Left: Detective Comics #71. Batman, Robin & The Joker™ Cover art by Jerry Robinson. © 1942 DC Comics. All rights Reserved. Used with Permission. From the collection of Jerry Robinson. Right: Wonder Woman #1, Summer 1942. Publisher: DC Comics Collection of Michigan State University Libraries.
Left: Detective Comics #71. Batman, Robin & The Joker™
Cover art by Jerry Robinson. © 1942 DC Comics. All rights Reserved. Used with Permission. From the collection of Jerry Robinson.
Right: Wonder Woman #1, Summer 1942. Publisher: DC Comics
Collection of Michigan State University Libraries.
Jewish comic book characters
Jews are not just the creators of comic books, sometimes the characters themselves are Jewish. Here’s a short list of some of the Jewish heroes and villains in comic books today.
- The Thing (Benjamin Grimm), the rocky orange powerhouse of the Fantastic Four;
- Magneto (Max Eisenhardt), a Holocaust survivor and X-Men villain with magnetic abilities;
- Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde), from X-Men with the ability to phase and walk right through walls;
- Sabra (Ruth Bat-Seraph), superhuman Israeli national heroine;
- Moon Knight (Marc Spector), mysterious anti-hero and former mercenary;
- The Atom (Ray Palmer), shrinkable scientist and adventurer;
- Batwoman (Kate Kane), heroic crimefighter of Gotham City;
- Ragman (Rory Regan), gains super strength from the evil souls trapped in the rags of his suit;
- Colossal Boy (Gim Allon), titanic member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Further reading on Jews and comic books
There are many books on the connections between Judaism and comic books ranging from the scholarly to the fictionalized; some are even in comic form. Here are a few recommendations:
Superman is Jewish? by Harry Brod
From Krakow to Krypton by Arie Kaplan
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones
