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We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust
Crucial comic book stories about the Holocaust and interviews with their artists and writers, with a cover drawn especially for this book by Neal Adams.
An amazing but forgotten chapter in comics history. Long before the Holocaust was taught in schools or presented in films such as Schindler's List, the youth of America was learning about the Nazi genocide from Batman, the X-Men, Captain America, and Sgt. Rock. Comics legend Neal Adams, Holocaust scholar Rafael Medoff, and comics historian Craig Yoe bring together a remarkable collection of comic book stories that introduced an entire generation to an engaging and important subject. We Spoke Out is an extraordinary journey into a compelling and essential topic.
An amazing but forgotten chapter in comics history. Long before the Holocaust was taught in schools or presented in films such as Schindler's List, the youth of America was learning about the Nazi genocide from Batman, the X-Men, Captain America, and Sgt. Rock. Comics legend Neal Adams, Holocaust scholar Rafael Medoff, and comics historian Craig Yoe bring together a remarkable collection of comic book stories that introduced an entire generation to an engaging and important subject. We Spoke Out is an extraordinary journey into a compelling and essential topic.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published March 27, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 27, 2024
Neal Adams and Craig Yoe look at how the Holocaust was portrayed in American comics. As America emerged as the clear winner of this catastrophic episode of history there was a 'blanking out' of the Holocaust; partly because many survivors were so traumatized that they were still dealing with the emotional toll it had taken, but also because the comic industry was trying to recreate itself even as the masked crusaders so associated with the Golden Age were no longer glittering in the eyes of fans. Important and well researched - a must for any comic fan.
September 21, 2022
A selection of comics that speak on the Holocaust either directly or indirectly. This was quite rare back in the day. I think after Maus, it became common for comics to talk about literally anything.
I'm surprised by some of the pieces published by Marvel and DC. They seem to have had more teeth back in the day (even with the comics code horseshit) then they do today.
The reproduction here is inconsistent. They're scans of the original comics, some higher quality than others, but I love the authentic feeling. It's better than having the garish recoloring Marvel/DC usually use to butcher Silver Age comics. Master Race in particular is beautiful here. I've seen it in B+W and the new color by Fantagraphics. This is the best it's ever looked, and they even include the cover by Jack Davis.
Some standouts:
Bernie Kriegstein and Al Feldstein - Master Race (1955)
It's a masterpiece in every way. The story is great, powerful. The art is ambitious with some really unique ways of showing movement.
Harvey Kurtzman and Wally Wood - Desert Fox (1951)
I think Kurtzman tells some really powerful war stories. Wood of course is an amazing artist. It both comes together here to tell a horrifying story of WW2.
Archie Goodwin and Gene Colan - Experiment in Fear (1967)
A terrifying tale of Nazi experimentations. It's fictional and has a bit of that EC horror story vibe to it.
Neal Adams - Night of The Reaper (1971, Batman #237)
A Batman tale where he deals with Nazis and a Holocaust survivor. This is one of the best short Batman stories I've ever read. A satisfying done-in-one comic. Batman deals with some real world issues but it's still a comic book tale.
Joe Kubert - Totentanz (1971)
The first comic book appearance of someone who smuggled Jewish refugees from Nazi territory. Probably the best thing I've yet by Kubert. Ends with the message "Make War No More", hard to disagree with that statement after reading this book (or literally any realistic book on war)
Neal Adams - Thou Shalt Not Kill
A "fun" revenge story. It feels like something out of Conan the Barbarian. A golem statue comes to life and saves Jews in a city attacked by Nazis.
I really didn't enjoy any of the stories written by Chris Claremont. I think I just don't like his writing style.
I'm surprised by some of the pieces published by Marvel and DC. They seem to have had more teeth back in the day (even with the comics code horseshit) then they do today.
The reproduction here is inconsistent. They're scans of the original comics, some higher quality than others, but I love the authentic feeling. It's better than having the garish recoloring Marvel/DC usually use to butcher Silver Age comics. Master Race in particular is beautiful here. I've seen it in B+W and the new color by Fantagraphics. This is the best it's ever looked, and they even include the cover by Jack Davis.
