JewCE NYC

and Henry Winkler

Like a lot of native New Yorkers, I grew up Jew…ish. And because my father is half-Jewish, it’s in my blood. It’s in my culture.

I was raised in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I lived across the street from H&H Bagels and Zabar's. I ate pastrami sandwiches at Katz's Delicatessen, matzo brei at Odessa, matzoh ball soup at Veselka, egg barley at The 2^nd Avenue Deli, potato pancakes at Teresa's, and Nathan's hot dogs in Coney Island. My godmother was Academy Award winning actress, Shelley Winters who, not only introduced my parents to each other, but often served my family bagels and cream cheese with chives, lox, capers and red onion on a Sunday. I was not a fan of the lox. My mother's Polish side cooked us homemade Pierogies and Borscht. My first job was working in a candy & cigar shop for a kind Jewish man named Sol Slotnik. One summer I served Kosher take-out food in Wall Street. I've been steeping in the Russian-Turkish bathhouse and other Banya's since I was 16 years old.

But my exposure to the Jewish culture wasn’t all food and hot water. Jews invented comic books and, arguably, created the tenets of what makes a superhero. A concept I’ve dedicated most of my life exploring in my work.

I’ve been invited to be a guest at the inaugural JewCE aka The Jewish Comics Experience on Sunday, November 12th, 2023 at the Center for Jewish History, 15 W 16th Street, NYC 10011. The night before, I’ll be handing out an award for “Artist Honoree of the Year” at the JewCIE’s.

Check out this panel I'm gonna be on:

From strength to strength: Jewish superheroes through the ages!
"From Superman’s Jewish metaphor to the Thing’s “conversion” to Judaism to Kitty Pryde’s proud Jewishness to Harley Quinn’s, um, whatever’s going on there—Jewish context, themes, and identity have been part of superheroes from the very start. Join moderator Roy Schwartz and industry superstars Brian Michael Bendis (via Zoom), Dean Haspiel, E. Lockhart and Frank Miller for a lively discussion on the history and meaning of super mensches and maidels!"

Click HERE to see the rest of the Sunday panels schedule.

As pictured above, I donated a piece of original COVID COP art for the JewCE art auction. Click HERE if interested in owning this sexy piece of the pandemic.

I’ll also be tabling and selling copies of Covid Cop and Billy Dogma.

I briefly met Henry Winkler at a comix event years ago (I believe he was wearing a pink sweater and corduroy khakis) and I interrupted him as he was exiting and told him how important he was to me. To my childhood. He turned around, extended his hand, looked me dead in my eyes and asked me my name. What did I do? Etc./etc. He took my moment about him and made it about me. Made it about us. Two humans talking to each other and connecting with each other. And his persona, his warmth and generosity only elevated his legend to me. A class act.

While reading Winkler’s memoir, BEING HENRY, The Fonz…and Beyond, I discovered he grew up right around the corner from where I grew up in the Upper West Side. And we both went to the same elementary school, PS 87.

Whoa.

—Dino

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