Arie Kaplan

Arie Kaplan is the author of a dozen books, including From Krakow to Krypton: Jews and Comic Books and graphic novels Speed Racer: Chronicles of the Racer and The New Kid from Planet Glorf. His children’s books include LEGO Star Wars: Face Off, LEGO Star Wars: The Official Stormtrooper Training Manual, The Jurassic Park Little Golden Book, and Swashbuckling Scoundrels: Pirates in Fact and Fiction. He also writes for television, video games, comic books, and transmedia. 

Fall 2003 Cover of RJ Magazine

How the Jews Created the Comic Book Industry Part I: The Golden Age (1933-1955)

Arie Kaplan
1933. FDR was inaugurated, Hitler became chancellor of Germany, television was patented, and an unemployed Jewish novelty salesman named Max Gaines (née Max Ginzberg) was pondering how on earth he would be able to feed his wife Jessie and their two young children, who were living with him at his mother's house in the Bronx. To lift his spirits, he began reading some Sunday funnies stored in his mother's attic. Suddenly the idea hit him: if he enjoyed reading old comic strips like "Joe Palooka," "Mutt and Jeff," and "Hairbreadth Harry," maybe the rest of America would, too!
The Hulk comic book cover
Arts and Culture

How Jews Transformed The Comic Book Industry, Part II: The Silver Age (1956-1978)

Arie Kaplan
By the mid-'50s, the comic book industry was in a sorry state. Allegations that the genre was promoting juvenile delinquency and illiteracy had "done in" the popular and groundbreaking horror and crime comics, and superheroes were now bland incarnations of their former selves. Batman, once a shadowy figure of the night, was recast as a high-camp boy scout battling rainbow-colored monsters.

How Jews Transformed The Comic Book Industry, Part III: The Bronze Age (1979 - )

Arie Kaplan
Ever since the late 1970s, comics have turned more introspective and artistically ambitious. As in the Golden and Silver Ages, Jewish comics creators have been at the cutting edge, producing works that probe Jewish history, showcase Jewish characters, and comment on spiritual and social issues. These artists have ushered in what may be termed "the Bronze Age" of comics--not because it's less esteemed than the Golden or Silver Ages, but because it is free of rose-colored gloss and glitter, and reflects the realities of the world in which we live.
Arts and Culture