Zap! Pow! Oy! exhibition launch in Toronto - Oct. 23

Zap! Pow! Oy! Jews and the Comic Book Industry

Date : Tues., October 23, 2018

Time : 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Location : Beth Tzedec Congregation, 1700 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5P 3K3

This exhibit presents the Jewish storytellers, cartoonists and publishers who developed and influenced the comic book industry over the past 80 years. 

No charge, but reservations for exhibit opening night are requested. 

Guest exhibit curators: Steven M. Bergson and Ron Kasman

A limited number of books will be available for purchase during the launch : 

Jewish Comix Anthology volume 1 (edited by Steven M. Bergson)

SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology volume 2 (edited by Steven M. Bergson)

The Tower of the Comic Book Freaks (written and illustrated by Ron Kasman)

For information about this exhibit or to book a group tour, please contact museum curator Dorion Liebgott at 416-781-3514 ext. 232. Exhibit continues through March 2019.

NYCC 2018 - upcoming "Jewish" panels

Will Eisner and the Graphic Novel Revolution

October 06, 2018, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Room 1B03 – Javits Center

Will Eisner (author-illustratator of Fagin the Jew, The Plot : The Secret Story of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ; 2002 winner of the  Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Federation for Jewish Culture) revolutionized comics with his pioneering 1978 graphic novel, A Contract with God. GN sales have now outgrown comic book sales and can be found in an amazing array of genres and styles. Denis Kitchen A Contract With God Curator’s Collection, Karen Green (Curator of Comics & Cartoons at Columbia), N.C. Christopher Couch (Will Eisner Companion), Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook) and Paul Levitz (Brooklyn Blood) discuss the evolution of the graphic novel and what the future holds.

DC Superman 80th

October 06, 2018, 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM

Room 1A06 – Javits Center

Join legendary creators (including Brian Michael Bendis, who has declared that he's going to return Superman to his Jewish roots) celebrating the spirit of truth, hope and justice during Superman’s 80th anniversary panel. Don’t miss this insightful conversation between industry giants as they discuss the relevance of Superman 80 years after his creation, how they’re interpreting the Man of Steel in their perspective projects and their favorite Superman moments in comics, television and movies!

DC Spotlight on Brian Michael Bendis

October 06, 2018, 5:15 PM - 6:15 PM

Room 1A24 – Javits Center

Since his DC Comics debut on ACTION COMICS and SUPERMAN, award-winning writer Brian Michael Bendis (who has declared that he's going to return Superman to his Jewish roots) has been the talk of comic book fans everywhere! Join him for this special spotlight panel to hear his upcoming plans of the Man of Steel, his creator owned Jinxworld characters and more.

Nice Jewish Fangirls presents: Figuring out Me and Jew: Jewish Representation in Modern Fandom

October 07, 2018, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Room 1A18 - Javits Center

From Magneto to Monica Geller, Felicity Smoak to Susan Ivanova, Jewish representation has had a spotty record in TV, film, comics, and beyond. Join the hosts of the Nice Jewish Fangirls podcast (Tamar Herman, SM Rosenberg, and Michal Schick) as they discuss the ups and (occasionally hilarious) downs in Jewish representation, and answer questions like, “Should Jewish actors play Jewish superheroes?”, "What stories get Jewish representation right?" and, maybe most importantly, “Seriously, is Wonder Woman Jewish?"

The Jewish Side of NYCC 2018

Today (October 6th) is the 3rd day of the 4-day New York Comic Con which will be held at the Javits Center.

One sessions which should be of interest to those who enjoy Jewish-content comics will be held on Sunday. A Holocaust-themed session was already held on Thursday.


Nice Jewish Fangirls Presents  : Figuring Out Me and Jew : Jerwish Representation in Modern Fandom

October 07, 2018, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, Room 1A18 – Javits Center


From Magneto to Monica Geller, Felicity Smoak to Susan Ivanova, Jewish representation has had a spotty record in TV, film, comics, and beyond. Join the hosts of the Nice Jewish Fangirls podcast (Tamar Herman, SM Rosenberg, and Michal Schick) as they discuss the ups and (occasionally hilarious) downs in Jewish representation, and answer questions like, “Should Jewish actors play Jewish superheroes?”, "What stories get Jewish representation right?" and, maybe most importantly, “Seriously, is Wonder Woman Jewish??"

