452 Jews and Comic Books
Literature/Film Studies | Registration opens 8/5/25 9:00 AM EDT
A multi-media presentation on the intersection between the development of the American comic book and the American Jewish community. Come to find answers to these burning questions and more:
- In the 1930s, did Goebbels denounce Superman as a Crypto-Jew?
- What comic book supervillain is not only a Jew but a Holocaust survivor?
- Was the crackdown on comic books in the 1950s an anti-Semitic movement, or was it started by Jews or both?
- With so many Jews involved in comic book writing and publication since the 1930s, why were there no Jewish characters in mainstream comic books until the 1970s and why did it take a guy named Chris to create some?
- Which of the X-Men are Jews? Which of the Fantastic Four?
- What Jewish-themed comic book won a Pulitzer Prize?
Whether you think comics foster truth, justice, and the American way or believe that comics cause seduction of the innocent, you will learn something about the influence American Jews have had and continue to have on this quintessentially American art form.
Dale Rosenberg
Dale Rosenberg is a Jewish educator who teaches in a variety of academic and religious settings. She and her wife, Rabbi Ahuvah Loewenthal, moved to Oak Ridge in January 2024 when Ahuvah began her role as spiritual leader of the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge (JCOR). Dale completed her bachelor's degree in quantitative psychology at McGill University, a master's in library and information science at SUNY Albany, and master's degrees in Jewish studies and Jewish education at Hebrew College.