When The New York Times publishes an online graphic novel bestsellers list and scholarly presses offer critical analysis of graphic works, it’s a sign the genre has come into its own. Jews have always been major players in the writing and illustration of these works, an increasing number of which are being published. These include collections of items that originally appeared in the shorter comic book format, but which taken together function in a novelistic manner. This review discusses three books connected to the graphic novel boom: a book of critical essays, "The Jewish Graphic Novel: Critical Approaches" edited by Samantha Baskind and Ranen Omer-Sherman (Rutgers University Press), and two recent comic collections, "Jobnick: An American Girl’s Adventure in the Israeli Army" by Miriam Libicki (Real Gone Girl Studios) and "American Flagg" by Howard Chayin (Image Comics and Dynamic Forces).
"The Jewish Graphic Novel"
What defines a Jewish graphic novel? In the introduction to their collection of essays, Baskind and Omer-Sherman acknowledge no single definition exists, both as to what constitutes a graphic novel and what makes one Jewish. The artistic styles of these works differ so greatly that the editors admit that it’s impossible to call something Jewish based solely on the artwork. Instead, "it s the subject, not the style, that distinguishes the Jewish graphic novel from the graphic novel by a non-Jew, and, as the essays in this book show, the genre is uniquely suited to the quintessential narrative theme of the Jewish imagination: mobility, flight, adaptation, transformation, disguise, metamorphosis and much else that has inspired memorable explorations both visually and textually." The book’s first three sections discuss different types of these novels ("The Jewish American Experience," "The Holocaust Across Borders" and "The Graphic Novel Outside the U.S.") before concluding with interviews of graphic artists Miriam Katin and Miriam Libicki, who also contributes a study of the development of graphic memoirs.
As with any collection, the quality of the essays vary, although all held something of interest. Jeremy Dauber’s "Comic Books, Tragic Stories: Will Eisner’s American Jewish History" is an excellent short biography of the man whom many credit as the creator of the format. Dauber shows how Eisner became more interested in portraying Jewish stories in his later years, although he was not always able to escape the stereotyping he deplored. In "‘Wanna watch the grown-ups doin’ dirty things?’ Jewish Sexuality and the Early Graphic Novel," Josh Lambert writes of how graphic artists and story writers used sexual content in order to make their works appeal to an adult audience. He refers not only to Eisner’s work, but to a little-known graphic novel, "Tantrum" by Jules Feiffer. Although both works include explicit sexual drawings, the results are less than titillating since the situations in which the characters find themselves are not appealing.
The essays about Holocaust novels note how the majority of these works use non-linear formats. This is true not only of Art Spiegelman’s "Maus," but Joe Kubert’s "Yossel: April 19, 1943" and Bernice Eisenstein’s "I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors." My favorite piece in this section, though, looks at a completely different type of work: "X-Men" comics. In "Witness, Trauma, and Remembrance: Holocaust Representation and X-Men Comics," Cheryl Alexander Malcolm does an excellent job showing not only how the Holocaust was used in these comic books, but the way the discrimination against Jews and mutants can open a discussion about the meaning of race and genetics. Malcolm notes that "the ultimate message of X-Men comics is that ‘the mutant problem’ illuminates a human problem, much as ‘the Jewish problem’ is actually a gentile one."
The section on graphic novels outside the U.S. focuses on works from France and Israel. Marla Harris, in "Borderlands: Place, Spaces, and Jewish Identities in Joann Sfar’s ‘The Rabbi’s Cat’ and ‘Klezmer,’" gave me a better understanding of Sfar’s work by placing it in historical and geographical context. Particularly helpful were quotations from interviews Sfar has given, which gave insight into the connections between the two works. The essays on Israeli graphic novels, "From Light to Darkness: Reframing Notions of Self and Other in Contemporary Graphic Narritives" by Ariel Kahn and "Ben Gurion’s Golem and Jewish Lesbians: Subverting Hegemonic History in Two Israeli Graphic Novels," were of interest for what they reveal about the nature of Israeli society and how it has changed over the decades.
Many of these essays can be read even if you are unfamiliar with the graphic works under discussion. However, having read the novel will enrich your appreciation of the analysis. This collection is definitely not aimed at the casual graphic novel/comic book fan and some readers may be put off by the academic jargon. Those interested in current Jewish literary culture, though, will find it absorbing, as will anyone interested in how the graphic novel contributes to our understanding of Jewish identity.
"Jobnick"
"The Jewish Graphic Novel" ends with a graphic essay by Miriam Libicki called "Jewish Memoir Goes Pow! Zap! Oy!" In it, Libicki mentions her own "morose" graphic memoir, "Jobnick," which describes her tour in the Israeli army during the second Palestinian Intifada. Morose certainly fits her tale of a religious young woman who seems to have little self-respect. She defines the title term as "derogatory slang used by combat soldiers for those with desk jobs," which captures not only the army’s opinion about her work, but her own. While Libicki does an excellent job portraying the dreariness of being stationed in an Israeli army post, this same feature makes it less than pleasant reading. Written almost as if it were a journal, there is little room for character analysis and development. It’s also depressing to watch the character based on the author make increasingly questionable decisions. At the same time, Libicki shows a very different, if gloomy, side of Israel and Israelis, one rarely seen by Americans. Her work, though, will never be used as recruitment material for the Israeli Defense Force.
"American Flagg"
Welcome to the future: Life on planet Earth is messy and getting messier. The world is controlled by multi-corporations that buy and sell countries. Disparate groups band together to form bizarre political parties and gangs roam the countryside. Into the fray comes Ranger Reuben Flagg, a Jewish sort-of hero, who is willing to scheme and be bribed with the best, that is until someone pushes him one step too far. His story is featured first and center in "American Flagg," a compilation of 14 issues of a series originally published in the 1980s, but which reads as though it were being written today. The plots are complex and difficult to follow, but the action moves quickly, even if you’re not sure exactly what’s going on. Joining Flagg are an interesting group of secondary characters, including Raul, a talking cat; Mandy Krieger, who loves to hate Flagg; Media Blitz, a politician’s daughter who gets herself and others into trouble; Luther, a robot member of the Rangers; and enough evil villains to keep any comic book reader happy. "American Flagg" is a wild ride for anyone willing to take it.