Holocaust Comic Book

[Charles Weinblatt]

The Anne Frank Center has recently endorsed a comic book for the Holocaust. Is this a good idea? Or is it misguided? Check it out here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/02/21/pleitgen.germany.....

The comic book reveals the suffering of a Jewish woman during the Holocaust. The Ann Frank Center is trying out the Holocaust comic at several Berlin area schools. Students claim that the Holocaust is "too dry a topic" and that the comics make the stories come to life.

Is the Holocaust a suitable topic for comic books? Should the death of six million Jews be reduced to the "funny pages?" Is this the waay that man's worst episode of genocide should be portrayed?

I recently wrote "Jacob;s Courage: A Holocaust Love Story." Almost three years of research went into the development of this epic novel. Many members of my maternal extended family perished in concentration camps. Am I the only one here who finds this development somewhat disrespecful?

[J. R. LaGreca]

I am appalled to think the Holocaust would be reduced to comic book mentality. This is a disgrace for the genocide that occurred, it is shocking and disrespectful! If this is an appropriate slant on any type of history, which is often dry, then why not dispel with history books altogether and replace them with comic books? This shows how absurd the entire idea is in the first place.

I just read excerpts of your book and it is brilliantly written. I would love to read it. What you have accomplished is quite commendable, good luck!

[Charles Weinblatt]

Hi Jody. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who objects to Holocaust literature in the form of a comic book. It's simply not a suitable topic. I agree with you that it's disrespectful.

Thanks for your comments about my writing and "Jacob's Courage." You are most kind. I hope that one day you will be able to read the entire book. It is now in Kindle form, if you have a Kindle reader. I wrote it to honor my lost relatives and the entire 6 million.

Regards,

Chuck

[J. R. LaGreca]

Hi Charles,

Perhaps I can read it during the summer when I have more time. I find it touching that you wrote it in honor of the victims. I'm sure it was an extremely emotional book to write.

As an author myself I was curious if either of my books interested you. I would love to get your feedback. A link to my website can be found on my page. In the bottom of the About The Book section is another link for my second book, where the characters are Jewish. There are excerpts for both books on the Xlibris bookstore page ....

Best,

Jody

[Marie Cloutier]

Graphic novels are a literary form that, while relatively new on the scene, have the potential to tell beautiful stories in moving and respectful ways, to both young people and adults. Art Spiegelman's MAUS is a very well-respected, highly praised and deeply moving Holocaust story told in graphic novel form; Bernice Eisenstein's I WAS THE CHILD OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS incorporates some artwork and graphic novel content into a highly emotionally-charged work of autobiography. Graphic novels are not necessarily "funny pages" anymore- they cover a wide range of subjects, approaches and audiences. I would reserve judgment until I'd seen the specific work in question; when I tried to access the YouTube video it was no longer available.

[Charles Weinblatt]

Any media can carry a somber message with grace and dignity. The big picture here is that comic books today are not necessarily "comic" in content. Contemporary comic books carry messages of all kinds, including science fiction, historical fiction, romance, opinion, self-help and various forms of non-fiction. And, some comics are humorous. Perhaps what we are discussing is a collection of drawings and dialog, rather than a "comic book."
I wrote a full-length Holocaust novel called, "Jacob's Courage." This is a somber, frightening and at times grisly story of the terror that was the Shoah. Of course, it is also a haunting, moving and passionate love story. Yet, I readily admit that the same tale could be presented in drawings and dialog. It would not be my choice for a format. But, with the desire to maintain an open mind, I would not be quick to condemn it as inappropriate without first reading it.

“Comic book” does not always have the same current meaning it did a generation ago. Any story can be told via drawings and dialog – even the Shoah. What I find most critical is the quality of the writing. Yet even drawings can convey deep, penetrating and convoluting meaning. Most people would not condemn art as an inappropriate way to describe the Holocaust. There is a great deal of valued Holocaust art, in the form of paintings, drawings, sculpture, even carving and blown glass. Why denigrate a collection of drawings and dialog as necessarily inappropriate? Once we admit that contemporary “comic books” are not necessarily meant to be humorous, we can begin to accept them as a valid means of storytelling.

Charles S. Weinblatt
Author, Jacob’s Courage
http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com/

[Deborah Rey]

I think that Marie Cloutier's reaction is a strong one: if it is done with dignity and not for the 'ha ha and ha'-effect it can work very well for youngsters, as did MAUS and the illustration in I WAS THE CHILD OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS.

One would expect it to be well-done, since the Anne Frank Centre endorsed it. Let's hope so and let's hope it will help to keep the memory alive for many generations to come.

The word COMIC book is a dangerous one, because - as Charles Weinblatt mentions - there are many very serious comic books. If it is really comic, funny, ha ha ... it should be forbidden, just as in my opinion Bellini's 'La Vie Est Belle' should have been forbidden.

I'll try to get the book and in the interim give it the benefit of the doubt.

[Charles Weinblatt]

Hi Deborah. Thanks for your willingness to purchase the book in question. Please return here with your assessment of it.

Perhaps in the context of 21st Century literature, the name, "Comic Book," should be revised. Humans have been telling stories and recording history for tens of thousands of years. Such efforts began as drawings on cave walls. Those drawings were the only way to express events that took place prior to written language.

With an open mind, we should analyze whether the worst example of human behavior (genocide) can be accurately expressed via drawings. We have seen drawings of Holocaust victims that describe life in Nazi concentration camps. Should we demean those drawings because they are not written words? Or, can we accept drawings as a valid way to retell historical events?

I often suspect that this argument relates to the analogy of "killing the messenger because of the message." We know that millions of Jews were systematically exterminated because of their faith. These events, carried out by Nazi Germany, can be told via many varied media. We have Holocaust art, music, stories, books, novels, plays, movies, manuscripts and, yes, drawings. Is it possible to retell such an event in drawings with the dignity that genocide deserves?

Perhaps what's difficult about this discussion is the word, "Comic." Maybe we need to create a new word for efforts that retell malevolent human behavior in the form of a drawing. Let us not with abandon condemn Holocaust tales that are told via drawing, instead of words. The ultimate effect upon a viewer can be no less persuasive or informative than told in written form.

Let us strive more to comprehend the content and effect of a story, than the media in which it is told. While there might be nothing "comic" about the Holocaust, there can be substantially expressive events recorded through drawings or pictures, in addition to those told with words. Let’s not kill the messenger for the message. But, rather, let us open our minds to the various methodology in which events can be retold.

Charles S. Weinblatt
Author, Jacob’s Courage
http://jacobscourage.wordpress.com/