Comics Review
Graphic Novel Review: Jew Gangster
Our second GN of the week where we recommend books and GNs that people may have missed is Jew Gangster, by Joe Kubert, DC Comics. Kubert was a genius, an editor, a writer, an artist and an educator. His career spanned everything from superheroes to prehistoric stories and here in Jew Gangster, Kubert tells the story of Ruby Kaplan, a young Jewish man growing up in a tough Brooklyn neighbourhood in the 1930s. He falls in with the wrong crowd but can’t help but get drawn into this demi monde of loan sharks, murder and rival gangs. Kubert managed to make everything seem effortless and his simple lines belied a real sophistication and flair for composition and storytelling. The chapters are punctuated with some beautiful monochrome single images, displaying that Kubert wasn’t just a master of the line art. It treads similar ground to Kubert’s contemporary Will Eisner but it’s grittier and more naturalistic than Eisner’s work. Joe Kubert was a rare talent and this slice of one-off noir is definitely worth picking up…
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