comics history
Here’s My 2024 San Diego Comic Con Schedule!
Are you going to the San Diego Comic Con next week? If so, you can see me on two different panels, one of which I’m moderating, and one of which I’m not. Here’s the pertinent info for both:
On Friday, July 26th at 7:00pm, in Room 29AB, I’ll be moderating the “Epic Myths and Legends” panel. You see, I wrote an upcoming nonfiction book called The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends, and like the book, this panel will be all about the influence that ancient mythology had on modern-day pop culture. Here’s the official description of the event from the SDCC site:
The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends is a forthcoming nonfiction book by Arie Kaplan that details the influence of classic stories on contemporary pop culture. Without these myths, many of the most beloved fictional universes— everything from the Marvel and DC superheroes to Star Wars and Lord of the Rings—wouldn’t exist. Moderator Arie Kaplan (Frankie and the Dragon, LEGO Star Wars: The Official Stormtrooper Training Manual) and panelists Jonita Davis (The Black Cape, We Gon’ Be Black Today: Exploration of Black Nerd Culture), Mark Hoffmeier (Legend Quest: Masters of Myth, Avengers Assemble), and Jesse J. Holland (Black Panther: Who Is the Black Panther?, Star Wars: The Force Awakens—Finn’s Story) will discuss the influence these ancient myths have had on Hollywood blockbusters and comic book worldbuilding.
More info on the “Epic Myths” panel HERE.
And the second panel – the one I’m not moderating – is called “Neurotic Superheroes Across the Multiverses,” and it’s happening on Sunday July 28th at 2:30pm in Room 29CD. It’s moderated by Travis Langley and Danny Fingeroth. Here’s the official description of the event:
Dr. Travis Langley (Batman and Psychology; Spider-Man Psychology) and Danny Fingeroth (author, Superman on the Couch; editor, Spider-Man) lead this lively discussion of superhuman angst, guilt, suffering, and pain: Is Spidey the most neurotic superhero? Did Wolverine, Deadpool, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, or another take the title? Or has Batman topped the list all along?
For a comparison of how superhero neuroses have manifested over the years, across multiverses, and between different media depictions, join Gerry Conway (Amazing Spider-Man; Detective Comics), Deric A. Hughes (Arrow; The Flash), Natasha Lee (Insomniac Games), Arie Kaplan (From Krakow to Krypton), Justine Mastin (Blue Box Counseling; Starship Therapise), and maybe a surprise multiverse wrecker. Could the most neurotic superhero be the most human of them all?
More info on the “Neurotic Superheroes” panel HERE.
Who will end up being the most neurotic superhero? Will it be…ME? I mean, I can hope, right? Speaking of which: I hope to see you at both of these pulse-pounding panels! (See what I did there?)
I’m Going To Be on a Panel at JewCE Tomorrow!
I am NOT a morning person!
Nevertheless, at 10:00am tomorrow, Sunday November 12th, 2023, I’m going to be a panelist on a panel discussion called “Jewish Roots of the Comic Industry” at the Center for Jewish History at 15 West 16th Street in Manhattan.
The panel is part of JewCE, a Jewish-themed comics and pop culture event. My fellow panelists will be Roy Schwartz and Simcha Weinstein, and the moderator will be Danny Fingeroth. Hey, I know all of those people!
And aside from the “Jewish Roots of the Comic Industry” panel, there are a bunch of other wonderful panels happening on November 12th. You can find out more about them at the JewCE website.
Here’s the official description of the “Jewish Roots” panel, from the JewCE site:
Superman and Batman were created by the children of eastern European Jewish immigrants! So were the Avengers and the X-Men! And the genre of non-superhero graphic novels like Maus was also largely jumpstarted by creators of similar backgrounds. Today, Hebraic historians discuss the Jewish roots of comics, maybe, along the way, dispelling some of the creation myths that have been passed down through time. Join Arie Kaplan (From Krakow to Krypton), Roy Schwartz (Is Superman Circumcised?), Simcha Weinstein (Up, Up and Oy Vey!) and moderator Danny Fingeroth (Disguised as Clark Kent) as they dig deep into comics’ Genesis.
Hope to see you there!
And here’s some info on JewCE in general:
JewCE stands for the JEWISH COMICS EXPERIENCE. It’s the ultimate comics and pop culture event brought to you by the Center for Jewish History in New York City. JewCE is designed to be an inclusive convention, celebrating an industry largely created by Members of the Tribe, and promoting diverse Jewish narratives in comics & graphic novels. JewCE welcomes creators and pop culture fans from all walks of life.
Fold Back So That “A” Meets “B”
As you’ve probably heard, legendary cartoonist Al Jaffee passed away on Monday April 10th, 2023, just a few weeks after his 102nd birthday.
