Up, Up, and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture, and Values Shaped The Comic Book Superhero

Thin book. Too big to be a tweet, too thin for a book. While the ideas are interesting none of them are new. It may be my growing up inMetropolitan areas in the 1970s and reading Marvel, but I found nothing here I didn’t already know. I may have been expecting something more substantive. This would be appropriate for a younger audience less familiar with the history.

I'm working on a text book teaching Jewish culture, heritage, and religion, as it has been depicted through graphic literature throughout the years. Simcha Weinstein's wonderful book has been a gift to me, during my research. As a fellow Jew and comic book fan, I had always been proud of the many contributions my fellow Jews made to the creation of so many classic comic book characters and that the foundation of the Golden and Silver Age of comics could be primarily attributed to Jewish writers and artists, but Weinstein's book demonstrates not just what I previously stated but how many aspects of Jewish culture and lore have found their way into the continuity of classic characters and stories. If you're like me and love learning more about the roles that Jews have played in the creation of your favorite medium, or if you're a true fan of comics and want to learn more about their secret Jewish past, Up, Up, And Oy Vey is the book for you!

A fun read, both light and informative. Researched and well informed, this explores how some of the major superhero/ cartoon writers and creators were highly influenced by their Jewish backgrounds and cultural beliefs. This went on to inform and shape their characters and stories. Quite intriguing. Includes a couple of reprinted comic pages, which reinforce the authors point. Recommended for any lovers of the major comics and those interested in the intersection of cultural/ religious beliefs and popular culture and the impact one has on the other. The author has a background as a major in film and art from a London based University and is an ordained and practicing Rabbi, currently serving University students at the prestigious Pratt Institute, located in trendy Brooklyn, New York -- one of the nation’s preeminent art schools.

as stated before in regard to another book on the same subject, some of the material in this book was not new to me, since I've been reading many books lately on the history of comics, but this book has a lot in it that is new to me. I loved comix as a kid growing up. Now that I learn the story behind them, I have a a new appreciation of the subject

This was a very interesting introduction to the backstory and development of superheroes but I wish it was more in depth. There are several short essays with a lot of the same explanations of how Jewish mythos relates to central themes of comic books. Its a good, fast read but is still somehow lacking.

Great insights. Must have in your library if you loved comic books as a kid and learn Torah. Name of the title has to do with The Thing.

This is a good introduction of the subject to casual readers. Having read several books on the subject, it's not my favorite but it's concise and easy to read.

I enjoyed the background on the characters and the writers and found the book lots of light fun. It made me rethink the different characters. I am buying more copies for family as gifts.

This is not a huge book, perhaps the size of a magazine or a mini book, but dont let that put you off. It is concise and and the revelations in it are amazing. Especially when you factor in how huge comic book based superhero movies are nowadays and then realise (through this book, written by a Jewish academic) that every major comic book superhero was created by a Jew, jewish writers and cartoonists. From Superman and Batman to Spiderman, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk. And yes that's both DC and Marvel. And you would be surprised to know that some of these Suoerheroes are Jewish aswell! Get the book to discover who, and yes you could simply Google or wiki to find out who but this book has the illustrations of those relevant portions of the comic books which shows all the evidence clearly and irrefutably and not just stating it like wiki or some other website. If you're a comic book or superhero fan, this is the book for you especially if you're also interested in the Jewish side of it all. Enjoy