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How Jews Transformed The Comic Book Industry, Part III: The Bronze Age (1979 - )
Ever since the late 1970s, comics have turned more introspective and artistically ambitious. As in the Golden and Silver Ages, Jewish comics creators have been at the cutting edge, producing works that probe Jewish history, showcase Jewish characters, and comment on spiritual and social issues. These artists have ushered in what may be termed "the Bronze Age" of comics--not because it's less esteemed than the Golden or Silver Ages, but because it is free of rose-colored gloss and glitter, and reflects the realities of the world in which we live.
How Jews Transformed The Comic Book Industry, Part II: The Silver Age (1956-1978)
By the mid-'50s, the comic book industry was in a sorry state. Allegations that the genre was promoting juvenile delinquency and illiteracy had "done in" the popular and groundbreaking horror and crime comics, and superheroes were now bland incarnations of their former selves. Batman, once a shadowy figure of the night, was recast as a high-camp boy scout battling rainbow-colored monsters.
How the Jews Created the Comic Book Industry Part I: The Golden Age (1933-1955)
1933. FDR was inaugurated, Hitler became chancellor of Germany, television was patented, and an unemployed Jewish novelty salesman named Max Gaines (née Max Ginzberg) was pondering how on earth he would be able to feed his wife Jessie and their two young children, who were living with him at his mother's house in the Bronx. To lift his spirits, he began reading some Sunday funnies stored in his mother's attic. Suddenly the idea hit him: if he enjoyed reading old comic strips like "Joe Palooka," "Mutt and Jeff," and "Hairbreadth Harry," maybe the rest of America would, too!
From the Shadows into the Light
We sat down with Qian Julie Wang, a New York Times bestselling author and a civil rights litigator, to talk about her acclaimed new memoir Beautiful Country and her Jewish journey.
A Doorway to Heroism
Imagine a German Jew who was a decorated German soldier in World War I, a resister in Cologne at the start of Hitler’s reign of terror, and a Silver Star decorated U.S. Army soldier. Three heroic actions, at three different times, in three different places. This is the story of Richard Stern, whose photograph of his protest hangs in multiple German museums, showing a rare Jewish protest in Nazi Germany. He was my Great Uncle.
Past JewV'Nation Cohorts
Learn About the Four Completed Cohorts of the JewV'Nation Fellowship
Judaica Papercut
Using a sharp penknife, folded paper, coins for circles, and free-hand cutting, my paternal great-grandfather Israel Tzvi Mannesovits made this papercut in 1928. What might this papercut be worth?
Lost & Found: An Animator's Tale
I was two-and-a-half when my parents packed our few possessions and moved from a kibbutz on the banks of the Sea of Galilee to the promised land of New Jersey - where my father, a nuclear physicist, aspired to become a millionaire.
What Your Heart Can Teach You
It is said that we humans can't understand the meaning of our lives any better than fish in an aquarium can understand their own. Confined to our own environment, we cannot escape to an outside vantage point from which to look onto and make sense of our existence. Still, we humans do have an advantage over the fish. We come equipped with another way of knowing: through the heart.
Quiz: What Do You Know...about Synagogues?
Do you know as much about synagogues as you think you do? Take the quiz. 1. According to Jewish tradition, which of these features is necessary in order for a building to be considered a synagogue? a. Carpet b. A window c. Pews d. A good sound system 2. Where are the Torah scrolls kept? a.