Andrae and Gordon sort of forget about the comic itself. I’m not arguing for only one way of looking at comics, but it seems to me that any scholarship must acknowledge how these things were actually made, and when, and allow that to impact the analysis. I could list ten other heroes whose characteristics could be “Jewish.” Basically the authors are reaching here. So… where does that leave us? Beyond the problematic claims for motivation, while Funnyman certainly, as Andrae and Gordon point out, exemplifies an ethnic “hero” and was based on Danny Kaye, he’s not stated as “Jewish,” which leaves a wide open door. And if it’s not actually drawn by Shuster, the scorned and now liberated (to draw sexy girls in an effort to assert his masculinity - though in fact he didn’t - not until the S&M stuff of the ’50s) Superman creator, then how does that affect the thesis of the book? Similarly, Andrae has Siegel creating Toyman and the Prankster as antecedents to Funnyman‘s brand of humor, but Siegel, in fact, did not create those characters. And it has none of the more obvious visual ethnic references of, say, Eisner’s immediately post-War Spirit or the bulk of Jack Kirby’s work, both of which, in their frenetic, gnarled forms seem related (if not actually influenced by) Milt Gross and Harry Herschfield. Is a concept enough to make it “Jewish?” Or is it the creators? As drawn by a young Dick Ayers and who-knows-who-else ghosting for Shuster, it is not drawn in a way that reflects the comedic sensibility of Siegel’s attempted zaniness. That can be a bit problematic because Andrae and Gordon lean heavily on the meaning of the authorship of the feature and of elements of Superman.
It’s an odd entry in our current boom, situated less as a comic book of its time and more as an example of Jewish humor and the changing social mores possible for the artistic duo to capitalize on. The feature is partially reprinted and extensively written about in Thomas Andrae and Mel Gordon’s recent book Funnyman: The First Jewish Superhero. Funnyman-a six-issue series and short-lived newspaper comic, 1947-49, featuring a character who fought villains with pranks and gags-was Superman creators Siegel and Shuster’s last grasp at something all their own.
The Mid-Life Moment in Alternative Comics.You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me.Cage Match #3: My Brain is Hanging Upside Down (2008).
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