Comix

Enter Round 1 Fight 1!

Name: Harvey Pekar

Alias:

Affiliation:R. Crumb, Dean Haspiel, David Letterman

Bio: Lonely Jewish file clerk or master storyteller? Why can’t he be both? This champion of the working man – and creator of the long-running comic book American Splendor – has given the City of Cleveland a much-needed injection of indie cred.

Strength:The ability to shoot laser beams out of his eyes – naah, just seeing if you’re paying attention. But really, Harvey Pekar does have the ability to humiliate and shame his opponents with his verbal mastery.

Weakness: Age, ex-wives, annoying co-workers.

Exemplary Jewish Value: A champion of the working man, Harvey Pekar personifies social justice in action.

Real World Organizational Match: Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps. Working on urban renewal issues and social justice.

Biblical Validation: Rabbi Levitas of Yavneh used to say: "Be exceeding lowly of spirit, for the hope of man is with worms." (Pirke Avot 4:4) "Better to be humble and among the lowly than to share spoils with the proud." (Proverbs 16:19)

American SplendorOur Cancer Year

Enter Round 1 Fight 1!

Name: Stan Lee

Alias: Stanley "The Man" Lieber

Affiliation:The Banned from the Android's Dungeon Club

Bio: In 2006, Stan Lee commemorated his 65 years with Marvel by writing a series of one-shot comic books wherein he depicted himself interacting with his characters, such as Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four. Of course, over the decades, Lee had sometimes written himself into his own comics; remember when Lee and Kirby themselves showed up at Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s wedding in Fantassic Four Annual #3 (1965), only to be turned away as wedding crashers?

Nowadays, Stan Lee is the public face of Marvel Comics, making cameos on TV shows like The Simpsons and Heroes and in movies based on his characters, like the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises. And his hit TV series Who Wants To Be A Superhero? is the first reality show to be created by a comic book writer…until Art Spiegelman’s Dance Party gets greenlit, anyway.

Strength:The ability to coin catchphrases like “True Believer” and “Excelsior!”

Weakness: People who think he’s related to Spike Lee, Ang Lee, or Lee Harvey Oswald.

Exemplary Jewish Value: As the co-creator of minority characters like Black Panther, Robby Robertson, and Wyatt Wingfoot, Stan Lee promoted the idea of multiculturalism in comics before it was popular to do so. And in doing so, he exemplifies the Jewish value of healing the world, or Tikkun Olam.

Real World Organizational Match: United Jewish Communities The mother of all Jewish communities for the papa bear of super-hero comix!

Biblical Validation: "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing....He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." (Isaiah 40:26, 29)

Stan Lee meets SpideyStan Lee meets the Thing

Enter Round 1 Fight 2!

Name: Superman

Alias: Kal-El, Clark Kent

Affiliation: Justice League of America

Bio: Created by Jewish comix pros Jerry Siegel (writer) and Joe Shuster (artist), Superman is the first major comic book superhero, and the standard by which all others are judged. But he’s also something of a crypto-Jew. Aside from his hebraic-sounding Kryptonian name (Kal-El), there’s his origin story. In a sci-fi take on the Moses story, he was rocketed Earthward from his dying world, and thereafter was raised by ordinary human parents. See? Just like Moses. Or Harry Potter.

Strength: How much time you got? Flight, heat vision, frost breath, super-strength, etc. It’s almost like a bunch of different comic book writers over the years kept adding on different super-powers whenever they wrote themselves into a corner or felt the character was becoming old hat (hey, wait a minute?!).

Weakness: Kryptonite (the green kind, anyway) and Margo Kidder.

Exemplary Jewish Value: Superman honors his homeworld by keeping his Kryptonian name, and he builds his Fortress of Solitude as a shrine to his vanished civilization. His Krypton is much like the Europe that the Jews escaped from during the Holocaust. Oh yeah and that truth, justice and American thing.

Real World Organizational Match: The United Way -Though not an overtly Jewish organization, The United Way adheres to many Jewish calls for social justice, just like the man of steel.

Biblical Validation: Judah Ben Teima said: "Be fierce as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a gazelle, and strong as a lion to do the will of your father in heaven." (Avot 5:20)
"Who are those that fly like a cloud, like doves to their cotes?" (Isaiah 60:8)

Action Comics #27Superman # 233Superman # 803

Enter Round 1 Fight 2!