We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust

October 04, 2018, 5:15 PM - 6:15 PM, Room 1B03 – Javits Center


Neal Adams, iconic artist legend, Dr. Rafael Medoff, Director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and multiple Eisner Award-winner Craig Yoe, discuss their acclaimed book, We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust. Explore this powerful—and timely—multimedia presentation and behind-the-scenes discussion. A do-not-miss! 

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Several creators of Jewish comic stories and graphic novels (i.e. ones which have at least one Jewish character in them) will be in attendance. Below is a list of the ones which I've identified.

Abrams ComicArts (booth 2228) is the publisher of the Hereville books, the English edition of Pascal Croci's Auschwitz, Yiddiskeit, and the English edition of Boxer: The True Story of Holocaust Survivor Harry Haft by Reinhard Kleist

Neal Adams  (booth 2544) is the illustrator of the “Son O’ God” stories, which appeared in the pages of National Lampoon. 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 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. He also co-authored the anthology We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust.

Brian Michael Bendis is the author-illustrator of Fire, a comic series about a Jewish-American college student named Benjamin Furst, who is recruited into a Central Intelligent Agency operation known as Project Fire.

Marguerite Bennett (booth L28) is a writer for the series DC Bombshells, which features both a Jewish lesbian (Batwoman) and a Jewish-Romani woman (Zatanna).

Caliber Comics (booth 1056) published the series Saint Germaine. In its first issue, Holopcaust survivor and Nazi informant Jacob Weinman commits suicide, as well as the series U.N.Force which featured Israeli superhero Sentinel.

Chris Claremont (booth G41) is the writer who introduced the Jewish character Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat) and who wrote stories which implied that Magneto was Jewish, both in the pages of The Uncanny X-Men

Dark Horse Comics (booth 1636) is the publisher of the 2nd issue of Ghost, which features a golem and publisher of 10th anniversary edition of Fagin the Jew.

Peter David (booth E11) is the writer who infamously used the names of seder plate items for aliens in a Star Trek novel and who wrote the stories for The Incredible Hulk #386-387 ; see
http://www.leaderslair.com/noexcuses/hulk2-386.html andhttp://www.leaderslair.com/noexcuses/hulk2-387.html)

Denis Kitchen Publishing (booths G2 & G3) was the original publisher of several Will Eisner graphic novels including The Contract with God Trilogy.

Europe Comics (booth 1558) is the publisher of The Jewish Brigade, The Red Poster, Mezek, and Second Generation.

Danny Fingeroth (booth E13A) is the author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero.

Keith Giffen is the author of the Ragman miniseries that reintroduced the title character as a Jewish superhero and is also the creator of the characters Dreidel and Rabbi Zone, who both appeared in the pages of the last issue of the series The Heckler.

Adam Gorham (booth A23) is the author-illustrator of the stories "The Magic Mirror of Rabbi Adam" and "Yaish and the Protector" (Jewish Comix Anthology volume 1) and the illustrator of the "Android" pinup (SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology volume 2).

Larry Hama (booth 113) is the author of the story "Words of Honor" in G.I Joe Special Missions #2.

IDW (booth 1844) is the publisher of the series Drafted and the book We Spoke Out : Comic Books and the Holocaust.

Arie Kaplan is the author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books.

Adam Katzenstein (booth K8) is the illustrator of gag cartoons which may be found in the New Yorker. Two Jewish examples may be found at http://jewcy.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/cartoonings-jewish-je-ne-sais-quoi

Rob Liefeld is the illustrator of stories in the Youngblood series, which included the Israeli superheroine Masada.

David Mack (booth 118) illustrated a pinup which appears in Sci : Jewish Comics Anthology (vol.2).

Jim Mahfood (booth 117) is the author-illustrator of Grrl Scouts. 

Rafael Medoff is a historian who has assisted with such works as "The Last Outrage" (X-Men : Magneto : Testament #5), They Spoke Out : American Voices Against the Holocaust, and "The St. Louis Refugee Ship Blues" (Washington Post, 2009) ; co-author of We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust.