Al was a virtuoso artist who left behind an astounding body of work. But as anyone who knew him could tell you, he was also one of the kindest, most gracious people in the comic book industry. And he was a good friend.
In a previous blog post, I talked about Al – his career in general, his work for MAD Magazine in particular, and what he meant to me personally.
But I think it’s also important to mention that, even though he was 102 years old when he passed away, it still felt like he was gone too soon. I think I’d convinced myself that if he made it to 102 years old, there was no reason he couldn’t make it to 103 years old. Or 104. Or 120. I’m not kidding. If anyone could beat the odds, it was Al.
Unfortunately, though, he turned out to be a mere mortal.
Last year, when I called Al on his 101st birthday, he said, “When you live a long time, you outlive a lot of your friends. It’s so nice to hear from one of them that’s still alive.”
I’m sorry, what was that? “It’s so nice to hear from one of them that’s still alive”? That’s a solid joke. There he was at age 101, still making quips. He still had it.
As a cartoonist for MAD, Al showed the world just how hilarious and inventive a cartoon could be. He could draw funny – I mean really funny – which is not an easy thing to do. He had a genuinely unique comedic voice. He inspired generations of cartoonists, comedians, and comedy writers. He gave us the MAD Fold-In, Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions, Hawks and Doves (a Vietnam-era comic strip that ran in MAD during the early 1970s), and countless MAD inventions.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he also co-created Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal. (Google it.)
It’s a cliché to say that someone made the world a richer place with their presence. But just because it’s a cliché, that doesn’t make it any less true. And in Al’s case, it certainly was true.
I feel lucky and privileged to have known him.
Let me tell you a story about how Al Jaffee changed my life. One day, when I was a kid – maybe 9 or 10 years old – my parents were visiting some friends who had a son about my age. I don’t remember the son’s name. Let’s just call him “Son X.” My parents’ friends told me to wait for Son X in his room, because he’d be home soon and I should say hello to him. I went up to Son X’s room and I saw these massive long boxes full of comic books. I took the lid off of one long box, and inside there were all of these back issues of MAD Magazine. Looking through one of them, I found a humor piece, written and illustrated by Al Jaffee, called “If Kids Designed Their Own Xmas Toys.” Looking at that humor piece melted my brain.
That’s not hyperbole. (Well, okay, it is. But you know what I mean.) See, I was a kid who was constantly drawing cartoons. And in those days, I was
always thinking about the fact that when you’re a young child, you have no real grasp of concepts like composition, anatomy, perspective, or foreshortening, and so all of your drawings look…uh, well, they look like a kid drew them. I spent a massive amount of time trying to break out of that “draw like a kid” phase and finally draw like an adult. In “If Kids Designed Their Own Xmas Toys,” Al plays with that very premise, that very thing I’d been thinking about. “If Kids Designed…” shows what a doll would look like if it was designed by a 5 year old (stick figure arms and legs, googly eyes, springs for hair, a shapeless, awkward-looking dress). And he shows what a rocket would look like if it were designed by a 9 year old (the rocket looks flat and asymmetrical, the fins jut out at odd angles, the nosecone is crooked). It was like Al had reached into my brain, found out what I was obsessed with, and made a MAD humor piece about it.
But here’s the thing: Al actually built models of these “Xmas toys” that were supposedly designed by kids. Then he took photos of the toys, and those photos appear in “If Kids Designed Their Own Xmas Toys.” He really wanted to sell the idea that actual kids designed these toys!
When I first saw “If Kids Designed…,” it awakened something in me. It was the first time I thought, “Hey, I think I might want to write or draw something for MAD Magazine someday.” After all, I was an aspiring cartoonist and comedy writer. MAD seemed like a humor magazine that was tailor made for me specifically. And it was all because I happened upon an Al Jaffee humor piece that spoke to me on a gut level.
Years later, when I started writing humor pieces for MAD, I tried to write as many of them as possible that required actual models to be built, just like the models I saw in that “If Kids Designed…” article.
And on one particular day, a few years into my career at MAD, I was talking to Al in his studio and getting ready to interview him for my award-winning nonfiction book, From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books. I told him about “If Kids Designed Their Own Xmas Toys,” and what it meant to me. And he said, “Well, I’ve got the models of those ‘toys’ up on the top of that shelf, if you want to see them.” And he pointed to the very top of a bookshelf. There they were: the doll with the googly eyes, the lopsided rocket, all of them. He took the doll down and handed it to me so that I could hold it.
So there I was, holding the doll which made me want to be a MAD writer in the first place. It was quite a moment. (For me, anyway. Probably not for Al.)
My point is, that’s the kind of person Al was: He inspired people. He changed their lives. And most importantly, he let you hold the doll with the googly eyes.