Broken Frontier

1933 is quite a momentous year in world history; Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, television was patented and an unemployed Jew by the name of Max Gaines (born Max Ginzberg) was struggling to pay the rent and feed his young family. Like many of us, Max found his escape in old newspaper comic strips. Where today we read X-Men, Invincible and Y: The Last Man, Max found himself reading strips by the names of Joe Palooka, Mutt and Jeff and Hairbreadth Harry.

Gaines decided that if he enjoyed these stories, then perhaps the rest of America would too (A huge assumption. Obviously Max had a bit of chutzpah about him!). Given the economic climate of the time this was a pretty gutsy decision, but as we will see it is one that certainly paid off, not only for Max but for generations of creators and publishers who followed him!

If success is more about who you know than what you know, Max was certainly lucky. He was good friends with a man by the name of Harry L. Wildenberg who worked at a company called Eastern Color Printing. Together they reprinted comic strips in a half tabloid size magazine and sold them. The first issue was called Famous Funnies #1 and debuted in February 1934. Famous Funnies #1 has the distinction of being credited as the first ever monthly comic book to be sold on American newsstands. By issue #8 the book turned a profit. Others quickly caught on to what Gaines and Wildenberg were up to and by 1941 30 comic book publishers were producing 150 different monthly titles with sales of 15 million copies and a readership of 60 million across the USA!

An industry was born.

Some time around late 1934 Gaines realized that the novelty of reprinted newspaper strips was going to wear out so he took another innovative step and began to look for something new to publish. He wasn’t the only one thinking of the future of this new industry; Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, publisher of National Allied Publications (later DC Comics) was looking for new material. This would cut costs as he would no longer have to pay royalties to the newspaper companies whose strips he was reprinting.

DC’s first new title was called New Fun Comics and it debuted in February 1935. New Fun #6 is of particular interest to comic fans as it features the debut of Doctor Occult the ‘ghost detective’ who battled vampires, ghosts and sorcerers (he was to the early 1930s what Buffy was to the 1990s!). So, I guess none of you remember Doctor Occult or can figure why he is such an important figure? … Give up yet? …

Two young Jewish men from Cleveland, Ohio created Doctor Occult; you may have heard of them before; their names are Jerry Siegel (writer) and Joe Shuster (artist). After three issues, the team experimented with Doctor Occult, dressing him in blue tights and a cape and giving him temporary powers including super strength and flight. These ideas were borrowed from another one of their characters, an idea they had unsuccessfully shopped around for three years and a concept that no publisher would back.

The year was 1938, the character was Superman and a new genre was created; the story of the superhero. The Jewish origin of the Big Blue Boy Scout extends far beyond the religious background of his creators. I will explore Supeman’s Jewish identity in more detail in a future column. However consider this; Superman is a child survivor named Kal-El which in Hebrew means “all that is G-d”. He is born on a planet populated by brilliant scientists which is later destroyed. He is sent by his parents in a rocket ship to the planet Earth; this part of Superman’s story is reminiscent of Moses’ escape from Pharaoh’s decree to murder all Jewish newborn sons. Also reflecting the times, Kal-El’s exile reflects the experience of the Kindertransports that saw hundreds of European Jewish children sent, without their parents, to safety in Great Britain. Many of these children later grew up not knowing about their Jewish heritage; hence they too had a secret identity.

The success of this new American hero inspired others. In May 1939 Jewish creator Will Eisner came up with Wonder Man. In February 1940 Otto Binder and C.C. Beck unveiled Captain Marvel. Reflecting the duality of their creator’s lives as Jews and Americans, and in light of simmering Anti-semitism, many of these characters boasted secret identities.

A surge of creativity saw Harry Donenfeld, Max Gaines and Jack Liebowitz join together to form All-American Comics (also known as the AA Group). The company would expand the DC line, introducing new characters such as Hawkman and Green Lantern. Other companies like Timely Comics, Archie Comics, Whiz Comics and Quality Comics enhanced industry competition. Many Jewish writers, artists and editors were hired on to create The Next Big Thing.

In the 1930s Jewish writers and artists flocked to the comic book industry. Why? Largely because of latent Anti-semitism which saw commercial industries turn Jewish artists away. Most of the comic book publishers were Jewish and welcomed these artists into their bullpens. The young industry was still developing and as such it was wide open, both to new creators and to new publishers.

This arrangement seemed a perfect fit. Will Eisner has been quoted as saying “We are people of the Book (the Bible); we are storytellers essentially.” He went on to say “… anyone who’s exposed to Jewish culture, I think, walks away for the rest of his life with an instinct for telling stories.”

In September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland sparking the outbreak of World War II.  While earlier characters were a response to Depression-era America, new heroes were directly reacting to the maelstrom in world events. The darkest of these new characters was Batman created by artist Bob Kane (a Jew who when born was named Bob Kahn). Bill Finger (a Jew from Denver, Colorado) was tapped by Kane to write the Dark Knight’s adventures. Finger came up with Batman’s origin and the menacing urban setting of Gotham City. Sadly, Finger’s role was never properly recognized and he died impoverished.

However perhaps the greatest American hero was yet to be unveiled. With America’s entry into World War II in 1941 many of the comic book heroes joined the war effort. In 1941 Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) and Joe Simon, both Jewish, unveiled a new character called Captain America. Their star-spangled sentinel did what many Jews wanted to do; he took on the Nazi agent, Red Skull. In many ways Steve Rogers was the quintessential Jewish geek; a weakling transformed into a super hero. Rogers was also blonde haired and blue eyed, reflecting the desire of many Jews to ‘fit in’ with broader society. Dr Reinstein invented the super-soldier serum that turned Rogers into Captain America. His name sounds suspiciously like that of Albert Einstein the great Jewish scientist who fled Nazi Germany.

Is it the case that the men who created the comic book industry and many of its iconic characters were writers and artists who happened to be Jewish or were they Jewish writers and artists? This seems to be a false dichotomy, but it isn’t at all. You see much of the story behind these characters was drawn from the story of the Jewish people; the Old Testament or the Torah. The Old Testament features many players such as Moses, Samson, Ruth and Esther all of whom were heroic and some of them seemed to wield great powers.

In the next edition of The Story Factory I will go behind the mechanics of creating the comic book industry to look at some of the enduring themes of Jewish thought and culture and discuss how these have impacted comic books. Don’t worry, I won’t be making this up as I go along; this time I have a guide … an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi from Brooklyn Heights, New York.

Next: Up! Up! And Oy Vey!