Jew Gangster

(iBooks, 2005)
™ and © 2005 Joe Kubert

The economic realities of the Great Depression turned 1930s New York into a cesspool of crime and poverty. Money was scarce and it seemed like the only way to survive was to be born rich or take what you wanted. Ruben “Ruby” Kaplan is a second generation Polish Jew, helping his family eke out an existence in the slums of the overheated city. One day, Ruby runs an errand for Monk, the local mob boss, and is astounded by his cash reward. Slowly, he is drawn into a world of crime, women and easy money. As he grows in wealth and power, he realizes he may be in a little over his head. As Ruby hardens himself to the darkness around him, he recalls the promise made to his father on his deathbed, who begged him…“Don’t be a Jew gangster.”

Another tightly-plotted and thought provoking original graphic novel written and drawn by the great Joe Kubert, who has nothing left to prove, but keeps proving it anyway.

– Jerry Smith

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

Joe Kubert is brilliantly poised to take the position of Graphic Novelist Laureate, vacated by the untimely passing of Will Eisner. With Jew Gangster, his follow-up to Yossel, Kubert has crafted another work that, while perhaps not autobiographical, is grounded in the world of his youth.

As Eisner did with his novel Fagin, Kubert provides his anti-hero with realism. Yes, he is a criminal, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. Ruby (short for Reuben, the Jewish gangster of the title) is a victim of his circumstances, making choices he feels he needs to make in order to survive in the tough world of Depression-era Brooklyn. Some of his friends follow in his footsteps; others take different paths, to differing degrees of success.

If the venture has any flaw, it’s a minor one. We’re already convinced that Ruby is not inherently a bad person. In the final pages, Ruby meets the “big boss” (whose appearance is unnecessarily rabbinic). The boss feels the need to justify their lifestyle a little too much. In that instance, less would be more.

— Jack Abramowitz

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#1 (Hardcover Edition)

September, 2005
Cover Price: $22.95
1 copy available for $5.25

Joe Kubert