Roy Schwartz, author of Is Superman Circumcised?  The Complete Jewish History of the World’s Greatest Hero, will be giving a talk at the Temple-Tifereth Israel in Beechwood.

Roy has written for a wide range of publications, including New York Daily News, Jerusalem Post and Philosophy Now. He currently writes about pop culture for The Forward and CNN.com. His professional writing is similarly diverse, including educational organizations, law firms, tech companies, toy companies and production studios.

From the summary of the book:

Superman is the original superhero, an American icon, and arguably the most famous character in the world–and he’s Jewish! Introduced in June 1938, the Man of Steel was created by two Jewish teens, Jerry Siegel, the son of immigrants from Eastern Europe, and Joe Shuster, an immigrant. They based their hero’s origin story on Moses, his strength on Samson, his mission on the golem, and his nebbish secret identity on themselves. They made him a refugee fleeing catastrophe on the eve of World War II and sent him to tear Nazi tanks apart nearly two years before the US joined the war.

In the following decades, Superman’s mostly Jewish writers, artists, and editors continued to borrow Jewish motifs for their stories, basing Krypton’s past on Genesis and Exodus, its society on Jewish culture, the trial of Lex Luthor on Adolf Eichmann’s, and a future holiday celebrating Superman on Passover.

A fascinating journey through comic book lore, American history, and Jewish tradition, this book examines the entirety of Superman’s career from 1938 to date, and is sure to give readers a newfound appreciation for the Mensch of Steel!

This event, and all events for Superman’s Cleveland, is funded in part by Ohio Humanities.

Find out more about this event series here!