Name: The Thing

Alias: Ben Grimm

Affiliation: Fantastic Four, West Coast Avengers (for like a minute!)

Bio: This pile of orange rocks – long beloved by minority readers – recently revealed himself to be Jewish. We dare you to check and see if he’s circumcised.

Strength: Imagine a giant brick wall coming at you like a freight train. Oh, and also the giant brick wall’s angry ‘cause it broke up with its girlfriend. And also you’re drunk (or else you wouldn’t be imagining such things!).

Weakness: Mirrors. Hot girls who think he’s a freak. Potential lung cancer (all that cigar smoke CAN’T be good for you). People who correct his grammar. That dude from The Shield coming around constantly to do research on him for the Fantastic Four movies.

Exemplary Jewish Value: Loyalty. Also, Ben Grimm is a remnant of a bygone era, the Lower East Side of Manhattan (in the early part of the 20th century), with its thousands of Jews living in close quarters. Fantastic Four co-creator Jack Kirby grew up in the Lower East Side, and he doubtless knew a lot of guys like Ben Grimm. In fact, he probably WAS one of those guys.

Real World Organizational Match: Birthright Israel- A massive organization bent on reconnecting Jewish adults with their roots. Ben would have been an ideal contender...if he could fit on the El Al planes.

Biblical Validation: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. " (Psalm 118:22)

Fantastic Four #51: Ben grimm the MonsterFantastic Four # 274: The Thing's trademark catch phraseFantastic Four # 310

Enter Round 1 Fight 3!

Name: ShadowCat

Alias: Kitty Pryde

Affiliation: X-men, Excalibur(former)

Bio: Smart, pretty, tough Jewish girl from Chicago. Some people think she’s transparent…but that’s just because she can walk through walls. Possibly the first major Jewish female superhero. An inspiration for Joss Whedon’s character Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Strength: Did we mention the walking through walls thing?

Weakness: Big Russian dudes (Kitty had a long-running love affair with fellow X-Man, Colossus) and apparently an inability to stick to one superhero name (she has been known as Shadowcat, Ariel, Sprite, and a couple of other nomes-de-super).

Exemplary Jewish Value: Pride (see? Her last name has a double-meaning!) in her Jewish heritage. Kitty is often seen wearing a Star of David necklace, in one instance using it to repel a vampire. She is an out and proud Jewish woman!

Real World Organizational Match: The Jewish Women's Archive

Biblical Validation: “Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth, makes us wiser than the beasts of the sky?” (Job 35:11) R. Yohanan said: If God had not given us the Torah, we would have learned modesty from the cat, [avoiding] theft from the ant, [avoiding immoral] sexual relations from the dove, and good manners from the rooster, who first courts and then mates." (Talmud Bavli, Brachot 100b)

X-men #168Excalibur #43Astonishing Xmen #16

Enter Round 1 Fight 3!

Name: GoGirl

Alias: Lindsay Goldman

Affiliation: Hair club for men (just kidding;)

Bio: Teenage superheroine follows in her mom’s footsteps and becomes a superhero. Just as mom was Go-Go Girl in the 1970s, now Lindsay is GoGirl! A Bratz/GoGirl team-up video game is in preproduction.

Strength: Flight, super-strength

Weakness: Cute teenage boys who smile at her.

Exemplary Jewish Value: Tradition. Following in the footsteps of our forebears. Honoring your mother. And female empowerment.

Real World Organizational Match: Rosh Hodesh: A Program for Jewish Girls

Biblical Validation: "Who is she that shines through like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts?" (Song of Songs 6:10)

GoGirlGoGirl

Enter Round 1 Fight 4!

Name: Judah Maccabee

Alias: "The Hammer"

Affiliation: N. Veeblefetzer Pickling Society

Bio: Judah hails from the planet Thune, where he and his entire race were consigned to concentration camps under a dictator called The Manager. His father, Dave and the other Thunes were liberated by the inter-stellar executioner of evil-doers, Nexus. As the comedic foil to his, social activist father, Judah is also the best-bud of Nexus. When he is not working as an independent freelance adjudicator, Judah moonlights as a pro wrestler and is quite the dandy.

Strength: Powered by telekinetic dismembered heads who grant him extraordinary fusion casting abilities that he is able to channel through his near-indestructible sword. He is also a master of the martial arts and a part-time chef.

Weakness: Pig headed and brash, he's been known to rush headlong into a fray with no plan or exit strategy. Too bad the Bush Administration only uses non-fictional characters!

