The First Kosher Comic Book Blazed a Trail for Orthodox Outreach

THE TABLET
By Marjorie Ingall

A panel from Foreskin Man vs. Captain Israel. (Arlen Schumer)

Comics have changed with the times, but they’ve always made for gripping storytelling. And, as Tablet has previously discussed, most of the early superheroes were created by Jews and packed with Jewish subtext—brainiac/wimp persecution, the need to “pass,” the possession of hidden strength, the urge to do tikkun olam and fix a broken world. Jews created the first comic book (Max “Charlie” Gains, ne Ginsburg, produced Famous Funnies, a compilation of newspaper strips sold as a book in 1933), the first graphic novel (Will Eisner’s "A Contract With God," which featured Orthodox Jews), the first Comic Con, and the first comic-book direct-distribution network. Check out Danny Fingeroth’s "Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero" for a more extensive overview. [link]