Yehudi Mercado (booth C6) 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"

Oni Press (booth 2028) is the publisher of the golem comic Brik).

Greg Pak (booth B22) is the illustrator of the X-Men : Magneto : Testament miniseries

Jimmy Palmiotti  is the co-creator of the short-lived golem series The Monolith from DC Comics.

Paul Pope (booth A19) is the author-illustrator of the story "Berlin Batman" in The Batman Chronicles #11 (reprinted in Batman : Year 100), in which Batman is a Jewish painter named Baruch Wane.

Matthew Rosenberg (booth K27) is the author of the comic book series 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, which includes the character Daniel "Berger" Berger aka Crotch the Sticky.

Rachelle Rosenberg (booth F5) is the colorist of Iceman #6, in which Iceman dates a Jewish man.

Joe Rubinstein is an illustrator of the 2nd Mendy & the Golem series and contributor to both Journeys : The Collected Edition and Balm in Gilead.

Steven T. Seagle (booth K8) is the author of the graphic novel "It's a Bird ..." which examines various aspects of the Superman mythos, including his creation by 2 American Jews.

Fred Van Lente (booth B23) is the author of the comic series Action Philosophers!, which featured the story of the golem and the Jewish mystical tradition (the Kabbalah) in its fourth issue.

Viz Media (booth 1336) is the publisher of the English edition of the 5-book manga Adolf : A Tale of the Twentieth Century.

Marv Wolfman (booth E2) is the author of the story "Return from the Grave!" in Tomb of Dracula #27, "Introducing the Hybrid" in The New Teen Titans #24 and Homeland : The Illustrated History of the State of Israel.

Craig Yoe is a co-author of We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust.

The Jewish Comics Side of Fan Expo Canada 2018 (Aug. 30 - Sep. 2)

Starting tomorrow, fans of various genres (including science-fiction, anime, horror, gaming, and comics) will converge on the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the 24th annual fall edition of Fan Expo Canada, the 3rd largest popular culture event in North America.

Among this year's guests will be those who have written, drawn, &/or published comics work with Jewish content.

* Neal Adams  (738) is the illustrator of the “Son O’ God” stories, which appeared in the pages of National Lampoon. 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 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. He also co-authored the anthology We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust.

* AH Comics Inc. (A420) is the publisher of Jewish Comix Anthology (vol. 1) and SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology (vol. 2). Andy Stanleigh - writer/artist/publisher - will be at the table throughout Fan Expo.

*  Willow Dawson (716B on Frday) is ,a talented Canadian artist who has illustrated the anthology No Girls Allowed : Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure, written by Susan Hughes & published by Kids Can Press. The anthology includes the story of Esther Brandeau, the first Jewish person to immigrate to Canada.

* Adam Gorham (P055A) is the author-illustrator of the stories "The Magic Mirror of Rabbi Adam" and "Yaish and the Protector" (Jewish Comix Anthology volume 1) and the illustrator of the "Android" pinup (SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology volume 2).

* Sam Noir (404) is the author of the story "Major North" (Toronto Comics volume 2), which included the Canadian-Jewish character Aaron.

* Matthew Rosenberg (P079) is the author of the comic book series 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, which includes the character Daniel "Berger" Berger aka Crotch the Sticky.

* Ty Templeton (P007A) is the author-illustrator of the adaptation "The Rabbi Who Tested His Metal" (SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology volume 2).

* Toronto Comics (561) is the collective which publishes the eponymous Toronto Comics series of anthologies. Volume 2 contained the story "Major North" (by Sam Noir and Christopher Yao) which included the Canadian-Jewish character Aaron. Volume 4 (Osgoode as Gold) includes the story "Finkel and Sons" by Sam Ruano, Xan Grey, Nechama Frier, & Andrew Thomas, in which "a Jewish shopkeeper's son must quickly decide how best to protect his family."

Finkel and Sons

The latest Toronto Comics Anthology book - Osgoode as Gold - includes the story "Finkel and Sons" by Sam Ruano, Xan Grey, Nechama Frier, & Andrew Thomas.

In the story, a Jewish shopkeeper's son must quickly decide how best to protect his family.

