Last year, JT Waldman and the good folks at JPS Interactive put together a little thing they liked to call “People of the Comic Book.” With a gorgeous book of their own on Jews and comics, From Krakow to Krypton, JPS has staked their territory in the field — and this 4-round competition nicely cements it.
The first-round winners were sometimes expected (fan favorite Shadowcat, an X-Man who proclaims her Jewishness with a Star of David necklace, vs. Go-Girl, a cool-but-obscure superhero who just happens to be named Lindsay Goldman) and sometimes surprising. I mean, the Thing beat Superman!? (Yes, I voted for the Thing, but that’s because I love an underdog. Plus, that scene in “Fantastic Four” where Thing says kaddish is so damn cool.) I also have to protest the inclusion of Magneto, who is sometimes referred to as Jewish, but is also referred to as Romani — a fact which provoked extensive debate on our very own site.
Now, JPS has announced the winners of Round I — and stepped up their game for the next Clash of the Jews. Some wickedness abounds. For one thing, Stan Lee (who defeated movie-star Harvey Pekar in the first round) is up against his own creation, the (aforementioned) Thing. For another, Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is fighting Sgt. Rock — an anachronistic match if there ever was one; although Willow’s ex-hookup-buddy, Xander Harris, was ever so fond of dropping Sgt. Rock allusions back on Buffy. Personally, I’m kind of hoping that Shadowcat will sweep in and rock the whole series…but don’t let me sway your vote. Just go there and cast it yourself.
And, just so you know who you’re voting for, here’s the chart of the competition so far:
