Why is this Haggadah different than all other Haggadot?
Batman editor wants a place at your seder
A couple of months ago, we met cartoonist Jordan B. Gorfinkel, the former Batman editor whose endeavors now include workshops at Jewish day schools. At the time, he mentioned that he was working on a new Haggadah, where traditional text was translated into the vernacular of comic books.
Now, “The Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel” has launched on Indiegogo.com.
One might think the Haggadah would feature Batman’s nemesis the Riddler asking the Four Questions, but Mr. Gorfinkel tells us that the work is fully original, and it does not feature licensed characters. Instead, the illustrations by Israeli artist Erez Zadok focus on the familiar seder characters — ancient Israelites, reclining rabbis, and, in the original what-if scenario, we and our children and our children’s children as slaves in modern Egypt had God not redeemed our ancestors.
Mr. Gorfinkel’s campaign promises that he will “use every tool in the comics kit, including humor — a staple of Jewish tradition — to make even the most esoteric and/or non-linear sections engaging, as we bring history alive, making it relevant with the action, drama and excitement that’s always been inherent.”
Donors to the campaign, which seeks to raise $36,000, will get the first copies of the book to be printed next year — and the possibility of tax deductions for contributions above the $25 cost of the finished Haggadah, since the Haggadah is being published by a certified nonprofit organization. If you donate $1000 or more, you can have your face appear in a scene in the Haggadah. What better way to see yourself as having personally come out from Egypt?
comments