriam Libicki is the author-illustrator of the jobnik! series (the first volume of which has been collected in trade paperback), the illustrated essays "Towards a Hot Jew: The Israeli Soldier as Fetish Object" and "Jewish Memoir Goes Pow! Zap! Oy!" & the illustrated mini-journals Ceasefire and Fierce Ease. She also contributed a story to the forthcoming Jewish Comix Anthology.
* Rob Liefeld is the illustrator of stories in the Youngblood series of comics, which included the Israeli superheroine Masada.
* George Perez is the illustrator of Wonder Woman #37 and #38 which had the character Rabbi Benjamin Hecht.
Joe Rubinstein is an illustrator of the 2nd Mendy and the Golem series and was a contributor to both Journeys : The Collected Edition and the Balm in Gilead anthology.
Herb Trimpe was the illustrator of the Incredible Hulk story "In the Shadow of the Golem".
Len Wein was the writer of the golem story in Strange Tales #174 - see http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/golem1.htm.
Yehudi Mercado is the author-illustrator of the graphic novel Throne of Secrets, which takes the traditional biblical tale of Queen Esther and "amps up the adventure of this historic epic".
Today is the first day of the 4-day Wizard World Philadelphia Convention.
Among those in attendance will be creators of "Jewish comic stories" (i.e. comic stories in which at least one character is identified as being Jewish).
These creators include the following :
* Neal Adams is the illustrator of the “Son O’ God” stories, which appeared in the pages of National Lampoon. That sounds more like a Christian story than a Jewish one, but it’s actually a bit of both. Son O’ God is that unique super-powered protagonist whose “superhero self” is a Christian deity and whose civilian alter ego is a Jewish kid named Bennie David and whose 12 Jewish friends act as “the 12 apostles” when duty calls. You may read all of the Son O’God stories (as well as the story of how Adams was recruited to be the artist) at Dial B for Blog. Adams also illustrated the Batman story “Night of the Reaper” in which the vengeful Grim Reaper is revealed to be a Nazi-hunting Holocaust survivor. Adams penciled “The Last Outrage” (inked by Andy Kubert’s father, Joe Kubert) which appeared in both The New York Times and the final issue of the miniseries X-men : Magneto : Testament and which also appeared as a stop-motion video on YouTube.
* Danny Fingeroth is the author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero.
* Terry LaBan is the author-illustrator of the syndicated comic strip Edge City.
* Joshua Stulman is the author-illustrator of the comic book series Israeli Defense Comics and is a contributor to the forthcoming Jewish Comix Anthology.
* Al Wiesner is the author-illustrator of the comic book series Shaloman.
* Marv Wolfman is the author of The Tomb of Dracula #27, The New Teen Titans #24 and Homeland : The Illustrated History of the State of Israel.
On Sunday, June 22nd, 4 of these guests will be on a panel together, discussing the Jewish topic "Jews and Comics". I've reprinted the session description below.
1:00 – 1:45PM JEWS AND COMICS WITH MARV WOLFMAN, SHALOMAN’S AL WIESNER, TERRY LABAN AND DANNY FINGEROTH
The most popular superheroes—Superman, Batman, the X-Men—were created by writers and artists from Jewish backgrounds, as were some of the most well-known independent comics, such as Maus and American Splendor. Is that significant, or a complete coincidence and no big deal? Our expert panel—Marv Wolfman (Homeland, The Illustrated History of the State of Israel), Al Wiesner (Shaloman), Terry LaBan (Edge City) and Danny Fingeroth (Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero)— explores how the creators' Jewish backgrounds may have influenced the development of these cultural milestones. (ROOM 109)
Two other sessions during the convention might be of interest to Jewish fans.