To see (or purchase) a copy of the anthology, please go to http://torontocomicsanthology.com/, and visit one of the Canadian comic shops or attend one of the upcoming Canadian comic shows listed on the main page (sidebar on the right).

Toronto Comics Anthology will be at the free Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) today and tomorrow (table 210) at the Toronto Reference Library.

The Jewish Side of TCAF 2018 - this weekend

On Saturday, May 12th & Sunday May 13th,, readers, writers, artists, publishers and fans of comix will converge at the Toronto Reference Library ( and nearby venues)  to take part in the the FREE Toronto Comic Arts Festival (aka TCAF).This year marks the 15th anniversary since the first TCAF was held (at a much smaller venue) in 2003.

Among the talented people who will be at TCAF this year are a small number of comix professionals who have done comic art using Jewish characters or themes.

Abrams ComicArts (tables 111-112) is the publisher of the Hereville books, the English edition of Pascal Croci's Auschwitz, Yiddiskeit, and the English edition of Boxer: The True Story of Holocaust Survivor Harry Haft by Reinhard Kleist

Marguerite Dabaie (tables 103-104) is the author illustrator of the Nib stories "Trump's Jerk Move on Jerusalem: People Already Dying" and "Rasmea Odeh: Woman Without a Country". She was a collaborating illustrator for the World War 3 Illustrated story "The Hummus Wars". 

Europe Comics (tables 131-132) is the publisher of the series The Jewish Brigade, The Red Poster, Mezek, and Second Generation.

Willow Dawson (table 146) is the illustrator of the anthology No Girls Allowed : Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure, written by Susan Hughes and published by Kids Can Press. The anthology includes the story of Esther Brandeau, the first Jewish person to immigrate to Canada.

Fantagraphics Books (tables 148-150) is the publisher of Jewish Images in the Comics, Palestine, and Barracuda in the Attic.

First Second Books (table 200) is the publisher of Klezmer : Tales of the Wild East, the Rabbi's Cat books, and the Resistance series.

IDW (tables 128-129) is the publisher of the series Drafted and the book We Spoke Out : Comic Books and the Holocaust.

Nicholas Gurewitch (table 291) is the "Perry Bible Fellowship" webcomic (formerly a syndicated comic strip), which included one with a Jewish shrimp who has trouble meeting Jewish women.

Yehudi Mercado (table 204) 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".

NBM Graphic Novels (table 133) is the publisher of the Jew in Communist Prague books, Brownsville, The Big Khan, and the Isaac the Pirate books.

Hope Nicholson (table 218) is the editor of the Eisner-nominated A Minyan Yidn un Andere Zacken — A Bunch of Jews and Other Stuff.

Hilary Price (tables 273-274) is the "Rhymes with Orange" cartoonist who has used her syndicated comic strip to tell many Jewish jokes (although not exclusively). A collection of her Jewish strips titled Hanukkomics may be purchased at http://www.indyplanet.us/comics/100030/.

Jonathan Rotsztain (Zineland Terrace, 2 Bloor Ave. W.) is the author-illustrator of the self-published works Self-Loving Jew and Journey into Jonathan.

Toronto Comics Anthology (table 210) is the publisher of Osgoode as Gold, which includes the story "Finkel and Sons", about a Jewish shopkeeper's son who must quickly decide how best to protect his family.

Julian Voloj (table 133) is the author of  the graphic memoirs Ghetto Brother: Warrior to Peacemaker and The Joe Shuster Story: The Artist Behind Superman.

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TCAF panels which may be of interest to those who study Jews and Comics.

Sunday May 13

Learning Centre (1st Floor, Toronto Reference Library)

10:30 AM – NCS: Rhymes With Orange – Hilary Price created the newspaper comics strip Rhymes With Orange by herself for 22 years. Then everything changed. Toronto-based cartoonist Rina Piccolo and Hilary Price reflect on their now one-year-old collaboration on Rhymes With Orange. What’s it’s like to bring on a new partner after working on a project by yourself for more than 2 decades? Come find out!

