On talking birds and jelly donuts: tracking new developments in Israeli comics

ABSTRACT

This article examines two recent Israeli webcomics and explores how each has introduced new modes of graphic communication in Israeli comics. Both are rooted in the Israeli cultural milieu but they reject the forms and substance traditionally associated with Israeli comics and graphic novels. In particular, I analyse Barlev’s use of anthropomorphism and Nachmany’s use of superhero parody in order to offer novel critiques of Israeli society while also expanding the range and scope of the Israeli comic book and graphic narrative marketplace. I conclude the article by offering a tentative assessment of what it is about webcomics that has facilitated both of these works and how Nachmany’s and Barlev’s popularity can lead to future novel expressions in Israeli comics.

KEYWORDS:

• Webcomics
• anthropomorphism
• superhero parody
• Israel
• Israeli comics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. A sufganiya is a fried donut that is filled with jam, custard, or chocolate, and is eaten on the Jewish holiday of Hanuka.

2. By calling attention to the dominant tropes, I do not mean to denigrate them or the skills of the authors and illustrators, nor am I suggesting that more recent works are derivative of earlier ones. I am merely pointing out what has become, in most cases, the nature of Israeli graphic novels.

3. One noteworthy exception is Tamar Blumenfeld’s (2017) In A Relationship which details the sexual dalliances of a contemporary fictional Israeli woman and her difficulties entering a meaningful relationship.

4. It must be said that the same does not hold true for Israeli political cartoons where fantasy and science fiction elements routinely feature. See Reingold (2022), Reenvisioning Israel through Political Cartoons.

5. Following national elections in November 2022, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed a coalition with like-minded parties and they were sworn-in on December 29. Netanyahu’s government was composed of two ultra-Orthodox parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) – and the right-wing nationalist Religious Zionist Party. By early January 2023, the coalition began implementing a comprehensive legal reform put forward by Yariv Levin, the Minister of Justice, and Simcha Rothman, the chair of the Constitution, Law and Justice committee. At its core, the legal reform sought to limit judicial power by hindering the Supreme Court’s ability to challenge legislative decisions made by the government. Beginning in January 2023, and continuing through the summer, nation-wide protests have occurred on a weekly basis, with hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathering to protest the judicial reforms. Despite the opposition, the overhaul was advanced, with the first phase passed in July 2023 wherein the Supreme Court was stripped of its judicial right to strike down a passed law on the grounds of reasonableness despite over 70 years of being permitted to do so.

6. When she posts to Facebook, Barlev (2023) does not include each individual panel and instead just posts the entire cartoon as one image.

7. Sean Kleefeld (2020) has argued that monetising through publication is often an ultimate goal for webcomic creators because that is the primary way they earn income on their work.

8. In August 2023, Strauss announced it would cease advertising on the right-leaning Channel 14 after one of its political commentators called for the release of Yigal Amir, the man responsible for assassinating Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 (Religious Zionist rabbis, 2023)

9. I am grateful to the anonymous reviewer who made this connection for me.

10. I would be remiss to not mention Eshed and Fink’s (2003) HaGolem: Sipuro shel Komics Israeli [Hebrew]. Parodic in nature, it tells the history of an Israeli superhero called The Golem (who they created for their book) and the comic book series he starred in. While The Golem does include panels from the comic and Golem-related paraphernalia, these were all produced for the volume, with prose being the primary mode of communication. Therefore, despite elements of comics, The Golem is ultimately not a comic or graphic novel but a mock-history about a comic book character told through prose with accompanying images.

11. Nachmany’s decision to kill Sufganiyah Man and then bring him back to life is also a parody of the superhero genre. Notable examples of characters who have died and then returned from the grave include Superman, Supergirl, Batman, The Flash (Barry Allen), Jean Grey, Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man and Wolverine.