Some standouts:
Bernie Kriegstein and Al Feldstein - Master Race (1955)
It's a masterpiece in every way. The story is great, powerful. The art is ambitious with some really unique ways of showing movement.
Harvey Kurtzman and Wally Wood - Desert Fox (1951)
I think Kurtzman tells some really powerful war stories. Wood of course is an amazing artist. It both comes together here to tell a horrifying story of WW2.
Archie Goodwin and Gene Colan - Experiment in Fear (1967)
A terrifying tale of Nazi experimentations. It's fictional and has a bit of that EC horror story vibe to it.
Neal Adams - Night of The Reaper (1971, Batman #237)
A Batman tale where he deals with Nazis and a Holocaust survivor. This is one of the best short Batman stories I've ever read. A satisfying done-in-one comic. Batman deals with some real world issues but it's still a comic book tale.
Joe Kubert - Totentanz (1971)
The first comic book appearance of someone who smuggled Jewish refugees from Nazi territory. Probably the best thing I've yet by Kubert. Ends with the message "Make War No More", hard to disagree with that statement after reading this book (or literally any realistic book on war)
Neal Adams - Thou Shalt Not Kill
A "fun" revenge story. It feels like something out of Conan the Barbarian. A golem statue comes to life and saves Jews in a city attacked by Nazis.
I really didn't enjoy any of the stories written by Chris Claremont. I think I just don't like his writing style.
April 4, 2022
"People don’t usually associate so profound and forbidding a topic as the Holocaust with costumed superheroes and bombastic villains who inhabit the world of comic books. But the truth is that those colorful characters aren’t the only residents of the comic book universe, and comic books can serve more purposes than entertainment alone."
When asked about a connection between Holocaust and comic books, most fans would immediately reference X-Men villain Magneto’s origin story. But as early as the 1950’s, comics were one of few genres teaching about Holocaust, as Stan Lee eloquently states above in his opening introduction. (Read it again and you'll hear it in his voice.)
Stan Lee, Neal Adams, and Jewish and Holocaust historian Dr Rafael Medoff, in each of their own short introductions, describe the decades following the Holocaust as a “willful blindness” in America, even within the Jewish community. So for many young Americans, this was their education about what happened, aside from the Anne Frank miniseries and perhaps the Nuremberg trials. Superheroes (and their Jewish creators) have protested fascism since Cap clocked Hitler in the jaw his first cover - in 1940 a full year before the US became involved in WWII, which brought death threats to Simon & Kirby's doorstep. But this anthology focuses exclusively on stories about the Holocaust itself, across different publishers, before it was openly discussed and taught in schools.
This five-star anthology isn’t five stars because the content is enjoyable in the traditional sense; the stories aren't all fantastic, and many have that exposition heavy dialogue. But some are stand-out classics by giants who heavily influenced the field. Rather than enjoying this book in the way we traditionally consume entertainment, these stories honor how creators spoke out when it was unpopular and even dangerous to do so; to learn and remember a difficult history, as the creators intended, especially decades later, with less and less living survivors, and as antisemitism and white supremacy becomes more normalized and resurgent in America and across the world.
Each issue is accompanied by a brief introduction explaining its historical and cultural context, along with backgrounds of the creators, as well as why they were potentially motivated to write this particular story. These introductions are superbly written and critical to understanding not just the historical context, but also the great indifference (as well as explicit antisemitism) by Americans and the government during and afterwards. (The US government and others shortened Nazis' conviction sentences and even offered them employment, for example.) The frustration and pain in these Jewish creators is palpable.
It would have been so easy to ignore – to write and draw fictional horror, war and superhero comics. Instead, these Jewish creators, filled with rage about the genocide of their own families and relatives, and the indifference of fellow Americans and their government, they did the right thing. While some of the comics are cathartic revenge stories, most if not all still serve an educative purpose for its readers, which still makes them valuable today. (Not to mention, we are still just as much at risk for that indifference.)
Now to the comics themselves. This is a fantastic cross section of comics, including war and horror stories along with superheroes arriving about midway through the book, including Captain America, Batman and X-Men. Readers should go through everything, but it’s also easy enough to select stories that are most interesting by genre, writer or artist. I was particularly struck by Harvey Kurtzman’s direct rebuttal of Nazi soldier Edwin Rommel (aka “Desert Fox”) in Frontline Combat’s “Desert Fox”, and Gene Colan’s gorgeous black and white art for Eerie’s “Experiment of Fear.”
But Batman #237, “The Night of the Reaper!” by Neal Adams and Danny O’Neill really took the cake for me (an issue already famous for a few cameos). It not only turned the survivor-Nazi revenge story on its head but Neal Adams’ gorgeous, classic Batman art is unparalleled. Another favorite is Uncanny X-Men’s Gold Rush story, one of few in the collection I was familiar with – X-Men fans might be surprised to learn that Magneto and Xavier actually met in Haifa, Israel, and Magneto's origin story was actually written by Chris Claremont (also Jewish) in the 80's - clearly later than the first reference to the Holocaust in comic books.
Though the stories themselves are hit or miss, We Spoke Out is a must read anthology because of its historical significance. A Jewish generation of creators sought to process and teach the Holocaust to an apathetic and (still) antisemitic country, including rebelling against the political and revisionist history of world powers, all while expanding upon a uniquely American superhero genre and comic book medium. The anthology also serves as a powerful reminder of the origins of comic books – Jewish and antifascist, for all you Comicsgate trolls – and the importance of comic books as education and literature, as a powerful tool for speaking out, and not just entertainment.
May 2, 2018
A marvelous collection of comics stories from mainstream publishers — both current and classic, from EC and Warren to DC and Marvel — that concern the Holocaust in one form or another. In some cases, the references are “softened” to where there isn’t as much in the way of direct reference. But in most instances, the representation of the Holocaust, or of its repurcushions and implications, is confronted head on. This is the kind of collection we should come to expect from Yoe Books!
March 9, 2020
In The Holocaust in American Life, Paul Novick demonstrates how a growing cultural acceptance of the term "Holocaust" and the politicization of the word grew out of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War in 1967. Prior to that time, survivors of the Nazi death camps, especially Jews, tended to remain silent, even forgetful, of their pasts. In this very interesting collection of comics with Holocaust themes that ranges from the 1950s through the early 2000s, the pre-1967 stories confirm Novick's thesis. The later ones tend to accept the idea of only Jewish victims, also buying into the dominant narrative of the times.
Each issue, which cover the gamut of American comics companies, begins with a thoughtful, concise essay bringing in related themes of the plot. While I might quibble with a couple of minor details, overall they are excellent starting points for future reading and research. This is the kind of book that would go well for birthday or Christmas gifts for thoughtful young people who like comics and see them as an avenue to more learning. And there's something in there for experts or the well-read as well.
Each issue, which cover the gamut of American comics companies, begins with a thoughtful, concise essay bringing in related themes of the plot. While I might quibble with a couple of minor details, overall they are excellent starting points for future reading and research. This is the kind of book that would go well for birthday or Christmas gifts for thoughtful young people who like comics and see them as an avenue to more learning. And there's something in there for experts or the well-read as well.
November 4, 2018
In this era where so many supposed comics fans claim that they don't want politics in their comics, it's important to remember that politics have always been there.
This volume is a history of the depiction of the holocaust in comics, and not a more general one of politics, but they show how comics writers and artists have always introduced complex subjects into their work.
Some of the stories here are more powerful than others, but they are all important reminders of what happened both when they were first published, and in the troubled times we live in today.
This volume is a history of the depiction of the holocaust in comics, and not a more general one of politics, but they show how comics writers and artists have always introduced complex subjects into their work.
Some of the stories here are more powerful than others, but they are all important reminders of what happened both when they were first published, and in the troubled times we live in today.
December 3, 2018
This is a superb collection of comics stretching from the 1940s to the early 2000s. A set of introductory essays to each artifact that turns the anthology into a self-paced curriculum on the Holocaust and popular artists' and authors' attempts to come to terms with its inhumanity. It contains Stan Lee's last published writing in the introduction. I spent almost all of 2018 taking it in piece by piece.
January 12, 2020
I liked Stan Lee's foreword more than anything in this collection. The rest is good too. Especially the first story.
December 8, 2021
In the decades between the end of World War II and the prevalence of the Holocaust as a subject in popular culture, comics did the heavy lifting of educating young readers about the atrocities. This is a terrific collection of some amazing (and quite frankly entirely mediocre) comics with a mission, interspersed with short essays about the creators and the topics they cover. It is a mitzvah that Neal Adams, Rafael Medoff, and Craig Yoe have done for the comics industry and the world.
June 10, 2021
This book offers some excellent insight into the Holocaust and some of the efforts by the previous generation of comic book creators to bring more focus on this troubled time. Instead of looking at the big picture this instead focuses more on the humans and the humanity involved. It is a short read, with chapters being taken mostly up with the comics themselves with only two or three page introductions to put them in context.
November 29, 2018
I can't really tell what makes me give 5 stars to a book while not to others.
The truth is, I hardly ever do it, even with books I really loved.
I think it's a combination of timing, how the book made me feel, and what I got from it.
For starters, and that's not something I could've predicted, the very first and very last words of this book were written by Stan Lee (RIP.) When I read the intro he wrote, he was still alive, mere 21 days ago, and today, when I finished, reading his conclusion to the last chapter, he's no longer with us. You truly can't plan these things.
And then we have this wonderful book, which combines two things that are very close to my heart, in two, fundamentally different ways. Comics books, and the Holocaust.
I think that first and foremost this is a piece of history, a glimpse into how the subject of the Holocaust was handled (or at times mishandled) by the American society/comic book industry, a couple of decades after the war.
Each comic had an intro that gave historical background, and I truly feel like I learned something new from every single chapter. Not something new about comics necessarily, something new about the Holocaust.
Most touching is the final chapter about Dina Babbit, which they spoke of at NYCC, and which will also remind you of Woman in Gold. It shows that the fight for justice is never over.
The penultimate chapter was talking about Charles Xavier's visit to Israel, which, amazingly, I only learned about two years ago when I was googling Legion's bio. So when the chapter came up I was so excited because I knew what this arc led too. We also meet Baron Strucker and that's a connection to "The Gifted."
I love how all publishers didn't hesitate and let the writers use these issues for free, so it's also not limited to one publisher.
Highly recommend this one!
The truth is, I hardly ever do it, even with books I really loved.
I think it's a combination of timing, how the book made me feel, and what I got from it.
For starters, and that's not something I could've predicted, the very first and very last words of this book were written by Stan Lee (RIP.) When I read the intro he wrote, he was still alive, mere 21 days ago, and today, when I finished, reading his conclusion to the last chapter, he's no longer with us. You truly can't plan these things.
And then we have this wonderful book, which combines two things that are very close to my heart, in two, fundamentally different ways. Comics books, and the Holocaust.
I think that first and foremost this is a piece of history, a glimpse into how the subject of the Holocaust was handled (or at times mishandled) by the American society/comic book industry, a couple of decades after the war.
Each comic had an intro that gave historical background, and I truly feel like I learned something new from every single chapter. Not something new about comics necessarily, something new about the Holocaust.
Most touching is the final chapter about Dina Babbit, which they spoke of at NYCC, and which will also remind you of Woman in Gold. It shows that the fight for justice is never over.
The penultimate chapter was talking about Charles Xavier's visit to Israel, which, amazingly, I only learned about two years ago when I was googling Legion's bio. So when the chapter came up I was so excited because I knew what this arc led too. We also meet Baron Strucker and that's a connection to "The Gifted."
I love how all publishers didn't hesitate and let the writers use these issues for free, so it's also not limited to one publisher.
Highly recommend this one!
July 20, 2018
With so many books about the Holocaust being published each year, it can be difficult to remember that, at one time, discussing the subject in public was almost taboo. Yet, during this period, one art format – the comic book – managed to produce works about the event, even if the victims’ Jewish identities were often not emphasized. In “We Spoke Out: Comic Books and the Holocaust” (Yoe Books/IDW Publishing), Neal Adams, Rafael Medoff and Craig Yoe discuss how comic books from the 1950s-‘80s spoke about the Nazi war against the Jews. The book also includes 18 comic book stories that illustrate the range of these works, with the tales featuring everything from soldiers to survivors to superheroes.
See the rest of my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...
See the rest of my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...