Exemplary Jewish Value: Abundant body hair! Move over Matisyahu and Seth Rogen, Judah is the embodiment of Jewbacca!

Real World Organizational Match: JCC Maccabi Games- He's a wrestler and its got his name, was there any other choice?

Biblical Validation: "As for Judas Maccabeus, he hath been mighty and strong, even from his youth up: let him be your captain, and fight the battle of the people." (Book of Maccabees I, 2:66)

Nexus # 5: Judah's first spotlight issue in indy fav, NexusNexus # 17: Judah goes on vacation, sort of...Nexus: Wages of Sin #4 (or issue #88): Judah and his main squeeze Gladys get into the ring!

Enter Round 1 Fight 4!

Name: Doc Samson

Alias: Dr. Leonard Samson

Affiliation: Hair Club for Men (no, really!)

Bio: Jewish psychiatrist Dr. Leonard Samson exposed himself to radiation which turned his hair green and granted him super-strength, like that of his Biblical namesake (who didn’t have green hair). Over the years, he’s tried to reign in his patient Bruce Banner’s multiple personality disorder. (For you non-geeks out there – or people who never saw the Bill Bixby/Louf Ferrigno TV show – Bruce Banner is the Hulk.)

Strength: Super human strength and enduranc. This used to be contingent on the length of his hair, but now that’s no longer the case.

Weakness: The fact that green hair was NEVER in style (except with Lorna Dane).

Exemplary Jewish Value: He's a People Helper! As a mental health professional, he's the Frasier Crane of Marvel Comics, trying to help Bruce Banner, his big green Golem of a pal.

Real World Organizational Match: Nefesh International: The International Network of Orthodox Mental Health Professionals

Biblical Validation: "An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her...”For you are going to conceive and bear a son...[h]e shall be the first to deliver Israel from the Philistines.” ...The woman bore a son, and she named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the LORD blessed him." (Judges 13: 3, 5, 24)

Hulk #141: Doc Samson's first appearance!Doc Samson #1: In his second solo mini series from 2006

Enter Round 1 Fight 5!

Name: Art Spiegelman

Alias:

Affiliation: The Smokers Club

Bio: As seen in the graphic novel Maus, as well as in various other works like In The Shadow of No Towers, Spiegelman depicts the comic book version of himself as neurotic, thoughtful, and witty. And he even has a “costume” of sorts – his ever-present black vest.

Strength: In trying to reconnect with his estranged Holocaust survivor father, Vladek, Spiegelman showed an admirable strength of character.

Weakness: Cigarettes. (See also Ben Grimm; what's up with the Jewish smokers? Don’t they know that stuff’s bad for you?)

Exemplary Jewish Value:Honoring the dead. Art Spiegelman has brought new attention to the field of Holocaust scholarship, and he’s made the subject relatable to younger generations.

Real World Organizational Match: US Holocasut Memorial Museum

Biblical Validation: When the men of Ashdod, in an attempt to protect themselves, made copper vessels on which to sit, a mouse would say to the vessel, “We are the emissaries of Him who spoke and the world came into being, and you are one of his creatures. Give honor to Him who created you.” (Yalkut Shimoni, Samuel 1 5:6, para.103)

Maus II: Spiegelman's seminal pulitzer prize winning graphic novelThe Wild Party

Enter Round 1 Fight 5!

Name: Will Eisner

Alias: The father of the graphic novel

Affiliation: None

Bio: Will Eisner put himself into his work – literally! In the graphic novel To The Heart of the Storm, we see a young Will Eisner growing up and confronting anti-Semitism in New York during the 1930s and ‘40s. Most recently, a posthumous anthology of autobiographical stories was just released; this guy truly is a legend!

Strength: Ability to write and draw graphic novels well into his 80s, when most of his contemporaries had retired or died. At the time of his death in early 2005, Eisner had been involved in the comics industry for a record 69 years.

Weakness: People who asked him how much their copy of Action Comics #1 would be worth if their mom hadn’t thrown it out.

Exemplary Jewish Value: Like filmmakers Woody Allen and Barry Levinson, Will Eisner continuously made graphic novels about the Jewish experience. His books warned audiences about the ever-present specter of anti-Semitism, and the evils of prejudice.

Real World Organizational Match: American Jewish Historical Society- For the man whose work touched upon so much of the American Jewish experience and the documentation of the tribe's history. From Contract with God, Name of the Game, Fagin the Jew to The Plot.