Summerhill Ballroom (Marriott)

2:45 PM – Truth Comes Out: Creating Comic Biographies – The best biographies take you on a wild ride through some of the defining moments of a person’s life. But what happens if that person is, well, boring? Or worse, what if you uncover skeletons in the closet of people you admire? Join biographers Max de Radigues & Wauter Manaert (Weegee), Julian Voloj (The Joe Shuster Story), Ho Che Anderson (King), along with biographical interpreters Jia Sung and Oliver East (Ley Lines) as they address the greatest question of all: Is fact stranger than fiction? Moderated by Brendan Montgomery.

Jewish Comic Con 2018 - Exhibitors (Artist Alley)

This Sunday (April 29th), the 2nd annual Jewish Comic Con will be held at Congregation Kol Israel (not to be confused with "Congregation Kal-El" aka the Superman Shul) at 603 Johns Place in Brooklyn, New York 11238.

Below is a list of the talented creators and organizations who are scheduled to be at the tables in Artist Alley.

* Adam Kubert 

* The Joe Kubert Art School (founded by the author-illustrator of Yossel : April 19, 1943, Jew Gangster, and Yaakov and Isaac)

* Fabrice Sapolsky 

* Isaac Goodhart

* Mindy Newell

* Israel Defense Comics (series written & illustrated by Joshua Stulman)

* Esther Shapiro

* Bronx Heroes Comics

* Miriam Katin (author-illustrator of We Are On Our Own  and Leting It Go)

* Julian Voloj (author of  the graphic memoirs Ghetto Brother: Warrior to Peacemaker and The Joe Shuster Story: The Artist Behind Superman). 

* Arie Kaplan (author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books)

* Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero)

* Dean Haspiel (illustrator of Harvey Pekar's autobiography The Quitter and The Red Hook)

* Andre Frattino (author of the graphic biography of Simon Wiesenthal, Simon Says)

* Jesse Lee (illustrator of the graphic biography of Simon Wiesenthal, Simon Says)

* Neil Kleid (Xeric award-winning author / illustrator of Stable Rods, "Shomer Negiah", Pilgrimage : Two Weeks in G-d's Country, the graphic novels Brownsville and The Big Khan  and "Babel" in the forthcoming SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology, vol. 2)

* Alex Teplisch (author-illustrator of the graphic biography Survivor: Aron’s Story)

* James Babbo (creator of The Moses Militia, a World War 2 comic book series about a team of Jewish soldiers battling Nazi paranormal schemes)

* Rafael Medoff (a historian who has assisted with such works as "The Last Outrage" (X-Men : Magneto : Testament #5), They Spoke Out : American Voices Against the Holocaust, and "The St. Louis Refugee Ship Blues" (Washington Post, 2009) ; co-author of We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust)

* Craig Yoe (co-author of We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust)

* Tamar Deutsch (author-illustrator of The Illustrated Pirkei Avot)

* West Hampton Comics

* Jewish Book Council

* Jewish Art Salon (organization which was responsible for the exhibition JOMIX - Jewish Comics ; Art & Derivation and which is responsible for the upcoming exhibition POW!!! Jewish Comic Art and Influence)

Jewish Comic Con - programming - April 29, 2018

Below is the programming schedule for this Sunday's 2nd annual Jewish Comic Con. I've essentially copied-&-pasted from the website, but I've added in a bit of detail and created hyperlinks where I could.

The Jewish Comic Con will be held at Congregation Kol Israel (not to be confused with "Congregation Kal-El" aka the Superman Shul) at 603 Johns Place in Brooklyn, New York 11238.

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8:00 AM  - MORNING SERVICE -- What do you do when you organize a comic book convention in a synagogue ? You start the day with the Sha’haris morning service led by Rabbi Sam Reinstein. Open to everyone, whether you have a pass or not. A light breakfast will be served after the service.

9:00 AM – 9:55 AM  - COLLECTORS ON THE MIC' -- Collectors Dr Martin Brody and Michael Lustig will be discussing their passions in collecting comics.  Both have dedicated and recognized collections in particular to Jewish themed and Holocaust related collections 

10:00 AM – 10:55 AM  - REPRESENTATION IN COMICS -- Representation matters more than ever in comics these days. And what better place than Jewish Comic Con to highlight what it means for our medium and how it was not designed to be a place where representation was a thing to begin with! Panelists include: Fabrice Sapolsky (Intertwined), Ray Felix (Bronx Heroes Comics), Isaac Goodhart (Postal), Kwanza Osajyefo (Black). More guests to be announced. Moderated by: Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero) and Arie Kaplan (author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books).

