Mission

The Jewish Comics Library of Seattle collects the works of Jewish comics artists and works by non Jewish comics artists on Jewish themes. Comics are broadly defined as any works combining graphic imagery with words in either single panel or sequential settings. This includes cartoons, comics and graphic novels but is not limited to them. Jewish works are broadly defined as any work by a Jewish artist, about a Jewish person or about Jewish identity with themes such as otherness, exile, assimilation, appropriation, the holocaust, Jew hatred, migration & wandering, authenticity etc.

Goal

The collection will be used to generate programming for Jewish education in both Jewish and non-Jewish schools and other educational environments. Individuals and groups with specific projects in mind will have the  benefit of access to the collection. It will also be available to researchers in Jewish culture, comics history and other related topics. Currently the physical collection is available by appointment.

Vision

The Jewish Comics Library will create a cultural focal point around the phenomenon of Jewish participation in this artform. Like Hollywood, Theater, Comedy, Music and Fashion, the Comics have been a fertile ground for Jewish creativity and entrepreneurship. Jews had access to these marginal artforms without the usual restrictions they encountered in other professions during the first half of the 20th century. The current trend in Graphic Novels  continues to add sustenance to the book publishing industry in large part because of the success of Jewish artists from the late 70s on, exploring Jewish identity in new ways, as the success of Will Eisner's opening graphic novel gambit in A Contract with God and Art Speigelman's monumental Maus. Simultaneously there is a dramatic uptick in academic interest in the phenomenon.

Establishing a physical presence will provide space for cultural activities related to the collection.  Workshops, classes, study groups and celebratory gatherings are all in the cards. This will take time to bring to fruition, thus part of the vision is change and adaptation.  Inspiration has been drawn from the Yiddishist movements  in 19th century Eastern Europe that spread to the US into the middle of the 20th century. It created a thriving, vibrant and distinctive Jewish culture within the host culture and was the impetus for the spread of Yiddish theater and literature. Combined with Klezmer music and a unique cuisine, the cultural Yiddish tradition continues today and is now reinforced by the expanding body of Jewish Graphic Novels. As are other varieties of Jewish cultural expression. Going forward we expect to see many more graphic stories and memoirs focused on the lived lives of Jews as well as the Jewish imagination. We hope to encourage the trend in its full diversity.