A bit about the texts and a plug for a friend!

The text book was so much better this week! From Krakow to Krypton seemed like a much better read then the essays for last week. In particular the opening essay last week read like sections of the Bible or sections of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. You know the stuff, the kind that goes on about and so and so beget so and so who lived for 120 years and their child beget so and such and on and on for pages of short unexplained sections that run on as badly as this sentence! Well this week we actually got nice and deep into the organizations and people behind the early comics. Description with more flavor and personality. So much detailed background that I could truly appreciate how intertwined the major publishers and their talent pools were at the time.

I was also surprised to see the inclusion of Mad Magazine in the Golden Age of comics! I remember picking up issues of this magazine as a kid and while it was not a favorite of mine I did like it's tendancy to poke fun at current fashions and celebrities and can see why it has been a hit for so long. Also Tales from the Crypt? Really? Oh my, I will have to re-evaluate how cool my parents and grandparents may have been if they were fans of comic books so long ago!

While talking about Horror comic books, Brian Defferding is going to have some of his artwork up for the Gallery Walk on Oct 2 from 6-9PM at the Grand Opera House, 222 Pearl Ave for those who would like to look at the work of a great local artist. He has a fantastic horror Comic book series he has been working on for a while. I've only had a few chances to sit down and chat with Brian in the past but he is an funny guy and a great artist so if you are up for a little walk about Oshkosh I strongly recommend taking in some of the sites and meeting some of the people on the Artwalk!

The Golem

I looked forward to reading the comics with references to the Golem the most out of all of the readings for this week. Last semester I took a class on Hindu rituals and previously I have studied various pagan and even Christian mysticism but this would be the first time I hoped to get a peek at one of the "magical" practices of the Jews.

I had heard and read a little about the golem before and had also seen them used in popular games such as D&D and Vampire: The Gathering, unfortunately I was slightly dissappointed to find that the level of explaination and description given to this popular jewish myth/holy practice was so very brief. In class we did look a little further at least. The link shown to using a holy writing to empower the protector was interesting. I had never heard of Jews refered to as people of the book etc before this class and while I have heard some amazing things about the depth and complexity of their holy scriptures have little first hand experience. Their word play in particular using Emet and met to empower and destroy the golem was fascinating.

Perhaps this should promt me to add more to my reading list. I have such a stack building up on my headboard already I am reluctant to add new volumes but did find myself about to hit the BUY NOW on E-bay a few days ago to a book entitled something like The Essential Koran for Jews... I am rather curious which points were deemed so misunderstood that it deserved its own text.

They did say "Graphic" Novels

So our first readings are done and we had discussion on them Wednesday. I am impressed with the students in my class. We had a great dialogue about the first Graphic, Contract with God.

I was surprised to see so many people willing to express their opinions and discuss opposing beliefs about the meaning of the artistic content. We talked over minor details like when a cross is shown being worn in a single panel, what was the significance? The fact that such a minor detail can mean so much is the strength of this medium I believe. They say a picture is worth a thousand words right? I think that belief is very true with well written and drawn comics and graphic novels. A minor detail can reveal a lot about a character without creating dialogue or scenarios to draw it out. A small item like a cross on a necklace not only shows the character to be Christian but the timing can hold additional details. It can show for instance that the motivation for having sex with that person may have more to do with their religion then their appearance. “Shiksappeal” went the joke I believe... Certainly a spare paragraph or two could say the same thing in a novel but by making it a visual element the reader gets to explore the depth and meaning on their own. The moments spent deciphering the meanings convey far more then a spoon fed explanation.

I watched an adaptation of a Graphic Novel today, 2001 Maniacs. It did have an obviously Jewish character in it, using mock Chasidic style but I don't think his religion had any meaning beyond a casual joke about the large influence of Judaism in American media. Unlike the graphics we are reading I can't say this movie had deeper meaning tucked away. It was a simple gore fest with a bit of cheap thrills based around a creative premise. A city of the south was raped, pillaged and ultimately slaughtered by a northern army during the Civil War. All 2001 citizens are killed but several of them rise again as a type of flesh easting zombie who are cursed to kill a “northerner” for each southern death before being granted release from their curse. I just can't bring myself to sully this perfectly awful and cheesy movie with pseudo-wisdom or meaning that it's creators strived so hard to avoid.

So why do I include this then, is it in an effort to make some word count requirement? No, I am rather sure I am already well past that number. I thought the film today probably did a fair job of representing the original work, pointless and for those with low expectations, amusing. While it is possible to consider Comics and Graphic Novels to represent an art medium as was mentioned in our weekly reading, not everything included or made in this field will be meaningful art, some will be beautiful landscapes or cute pictures of puppies. By that I mean fun but with no secrets to pry out.

I heard a classmate comment on the amount of nudity in the weekly reading before class. I was surprised as well at first but as this silly movie reminded me, while the sex and nudity can have meaning such as revealing a crucifix it can also just be titillation to keep the reader interested. From ancient woodcuts and masterful paintings to comics and eventually grainy B-movies, sometimes the character is naked just because the artist knew that's what we wanted to see.

First Post

Welcome to my blog! I am currently enrolled in a course which explores Judaism through comic books. Not just the religious practice itself but the public perceptions, impacts and history of how these two subjects have been intertwined.

On the first day of class we went over the texts which had been selected and I was surprised at the range of comics and graphic novels which would be used! It should be an interesting set of readings. I have always found fiction serves as a great medium for conveying spiritual and philosophical content. By invoking a fictional world the author can often get the reader to suspend their natural suspicions and doubts long enough for them to see old issues in a new light. Also by getting the reader to empathize with the characters by building an interesting story, a lot of wisdom often sneaks into fiction. Points that would be argued against or rejected with a closed mind if it was in a non-fiction format are given a chance this way.

An example of this comes to mind from a series of books I first read probably about 22-24 years ago. The Dragonlance series of novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman explore the issues of maintaining faith in the absence of miracles as well as the dangers of blind faith. The questioning and revelations are interwoven in a fantasy epic and most readers probably do not even notice the importance of these topics to the story. That is the strength I was thinking of with graphic novels and comics. Readers are being exposed to ideas and thoughts they would refuse to read about without the "fun" story and easy to read format.

Well I think that is enough of my thoughts of the topic, time to dig into some of the reading.