Hoppel Poppel Kosher Comix

    (Literati, 2002)
™ and © Litterati Comics

Oy! Hoppel Poopel Kosher Comix is so funny, you’ll tokkeh plotz! But only if you farshtay a bissel Yiddish. (Translation: You’ll bust a gut laughing, but only if you understand a smattering of Yiddish.)

It’s unclear who or what “Hoppel Poppel” is (it does not appear to be Yiddish for “Hop on Pop”), but the comics are very entertaining. There are a variety of story types in here, ranging from tales from the alter haim (the “old country”), to the Biblical tale of “Noah Zark,” to a couple of talking dogs on the street. Most, however, are stories of modern Jews just trying to get along. But no matter how modern the characters may be, whether they be rabbis of New Age sects, assimilated, or religiously unaffiliated, they all speak with generous doses of mameh loshon (the “mother tongue,” i.e., Yiddish).

Sure, there’s a glossary, but it’s kind of annoying to flip back to it three or four times on every page. Even those of us who thought we knew a fair amount of Yiddish will still have occasional need for the glossary. The stories, written and illustrated by Ken Eichenbaum, are truly funny, but you get the feeling that it’s strictly an ethnic joke. Such jokes can only be told by a member of that ethnic group to another member of the same group. For a non-member to tell it — or even to laugh at it — might be misconstrued as racist.

— Jack Abramowitz
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