Disguised as Clark Kent: The History of Jews and Comics
Hosted By: My Jewish Learning
with former Marvel editor Danny Fingeroth
3 Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. ET: April 22 – May 6
All classes will be recorded and sent to registrants.
Superman, Batman, Captain America — all and so many more were the product of Jewish imaginations.
From the beginning of the modern superhero comic book to the underground revolution through the current age of the graphic novel, Jewish publishers and creators have been instrumental in the development of the medium that fuels so many of our dreams and fills our movie theaters.
In this course, former Marvel editor Danny Fingeroth (also the author of “Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero”) tells us why and how the comics medium was so much a product of immigrant Jewish creativity.
Session 1: In the Beginning
The origins of the modern comic book, including the debut of Superman and the role of comics in World War II.
Session 2: Underground and Overground
The Sixties Marvel Revolution (fueled by the creative inspiration of the Jewish Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) and the flowering of the Underground Comix movement, seen through a Jewish lens.
Session 3: What Hath Maus Wrought?
The rise of the modern graphic novel, the renewed popularity of comics among children and teens, and the dominance of the comics-spawned superhero genre in movies.
