Jewish Comics and Graphic Narratives: A Critical Guide

The most up-to-date critical guide mapping the history, impact, key critical issues, and seminal texts of the genre, Jewish Comics and Graphic Narratives interrogates what makes a work a Jewish graphic narrative , and explores the form’s diverse facets to orient readers to the richness and complexity of Jewish graphic storytelling.

Accessible but comprehensive and in an easy-to-navigate format, the book covers such topics as:

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The history of the genre in the US and Israel - and its relationship to superheroes, Underground Comix, and Jewish literature -

Social and cultural discussions surrounding the legitimization of graphic representation as sites of trauma, understandings of gender, mixed-media in Jewish graphic novels, and the study of these works in the classroom -

Critical explorations of graphic narratives about the Holocaust, Israel, the diasporic experience, Judaism, and autobiography and memoir -

The works of Will Eisner, Ilana Zeffren, James Sturm, Joann Sfar, JT Waldman, Michel Kichka, Sarah Glidden, Rutu Modan, and Art Spiegelman and such narratives as X Men, Anne Frank’s Diary, and Maus

Jewish Comics and Graphic Novels includes an appendix of relevant works sorted by genre, a glossary of crucial critical terms, and close readings of key texts to help students and readers develop their understanding of the genre and pursue independent study.