11:00 AM – 11:55 AM  - A CONTRACT WITH GOD AT 40 -- The legendary graphic novel created by Will Eisner turns 40 this year. Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero) and Arie Kaplan (author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books) take a closer look at one of the collection of stories that probably captured the New York Jewish life the best.

12:00 PM – 12:45 PM  - SPOTLIGHT ON DR RUTH!-- The Jewish Comic Con is honored to welcome Dr Ruth Westerheimer (does she really need an introduction?) to talk about her recently published graphic novel: Roller Coaster Grandma. The panel will be followed by a signing session in the room. 

12:45 PM – 1:15 PM  - AFTERNOON SERVICE (MIN’HA) -- Yes! We’re still in a synagogue. So the main hall will shift back to temple mode for a 30- minute quick service with Rabbi Sam Reinstein!

1:00 PM – 1:55 PM  - SHOAH IN COMICS -- Zakhor! Remembrance in Hebrew. Let's never forget about the Shoah (the Holocaust). And comics have certainly been doing their part in making sure nobody ever forgets. Join Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero) and Arie Kaplan (author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books) as they talk about those important comics with survivor and artist Miriam Katin (author-illustrator of We Are On Our Own  and Leting It Go), historian Rafael Medoff (co-author of We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust) and publisher Craig Yoe (co-author of We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust) .

2:00 PM – 2:55 PM  - STAN LEE AND JACK KIRBY: INFINITE VISIONARIES -- Who were the founders of the Marvel Universe? Visionaries for sure! Let's take a trip down to memory lane to revisit the early days of Marvel. Where it all began. With Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero,  who's working on a Stan Lee biography), Arie Kaplan (author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books) and Dean Haspiel (illustrator of Harvey Pekar's autobiography The Quitter and The Red Hook). 

3:00 PM – 3:55 PM  - SUPERMAN AT 80 -- He was the first superhero of modern era. He turns 80 years old this year. Superman is a hero unlike any other. Why is he still relevant today? How two Jews from Cleveland (one originally from Toronto) defined what comic books would become without even knowing it? And how Brian Bendis being the new writer on the series could change everything? Join us to hear all about it! Panelists: Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero), Arie Kaplan (author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books), Neil Kleid (Xeric award-winning author / illustrator of Stable Rods, "Shomer Negiah", Pilgrimage : Two Weeks in G-d's Country, the graphic novels Brownsville and The Big Khan  and "Babel" in the forthcoming SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology, vol. 2) and Julian Voloj (author of  the graphic memoirs Ghetto Brother: Warrior to Peacemaker and The Joe Shuster Story: The Artist Behind Superman). 

4:00 PM – 4:55 PM  - BROOKLYN: THE TOUGH JEWS PANEL! -- When you think of Brooklyn, you don't just think of Kol Israel! You think about comics. Brooklyn and its vibrant jewish life has been covered in comics. Neil Kleid (Xeric award-winning author / illustrator of Stable Rods, "Shomer Negiah", Pilgrimage : Two Weeks in G-d's Country, the graphic novels Brownsville and The Big Khan  and "Babel" in the forthcoming SCI : Jewish Comics Anthology, vol. 2) and Dean Haspiel (illustrator of Harvey Pekar's autobiography The Quitter and The Red Hook) will sit down with us to describe their Brooklyn.

5:00 PM – 5:55 PM  - THE JEWISH ROOTS OF WONDER WOMAN -- Wonder Woman has been given many origin stories through the ages. Who thought the Greek princess could've been connected to the Chosen People? Intrigued?  Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero) and  Arie Kaplan (author of From Krakow to Krypton : Jews and Comic Books) browse Diana's past. Guest panelist: Mindy Newell who wrote Wonder Woman's adventures in the past!  

6:00 PM – 6:55 PM  - NICE JEWISH FANGIRLS: WOMEN NAVIGATING IN FANDOM -- Join the hosts of the Nice Jewish Fangirls podcast as they take a broader look at what it's like to be Jewish, female, and nerdy in the current pop-culture landscape.