Rice Lecture Series: A Tour of Israel Through Comics: An Interactive Talk and Demonstration with Comics Artist JT Waldman

Like the State of Israel itself, the literary representations of Israel have altered dramatically since the declaration of independence in 1948. Reaching well beyond a mere birthday celebration, the Rice Lecture Series includes three events that will dive into the evolution of the representation of Israel in literature of different genres, languages and audiences. These will include children’s literature, literature in English by Israeli authors, and comics and graphic novels.

JT Waldman

Celebrated comics creator JT Waldman is most known for his ground-breaking graphic novel Megillat Esther and his collaboration with legendary graphic memoir provocateur Harvey Pekar. The New York Times Bestselling, Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me came to be Pekar’s final publication that depicts the complex and ever-evolving Jewish-American relationship with Israel from the unique angle of an inter-generational conversation between Pekar and Waldman. During this presentation, Waldman will share his experience collaborating with Pekar while offering a survey of recent Israeli comics, thus locating his work within a wider context of depictions of Israel through comics. The talk will include an interactive element for participants to create their own comics about Israel.