October 23, 2018
I think the authors claim a little too much credit for teaching young readers about the Holocaust--growing up in the 1960s, I had several units in school that either touched on or covered it, including a class reading of Diary of Anne Frank, so comics were hardly the only educational or even pop cultural outlet for Holocaust information. But the republished stories themselves are interesting.
January 9, 2019
This is a collection of several comics that treated the holocaust in their stories. The writers discussed and fought against nazis and the abuse they waged against people such as Jews and minorities.
March 16, 2019
Never forget.
April 20, 2019
I learned things about the Holocaust I didn't know.
I knew it was ugly, horrific, but this made it somehow more real.
I knew it was ugly, horrific, but this made it somehow more real.
June 15, 2022
A fascinating book containing a sample of World War II Nazi stories contained in comics from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. The introductory notes to each story have interesting tidbits of history and trivia, including:
* It was a common practice to not give writers credit for some comics, lest they either be poached by publishing competitors or be associated with a “low brow art form.”
* The U.S. government did not want to offend the new West German allies so they took a more relaxed approach to Nazis following the end of the war.
* The U.S., British and Soviets had a chance to bomb the railroads leading to Auschwitz but failed to do so.
* The Comics Code Authority was a potential minefield for publishers.
* The references to Jews in the concentration camps did not appears until years after the war.
* Around 10% of SS officers ever faced trial, with a tiny number of convictions.
* Public sentiment was of Irwin Rommel as a brilliant strategist, not as an architect of destruction in furtherance of the Nazi agenda.
* Chris Claremont gave Magneto an origin story that seemingly justifies his actions against mutant persecution. Magneto is not driven by pure evil but a willingness to avoid a second Holocaust against mutants.
Overall a great book of Funnybooks for fans of World War II history.
* It was a common practice to not give writers credit for some comics, lest they either be poached by publishing competitors or be associated with a “low brow art form.”
* The U.S. government did not want to offend the new West German allies so they took a more relaxed approach to Nazis following the end of the war.
* The U.S., British and Soviets had a chance to bomb the railroads leading to Auschwitz but failed to do so.
* The Comics Code Authority was a potential minefield for publishers.
* The references to Jews in the concentration camps did not appears until years after the war.
* Around 10% of SS officers ever faced trial, with a tiny number of convictions.
* Public sentiment was of Irwin Rommel as a brilliant strategist, not as an architect of destruction in furtherance of the Nazi agenda.
* Chris Claremont gave Magneto an origin story that seemingly justifies his actions against mutant persecution. Magneto is not driven by pure evil but a willingness to avoid a second Holocaust against mutants.
Overall a great book of Funnybooks for fans of World War II history.
February 16, 2024
Excellent and quite entertaining work on cartoonists' efforts to document the horrors of the Holocaust. At the end of the book, there is a moving tribute to Dina Babbitt, a woman who was coerced by the Angel of Death, Dr Josef Mengele, to paint portraits of gypsys to help him discover differences in skin tones that might make them distinguishable from Aryans. He also forced her to paint gruesome portraits of some of his experiments. Her efforts to recover her artwork from the Auchwitz Museum in Poland have thus far ended in failure. She died in 2011 having never recovered her artwork.
April 25, 2022
A must read for everyone to know what was!
As I was growing up I never read any of these comics. I learned of it seeing the BBC series World at War about the Holocaust. I still cry !
As I was growing up I never read any of these comics. I learned of it seeing the BBC series World at War about the Holocaust. I still cry !
June 13, 2022
Dr Medoff's introductions, combined with great essays by Craig Yoe, Neil Adams, and Stan Lee, provide historical context for these comic book stories - stories that were groundbreaking and still have compelling moments, even where they haven't aged well.
November 20, 2022
Incredible history of how the Holocaust was portrayed through comics and superheroes ---before there was any holocaust education in other formats.
Insightful comments before each selection give artistic and historical context.
An enlightening book -- even for a non-comic-book reader like myself.
Insightful comments before each selection give artistic and historical context.
An enlightening book -- even for a non-comic-book reader like myself.
January 24, 2022
An important look at holocaust education through comics from to 50s to the 80s.
November 28, 2023
Everyone should read this.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews