(New York Jewish Week) —  Jews and comic books — two deeply entwined entities — will be the subject of a new pop culture event this weekend in New York, but all fans in St. Louis are invited to attend and enjoy virtually.

Billed as the “ultimate comics and pop culture event,” the first-ever Jewish Comics Experience, or “JewCE,” will take place at the Center for Jewish History on Nov. 12. Created by Fabrice Sapolsky, a comic book creator and publisher, and Dr. Miriam Eve Mora, the director of academic and public programs at the Center for Jewish History, the event aims to be  “an inclusive convention, celebrating an industry largely created by Members of the Tribe, and promoting diverse Jewish narratives in comics and graphic novels,” according to the JewCE website.

How St. Louisans can participate

The convention will include panel discussions, meet-and-greets, exhibits and vendors. There will also be what the organizers believe is the first-ever awards ceremony held in celebration of Jewish comics and graphic novels, dubbed “The Jewcie Awards.”

On Sunday, Nov. 12, the Jewish Comic Experience will feature a full day of panels, workshops and events. All will be broadcast on Zoom. Tickets are on sale now for 18.00.

“It’s really looking at diverse Jewish representation in comics and graphic novels through Jewish characters, narratives, themes and ideas,” said Mora, describing how the event will celebrate both Jewish comics content and creators.

The history of Judaism and comics is long and rich, with Jewish stories arising in both popular comics and more esoteric ones. For example, Marvel briefly had a Jewish Black Panther character, while a new comic features an Asian-Jewish superhero. Meanwhile, some traditional Jewish texts have gotten the graphic novel treatment.