New York, Nu York: The Con at the Cong

By ELLEN LEVITT
Updated: MAY 1, 2018 06:26
I hope the title of this essay doesn't make you make think that I'm writing about someone being swindled. No, this is a pun and word play sometimes has to edge into corny and questionable territory.
Okay, disclaimer over.
I attended events at a Con; to be more precise, a Comic Con, a convention dedicated to various aspects of comics, graphic novels, and things of that nature. Comic Cons have become very popular and a big, niche business in the past several years. New York City Comic Con (which I have attended twice) is a very big and ever growing annual event that brings together people who are interested not only in comics but also anime, science fiction, humor magazines and a lot more. There are Comic Cons in nearly every major city and some small ones as well and around the world.
And for the third year running, Brooklyn, New York has played host to a modest but fun and intriguing comic con devoted to Jewish themes and comics!
Located at Congregation Kol Israel (hence the "Cong: in my blog post title) on St.John's Place (isn't funny to learn that a synagogue is found on a street named for a saint?) Brooklyn Jewish Comic Con combined artwork, panels on comics, graphic novels, Orthodox Jewish fan gals, and none other than Doctor Ruth Westheimer. Also included in the day's festivities were davening sessions and a raffle. A snappy T-shirt was designed for the event, and comic book dealers set up shop in the synagogue sanctuary.
I sat in on two panels: 'Superman At 80" about the venerable super hero, and "Brooklyn: The Tough Jew Panel" which was interesting, but it ended up being more about the Lower East Side Jewish milieu. I was also pleased to see a piece of art done by my friend Lynne Cassouto, in which she depicted the characters of the Marvel Comic the Fantastic Four, celebrating Hanukkah! (The Human Torch lights the menorah, the Thing serves latkes, and so on.) 
Overall it was a fun, down to earth event that brings together pop culture and some very heavy topics, at times. Holocaust graphic novels? Yes, they are a thing. Jewish mobsters? Yes it is explored, in the graphic novel "Brownsville."
And it was also interesting to see this all located in an attractive synagogue, about 90-something years old, that is situated next to a subway train line. Periodically we would hear the Franklin Avenue Shuttle train rattle by. 
Jews and comics are certainly a thing.