Biblical Validation: "How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures....When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth." (Psalms 104: 24, 30)

The Spirit #1Contract With God: Considered by some to be the first graphic novelThe Plot: Eisner's last work about the the conspiracy of the Protocols of Zion

Enter Round 1 Fight 6!

Name: Alter Ts'elon

Alias: "Old Man"

Affiliation: Israeli Defense Force

Bio: Alright, so she is the Big Bad of the critically acclaimed series, Y the Last Man and yes, she did knock off some of the major players...but wouldn't she have been a better choice for the girls of IDF spread in Maxim Magazine? Yes, her motives are twisted and dark but how many characters in comix take on the subtle nuances between being Jewish and Israeli or spew out rhetoric as brilliantly loaded as,"Sometimes we must do terrible things for peace." It's also cool (in a freaky kind of way) to see how the military industrial complex plays out through the eyes of a woman. Oh and most importantly, Alter reminds us that there's always someone who suffered a more traumatic experience at overnight camp than you.

Strength: Tactical genius & excellent sharpshooter, Alter is handy with a bazooka and has no problem killing women or small monkeys.

Weakness: A speckled conscience doused with childhood loss and the ability to only see things in black and white.

Exemplary Jewish Value: Unwavering loyalty to the continuation of Israel.

Real World Organizational Match: Seeds of Peace. In Y the Last Man, Alter attends a similar type camp called "The Dove's Nest" and leaves unexpectedly with a broken heart and news of her sisters' untimely death.

Biblical Validation: "I have commanded my holy ones; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath—those who rejoice in my triumph....The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war. They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of his wrath—to ravage all the earth!"(Isaiah 13:3-5)

Alter Tse'elon in action: From the cover of Y the Last Man #13 Published by Vertigo & DC ComicsAlter Tse'elon gunning for it!: From the cover of Y the Last Man #48 Published by Vertigo & DC

Enter Round 1 Fight 6!

Name: Magneto

Alias:Erik Magnus Lehnsherr

Affiliation: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (former), Hellfire Club(former), X-men(former)

Bio: This master of magnetism was the X-Men’s Moriarty in spandex and for a while we wondered why he was such a jerk. Then we found out that he was a Holocaust survivor whose experiences in that hellish environment embittered him towards humankind. Talk about bum deal!

Strength: The self-proclaimed "Master of Magnetism," he's basically a human magnet, but irritable.

Weakness: Ceramics, plastics and those damn kids who won’t get off his lawn! Oh, and that damn music the kids are listening to today. (Get it? ‘Cause he’s OLD!)

Exemplary Jewish Value: A sense of peoplehood. Like many Holocaust survivors, Magneto has vowed that he will “never forget.” And despite the horrible things he’s done, he still remains a sympathetic character because deep down, he’s motivated by a concern for his people, the mutants…who can be seen as a stand-in for the Jewish people. (Or any other oppressed minority.) Yay, conflicted, eerily-relatable villains!

Real World Organizational Match: The Simon Wiesenthal Center - He hunted down Baron Von Strucker just like Wiesenthal bagged Eichmann.

Biblical Validation: His bones are like tubes of bronze, his limbs like iron rods. He is the first of God’s work; only his maker can draw the sword against him....He regards iron as straw, bronze, as rotted wood. (Job 40:18-19, 41:19)

Magneto on TrialX-Men #1Ultimate X-men 62: Magneto extends his familial empire (written by BKV of Y the Last Man)

Enter Round 1 Fight 7!

Name: Willow Rosenberg

Alias:

Affiliation:The "Scooby Gang"

Bio: During the course of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she went from shy brainiac wallflower to deadly brainiac Wiccan and one of the most powerful “normal” people in a cast of characters brimming with demons, vamps, and werewolves. Oh yeah, and halfway through the series she came to terms with her sexuality, making her a positive role model for other young gay and lesbian teens.

Strength:Before becoming a witch she was a not-too-shabby computer hacker. However, once she got into the dark arts, with its dubious ingredients and rites she took down bambi and flayed misogynists alive.

Weakness:Half-off sales at Barnes & Nobles, homo-erotic love ballads with the word "swell", goofy pink sweaters.

Exemplary Jewish Value: Willow’s journey shows that you’re more yourself when you’re honest about who you really are. This is true about being Jewish or being gay. On BtVS, she also had a rarely-seen mom who was a spoof of liberal baby boomer Jewish parents.

