JewCE! The Jewish Comics Experience 2024 is only getting more popular

JewCE! The Jewish Comics Experience is back, bigger, and bolder! JewCE returned for its second year Sunday, November 10 at the Center for Jewish History in downtown New York City. Featuring a mosaic of legendary comic creators, panels, artist alley, family-friendly activities, and more. JewCE! celebrates Jewish culture’s transformative impact on comics and pop culture across demographics.

The JewCE! event is everything great about Comic Con with a deep appreciation for the contributions and Jewish roots in sequential art. JewCE! at the Center of Jewish History was an amazing event. A full circle of comics, culture and new expressions of Jewish identity through this powerful visual narrative art form was super exciting. From funny pages to graphic novels, from kids entertainment to mature themes, from journalism and unique vehicles of empathy and education. Comics have developed way beyond the Jewish origins but have also stayed true to accessing often overlooked visual language of expression.

I asked Roy Schwartz to share with us whats new this year:

“JewCE! 2023 was a runaway success! We knew it was going to be popular. We had no idea how popular was a packed house full of top notch creators. Lots of press and people had a really good time. It was positive. It was celebratory, it was loving. It really was a love letter, both to the comic book industry and the superhero genre and its origins in the New York Jewish community. And we’re very excited to have JewCE! 2024.”

I attended the panel  “American (Jewish) Splendor:  Celebrating Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner.” hosted by a line up including moderator Danny Fingeroth, Dean Haspiel, Peter Koper, Josh Neufeld, Jeff Newell, Arie Kaplan. I enjoyed hearing them share their stories of underground comics world.

This year also included a panel on “Leadership and Legacy: Trina Robbins Tribute” honoring the life and impact of legendary comics creator hosted by Heidi MacDonald of Comics Beat, Barbra “Willy” Mendes, and Barbra Slate. The JewCE Career Achievement Award, named in honor of the late Trina Robbins, commemorates her remarkable contributions to comics. A celebrated cartoonist, writer, and editor. Robbins made her mark with stories that often highlighted Jewish subjects and women’s perspectives.

From the Eisner-nominated A Minyen Yidn—an adaptation of her father’s Yiddish book—to the graphic biography of Holocaust survivor Lily Renée, and her own Jewish teenage superheroine, GoGirl!, Robbins’ work spanned over half a century. She won multiple Eisner Awards, was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2013, and joined the Wizard World Hall of Legends in 2017.

Overall JewCE! 2024 continues an exciting new chapter in the world of comics bringing new panel discussions talented artists and creators together in a unique way. Along with a documentary JewCE! continues to uncover the real-life origin of comic books and superheroes like never seen before!