Troll-killing was just not a Shabbat-thing.

by dlevy [➚] · Thursday, December 18th, 2008

“In most ways, Mirka liked her stepmother Fruma.” Okay, it’s not quite “And there came a day when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes found themselves united against a common threat,” but allmost one year ago, these words opened the story of Hereville, a weekly webcomic telling the story of an eleven-year-old Yiddish-speaking Orthodox girl who wants to become a dragon-slayer. Beautifully balancing the feel of a Yiddish folktale and a fantasy novel, the story has been unfolding on Wednesdays over the last year. Today, with the posting of page 57, the story draws to a close. In between, the story was published in hardcopy, sold to a major publisher for a forthcoming expanded edition (due in 2010), and endured an online debate over the comic’s portrayal of Shabbat.

Hereville is the work of Barry Deutsch, who also writes Ampersand, a political cartoon published in Dollars and Sense. Hereville is a complete story with a satisfying ending, but in the tradition of the best fantasy stories, it also is the first of what could be a great series of tales. Deutsch has expressed interest in continuing Mirka’s story in the future, and I hope he does.

Beyond the thrill of a well-told story that is steeped in Jewish culture without feeling forced or condescending, it’s a pleasure to read a story with an Orthodox heroine who’s both a feminist and feminine without being, well, a cartoon.

Filed under Arts & Culture, Comics, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Feminism, Gender, On The Web, Stories, Yiddish

4 Responses to “Troll-killing was just not a Shabbat-thing.”

Thanks dlevy, I just went to read the whole thing through and loved it!

—chillul Who? · December 18th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Deutsch, and I’ve been following Hereville since it started. It’s nice to see it come to a conclusion, though it may have been somewhat less than satisfying.

—B.BarNavi · December 18th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
[...] the blog Jewschool, which I’ve liked for a long time, posted a very positive review, as well. Beyond the thrill of a well-told story that is steeped in Jewish culture without feeling [...]

—Hereville » Blog Archive » Two positive mentions of “Hereville” · December 26th, 2008 at 5:16 am
[...] the blog Jewschool, which I’ve liked for a long time, posted a very positive review, as well. Beyond the thrill of a well-told story that is steeped in Jewish culture without feeling [...]

—Alas, a blog » Blog Archive » Two positive mentions of “Hereville” · December 26th, 2008 at 5:18 am

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