Saturday, June 21st
12:00 - 12:45PM BATTLE FOR MULTICULTURAL HEROES
The pop culture explosion through gaming, comics, TV, and film has opened up new opportunities for cultural diversity; however, many obstacles still exists. In this humorous but poignant discussion, diverse geek experts will discuss breaking ethnic stereotypes and what changes need to happen for us to boldly go into the future. Moderated by Tony Kim. (ROOM 109)
1:00 – 1:45PM CIVIL RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS AS REFLECTED IN COMIC BOOKS
Social rights and civil justice movements are often reflected in the art and media during which they take place, and comic books are no exception. By exploring how civil rights, social justice and race issues have been portrayed in comic books, we can better understand the history that they portray. In this panel we will discuss some watershed moments in comic book history that have opened the door to talking about these issues in the medium. Also to be discussed will be the role of sanctuary cities in the real world and the comic book universe. We will also have a discussion about the current state of nerd culture and how it handles these often difficult issues. (ROOM 109)
Today is the first day of the 3rd annual Denver Comic Con.
In addition to Jewish stars of film and television (such as William Shatner and Saul Rubinek, who also happen to both be Canadian), there will be creators of "Jewish" comic stories (i.e. comic stories which have at least one identifiable Jewish character in them).
Such creators include :
* Neil Adams is the illustrator of the “Son O’ God” stories, which appeared in the pages of National Lampoon. That sounds more like a Christian story than a Jewish one, but it’s actually a bit of both. Son O’ God is that unique super-powered protagonist whose “superhero self” is a Christian deity and whose civilian alter ego is a Jewish kid named Bennie David and whose 12 Jewish friends act as “the 12 apostles” when duty calls. You may read all of the Son O’God stories (as well as the story of how Adams was recruited to be the artist) at Dial B for Blog. Adams also illustrated the Batman story “Night of the Reaper” in which the vengeful Grim Reaper is revealed to be a Nazi-hunting Holocaust survivor. Adams penciled “The Last Outrage” (inked by Andy Kubert’s father, Joe Kubert) which appeared in both The New York Times and the final issue of the miniseries X-men : Magneto : Testament and which also appeared as a stop-motion video on YouTube.
* Colleen Doran is an accomplished cartoonist whose work includes a one-page illustration in The Death Gallery, in which Death is at a concentration camp.
* Al Fukalek is an illustrator and co-creator of the World War II-era Specialists webcomic which features the character Max Finkelstein, builder of a powerful, but imperfect robot he calls The Golem. To use The Golem to defeat the Nazis, Max must inhabit the robot himself, at great personal risk.
* Mike Grell is the author-illustrator of Green Arrow #57-58 and Jon Sable : Freelance #22-24.
* Shawn Gustafson is a computer programmer and co-creator of the Specialists webcomic (please see above).
* George Perez is the illustrator of Wonder Woman #37 and #38 which had the character Rabbi Benjamin Hecht.
* Ron Randall (illustrator of the first 2 issues of the comic book series Jewish Hero Corps.
* Joe Rubinstein is an illustrator of the 2nd Mendy & the Golem series and also a contributor to both Journeys : The Collected Edition and the anthology Balm in Gilead.
The following blog post is courtesy of the Classic_Adventure_Comic_Strips listserv.
On May 19th, Mark Evanier reported that comic strip and comic book writer and artist Morris S. Weiss passed away.
http://www.newsfromme.com/2014/05/18/morris-weiss-r-p/
Morris S. Weiss
August 11, 1915 - May 18, 2014
Allan Holtz lists Weiss' comic strips as
It Never Fails
Joe Jinks
Joe Palooka
Mickey Finn
Mutt and Jeff
An old notebook of mine also has him as a letterer for one week in 1934 on Wheelan's Minute Movies.
And he "lettered, filled in black areas, drew stripes, cleaned up" for Knerr on The Katzenjammer Kids 1934-36. During his World War Two service he did "M. P. Muffit", a strip for camp newspaper in Battle Creek, Michigan.
His NCS autobiographical card:
http://www.reuben.org/ncs/members/bios/Weiss.jpg
A nice article by his son from a few years ago at
http://www.artistsnetwork.com/medium/drawing/morris-weiss-a-life-spent-drawing-cartoons
Jerry Bails' Who's Who index of Weiss' work:
http://bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=WEISS%2c+MO
Until this unfortunate event Morris Weiss was holding the title of oldest comic artist. That title now passes to Bill Crooks (afaik) or Irwin Hasen.
Joe Jinks by Morris Weiss:
http://allthingsger.blogspot.com/search/label/Morris%20Weiss
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