Superman’s ‘Jewish Origins’ and Other Thoughts on Jews and Comics

Image of superman, wearing a blue costume with red cape flowing towards the back of the image, his right arm is pointed forward. Superman flying towards the viewer, a gray-toned cityscape in perspective is behind him.
Dates/Times

October 25, 2023
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Location

Will Eisner Seminar Room, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Musuem
Room 205, Sullivant Hall, 1813 N. High Street
Columbus OH 43210

Thomas and Diann Mann Symposium Series

Professor Samantha Baskind, Distinguished Professor of Art History Cleveland State University

The Melton Center is pleased to present Professor Baskind’s lecture “Superman’s ‘Jewish Origins’ and Other Thoughts on Jews and Comics.” Professor Baskind will discuss the enormous Jewish contributions to comics and the graphic novel. Beginning in the 1930s, Jews built the comic book industry from the ground up.

Among the superheroes with “Jewish” origins are Superman, “The Thing” from The Fantastic Four, and some of the X-Men characters. How did Jews come to have such a disproportionate influence on an industry famous for demigods clad in colorful tights?

Jews also have an outsize presence in the realm of graphic novels, perhaps best exemplified by Art Spiegelman, the creator of the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus. Up, Up, and Oy Vey!

Supported by the Thomas and Diann Mann Symposia fund and co-sponsored by the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library.

 

Image of superman, wearing a blue costume with red cape flowing towards the back of the image, his right arm is pointed forward. Superman flying towards the viewer, a gray-toned cityscape in perspective is behind him.

Image: Robert Venditi, Wilfredo Torres/DC Comics