Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero

Not only do comic book superheroes Batman and Superman disguise themselves to save the world, but, according to former Marvel group editor Fingeroth, they also disguise their Jewish heritage and values. In Fingeroth's debut, he uncovers Jewish themes in comics history, starting with the introduction of Superman in 1938 and ending with a look at what the current crop of Jewish mainstream comics creators are doing with the freedom to explore overtly their religion. Chronicling the creation of each new ""Jewish"" superhero, Fingeroth notes the concurrent changes in the comic industry, including the audience shift from children to adults and the effect of comic critic Fredric Wertham. Looking back at the gold and silver eras of comics, he uses close reading and artist testimony (Stan Lee, Joe Simon and Will Eisner among them) to explore parallels between Superman and Moses, Spider-Man's morality tales and the Torah, Fantastic Four arch-nemesis Hate Monger and Hitler, and others. Fingeroth's theories can seem far fetched-Bruce Wayne must be Jewish, Fingeroth claims, because Jewish creator Bob Kane does everything he can not to mention it-there's nothing here that wouldn't be at home (or much appreciated) in a spirited debate among hard core fans.