Comix Friday: A comix showdown at JPS

This isn't Jewish per se, but if you're down with comix in general you'll want to check out Super-Con, being held this Saturday and Sunday (May 16-17) at the San Jose Convention Center.

Also, I recently found out the San Jose Public Library's discussion of "The Rabbi's Cat" is co-sponsored by JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa) and will feature guest speaker Eric Benhamou, Silicon Valley heavyweight and native of Algeria (where the book takes place). Sweet.

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The venerable Jewish Publication Society (better known as JPS) is hosting a May Madness showdown between Jewish comic book characters/artists. The bracket is now in the Elite Eight (aka Round Two), with the likes of Art Spiegelman, Ragman and Superman having been knocked out in the Sweet Sixteen/Round One by Will Eisner, Sgt. Rock and The Thing.

I would make a total scene here about The Thing beating out Superman (because, come on, Superman would demolish The Thing six ways to Sunday), but the point is to choose the character that most exemplifies Jewish values - and since The Thing actually *is* Jewish, I guess he *would* be the de facto winner. (Stan Lee is lucky this isn't a test of physical strength, seeing as he's going up against Ben Grimm in Round Two. Ditto on the Will Eisner/Magneto matchup.)

Magneto seems to be the Duke of the tourney - you know, the obvious powerhouse that should go all the way, but always seems to crack under the pressure/its own hubris at the last minute. Magneto's a Holocaust survivor and all, but his evil deeds later in life seem to disqualify him from hoisting the NCAA Championship trophy whatever award JPS will bestow upon the winner. Kind of like Duke. (Can you tell I went to the University of Maryland?) Look for Eisner to go on to the Final Four, at which point he'll be virtually unstoppable - UNC-style.

So who's the George Mason-like underdog here? My money's on Hulk character Doc Samson, who's up against the X-Men's Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde. Kitty is probably the more recognizable character, and good for her for wearing her Jewiness around her neck (literally). But she's also changed names more times than Diddy (possibly confusing potential voters) - and is pretty young, so there's always the question of whether she'd keep the Jewish flame a'burnin' after she outgrew Birthright and Heeb.

Doc Samson, on the other hand, has that whole mild-mannered-psychiatrist-becomes-awesome-green-Hulk thing about him, and if that doesn't scream "tourney crasher," I don't know what does. Plus, the GMU Patriots are green too - and don't tell me that thunderbolt on Samson's red costume doesn't remind you of the Patriots' logo...

I'll reveal who I voted for - and why - in the next Comix Friday. In the meantime, you should go vote yourself - and, while it's not mandatory, you should also comment on the JPS blog entry to let them know why you went with your picks.

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Comix Friday is published in the Art Scene blog every Friday, and focuses on Jewish comic artists and Jewish-themed comix. If you know of anything I should be blogging about in Comix Friday, let me know!

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