Earlier this year, Panel Pal Michael Kupperman released his memoir about his father, Joe, who was a child celebrity as a game show winner during World War 2, All the Answers. It's about looking at how his father actively tried to downplay his past, even to the point of being a recluse.
Within the context of All the Answers, Michael thinks about how his father may have been used--for a good purpose, but used all the same--as a way to prove anti-Semites like Henry Ford wrong. Taking to the electronic pages of The Nib and using his signature style, Michael digs deep into the context of the time, with an absolutely chilling depiction of Ford as a Karloffian Monster:
In both of these panels from the larger work, Ford is the central figure, looking as if he has control. All of the rest of the backgrounds are designed to put the focus squarely on him, especially in the first image, where the cars, the hands, and the paper all serve to frame the man's figure. His eyes are set within a black mask of death, adding to the look. It's really striking. Even though it's Michael's usual lines, I've never seem them look this scary before.
Flipping back to today's time, Michael notes that while his father would prefer not to think of the hatred of Jews he lived through, we are returning to a similar time (citing a 57% jump in attacks in 2017 in another panel) and thus must examine what came before, no matter how painful it is.
This whole essay really connects the reader in a personal way to Michael, who I've known for a long time now. The content isn't his usual comedy, but it's extremely important and worth another look, if you missed this comic when it ran originally. I'm very glad Michael shared it with us, and I hope you will, too.
You can read the comic in full here.