Real World Organizational Match: Nehirim: GLBT Jewish culture and spirituality

Biblical Validation: Then Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me a woman who consorts with ghosts, so that I can go to her and inquire through her.” And his courtiers told him that there was a woman in En-dor who consulted ghosts. (Samuel I 28:7) "It is but just to recommend the generosity of this woman... It would be well therefore to imitate [her] example."(Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book IV, 14:4)

Willow Rosenberg: Episode 3 of Season 8 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Enter Round 1 Fight 7!

Name: The Escapist

Alias: Tom Mayflower

Affiliation:The League of The Golden Key

Bio: In Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – about two Jewish comics creators in the 1930s-50s– The Escapist is the superhero created by the title characters. A homage/parody of characters like Siegel & Shuster’s Superman and Simon & Kirby’s Captain America, The Escapist later spawned his own comic book from Dark Horse Comics, with comics written and drawn by such legends as Chabon himself, as well as Brian K. Vaughan, Kyle Baker, Howard Chaykin, and the late comics master Will Eisner.

Strength: Pretty much the same as Captain America’s. That is, heightened strength, speed, agility. But he had a magic key instead of a cool shield. AND the uncanny ability to escape any bonds.

Weakness: A fickle comic book buying public.

Exemplary Jewish Value: A symbol of strength and perseverance in the face of the harshest adversity, namely the Holocaust, coupled with the showmanship and mystery of Houdini.

Real World Organizational Match: HIAS: The Hebrew Immigration Aid Society: Give his name some literal power by showing your support for an organization that assists refugees hurdle the red tape of Homeland Security.

Biblical Validation: "A garden locked/Is my own, my bride,/a fountain locked,/A sealed-up spring./... I rose to let in my beloved;/ My hands dripped myrrh—/My fingers flowing myrrh—/Upon the handles of the bolt." (Song of Songs 4:12, 5:5)

The Escapist The Escapist

Enter Round 1 Fight 8!

Name: Sgt Rock

Alias: Frank Rock

Affiliation: Easy Company, Suicide Squad

Bio: DC Comics’s butt-kicking, Nazi-stomping, real American hero (sorry, GI Joe!) has been showing us why we fight since 1959, in comics that usually take place during World War Two. Created by Bob Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Sgt. Frank Rock of Easy Company is the quintessential “war comics” character – and a savior to those in need, including Jewish refugees.

Strength:Leadership, marksmanship.

Weakness: People who smile too damn much. Face front, soldier!

Exemplary Jewish Value: As a tireless warrior who can’t stand to see people being subjugated by a fascist dictatorship, Sgt. Rock is a de-facto champion of human rights, whether he knows it or not.

Real World Organizational Match: Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America

Biblical Validation: "And the LORD roars aloud at the head of his army; for vast indeed is his host. Numberless are those who do his bidding, for great is the day of the LORD." (Joel 2:11) "Should an army besiege me, my heart would have no fear; should war beset me, still would I be confident." (Psalms 27:3)

Sgt Rock #317Sgt Rock #1Sgt Rock # 245

Enter Round 1 Fight 8!

Name: Ragman

Alias: Rory Regan

Affiliation: Sentinels of Magic, Shadowpact

Bio: When he ventures out into the night to fight crime, Jewish superhero Rory Regan wears a suit of rags; each patch on the suit is made from the soul of an evildoer. Rory’s mentor, the late Rabbi Luria, taught him to control the suit’s potentially deadly powers and also how to do a mean backstitch.

Strength: Ragman’s suit absorbs the souls of evil men; the absorbed soul then becomes a patch on the suit. Rory can also call on the souls in the suit to lend him their power. In other words, it’s people! The Ragman’s suit is people! Like that freaky ending of that Freddy Krueger movie?! Gross!

Weakness: Laundromats. Seriously, does he ever clean that suit?

Exemplary Jewish Value: He don't need no tzedakah box, Ragman works to help the poor in the ghetto every night!

Real World Organizational Match: Institute for Jewish Spirituality

Biblical Validation: "We have all become like an unclean thing, and all our virtues like a filthy rag." (Isaiah 64:6) "Blessed are you...who clothes the naked." (Birkot HaShachar/morning blessings)

Ragman: Cry of the Dead #1Ragman: Cry of the Dead #3

Harvey PekarStan Lee

SupermanThe Thing

ShadowcatGoGirl

Judah "The Hammer" MaccabeeDoc Samson