The Jewish Side of Wizard World Philadelphia 2014

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)