Representations of Israel, literal and allegorical, in X-Men comics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22003371 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philip Smith (0000-0001-7781-4350, Savannah College of Art and Design, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 665-684 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Graphic Novels & Comics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2150-4857 • E-ISSN: 2150-4865 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/21504857.2021.1975791 |
| OpenAlex | W3200667082 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 5 |
This paper seeks to argue that the Zionist idea offers an effective lens through which we can understand the X-Men comics. Through the metaphor of mutants as Jews, Marvel has presented readers with both literal representations of Israel and what can be read as a Jewish state. Early storylines placed allegorically Jewish characters in Israel and appear to endorse the need for a mutant nation. Later comics, following shifts in international perception of Israel, feature the Israeli superhero Sabra, whose Zionist rhetoric is perennially ignored or curtailed. Most recently, the mutant nation of Krakoa, which provides safety and unity for a historically persecuted and globally-dispersed people, can be productively understood as a Zionist utopia, fulfiling the potential offered in earlier comics
Aesthetics · Art · Comics · Epistemology · Judaism · Linguistics · Literature · Metaphor · Perception · Rhetoric · Sociology · Education and Communication Studies · Health and Education Studies · History · Philosophy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |