Arie Kaplan
Encyclopedia
Arie Kaplan is a writer and comedian. He is the author of the book Masters of the Comic Book Universe Revealed!, and a writer for MAD Magazine. He lives in New York City
.
at New York University
. After working for film producer Anthony Rhulen, Kaplan embarked on a career as a freelance writer.
, Tiger Beat
, Entertainment Weekly
, Time Out New York, the Utne Reader
, and other publications. He has also won acclaim for exploring the role Jews have played in the history of both comedy writing and the comic book industry. Several years ago, Kaplan wrote a three-part series called "Kings of Comics" about Jews in comics for Reform Judaism
Magazine. In that series, he interviewed such comics luminaries as Al Jaffee
, Stan Lee
, Will Eisner
, Art Spiegelman
, Jerry Robinson
, Paul Kupperberg
, Trina Robbins
, Drew Friedman, Judd Winick
, Chris Claremont
, Jon Bogdanove
, and Joe Kubert
. In his role as an entertainment journalist, Kaplan has also interviewed recording artists, comedians, filmmakers, and cartoonists, including R. Kelly
, N Sync, Carl Reiner
, Susie Essman
, Larry Gelbart
, Sam Gross
, Tom Leopold
, Nora Ephron
, and Lewis Black
.
In 2008 Kaplan wrote a Speed Racer
comic book mini-series called Speed Racer: The Chronicle of the Racer for IDW Publishing
. He has also written two Ben 10
comic book scripts for the DC Comics
title Cartoon Network Action Pack. He is the writer/creator of the children's comic strip "Dave Danger, Action Kid" which ran in Reform Judaism Magazine from 2005-2007.
A writer for MAD Magazine since 2000, Kaplan has described it as a dream to work for pioneering satire publication. Some of his best-known MAD pieces are the "Gulf Wars Episode 2: Clone of the Attacks" poster, "What if Chris Rock Performed At A Bar Mitzvah?" and "MAD's New 'Sesame Street' Characters That Better Reflect Today's World." The Gulf Wars poster—co-written by Kaplan and Scott Sonneborn and illustrated by Scott Bricher—was shown on Fox News, and was written about in the national press.
In Masters, Kaplan profiles the lives and careers of a diverse range of icons of the comic book genre, including Stan Lee
(Spider-Man
); Neil Gaiman
(Sandman
); Marjane Satrapi
(Persepolis
, Art Spiegelman
(Maus
); Dwayne McDuffie
(Static Shock
); and Will Eisner
(The Spirit
). At an event at MoCCA
celebrating the release of the book Kaplan was asked what the comic artists he interviewed—such as Eisner, Spiegelman, and Gaiman—have in common. He said that they were "elevating the art" and showing comics to be "art with a capital A." On the panel to discuss Kaplan's work was Jerry Robinson
, legendary creator of The Joker
, Robert Sikoryak
, who does comic adaptations of literature, and Danny Fingeroth
, former Spider-Man
editor at Marvel Comics
and author of "Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society."
Kaplan's book, From Krakow to Krypton: The history of Jews in Comics, came out in Sept 2008 from JPS, with a foreword by American Splendor
creator Harvey Pekar
.
Arie Kaplan has taught at temple Sharay Tafila in New York City.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early life
Kaplan attended the Tisch School of the ArtsTisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. After working for film producer Anthony Rhulen, Kaplan embarked on a career as a freelance writer.
Career
Although he is also a comedian and a cartoonist, Arie Kaplan is best known as a writer. Kaplan has written for Teen BeatTeen Beat
Teen Beat was an American magazine geared towards teenaged readers.First published in August 1976, the magazine was preceded by sister publications 16 Magazine, published in 1956, and Tiger Beat, which was first published in 1965...
, Tiger Beat
Tiger Beat
Tiger Beat is an American fan magazine marketed primarily to adolescent girls. It is currently published by Laufer Media, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, which also produces its sister publication, Bop....
, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, Time Out New York, the Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
, and other publications. He has also won acclaim for exploring the role Jews have played in the history of both comedy writing and the comic book industry. Several years ago, Kaplan wrote a three-part series called "Kings of Comics" about Jews in comics for Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism (magazine)
Reform Judaism is the official magazine of the Union for Reform Judaism. Its print edition has a quarterly circulation to 300,000 households, synagogues, and other Jewish institutions.- Awards and academic recognition :...
Magazine. In that series, he interviewed such comics luminaries as Al Jaffee
Al Jaffee
Abraham Jaffee , known as Al Jaffee, is an American cartoonist. He is notable for his work in the satirical magazine Mad, including his trademark feature, the Mad Fold-in. As of 2010, Jaffee remains a regular in the magazine after 55 years and is its longest-running contributor...
, Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
, Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
, Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.-Career:...
, Paul Kupperberg
Paul Kupperberg
Paul Kupperberg is a former editor for DC Comics, and a prolific writer of comic books and newspaper strips.-Biography:Kupperberg entered the comics field from comics fandom, as had his brother, writer/artist Alan Kupperberg...
, Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins
Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
, Drew Friedman, Judd Winick
Judd Winick
Judd Winick is an American comic book, comic strip and television writer/artist and former reality television personality...
, Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
, Jon Bogdanove
Jon Bogdanove
Jon Bogdanove is an American comic book artist and writer. He is best known for his work on Power Pack, Superman: The Man of Steel, and for creating the character Steel with writer Louise Simonson in 1993.-Comics:...
, and Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
. In his role as an entertainment journalist, Kaplan has also interviewed recording artists, comedians, filmmakers, and cartoonists, including R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
, N Sync, Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
, Susie Essman
Susie Essman
Susan "Susie" Essman is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, television producer, and voice artist. She is best known for her role as Susie Greene on the HBO television sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm...
, Larry Gelbart
Larry Gelbart
Larry Simon Gelbart was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter and author.-Early life:...
, Sam Gross
Sam Gross
Sam Gross is an American cartoonist. He began cartooning in 1962.His cartoons have appeared in numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping.He was cartoon editor for National Lampoon and Parents Magazine...
, Tom Leopold
Tom Leopold
Tom Leopold is an American comedy writer, performer and novelist. He has written episodes of Seinfeld and Cheers and several books. He has often been associated with Chevy Chase, Harry Shearer and Paul Shaffer in various projects...
, Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in...
, and Lewis Black
Lewis Black
Lewis Niles Black is an American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor. He is known for his comedy style, which often includes simulating a mental breakdown, or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena...
.
In 2008 Kaplan wrote a Speed Racer
Speed Racer
Speed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
comic book mini-series called Speed Racer: The Chronicle of the Racer for IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
. He has also written two Ben 10
Ben 10
The Omnitrix was originally created by a Galvan named Azmuth. The Omnitrix was intended to allow beings to experience life as other species in order to bring understanding and foster peace in the universe....
comic book scripts for the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
title Cartoon Network Action Pack. He is the writer/creator of the children's comic strip "Dave Danger, Action Kid" which ran in Reform Judaism Magazine from 2005-2007.
In Masters, Kaplan profiles the lives and careers of a diverse range of icons of the comic book genre, including Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
(Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
); Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
(Sandman
Sandman (Vertigo)
The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Beginning with issue #47, it was placed under the imprint Vertigo. It chronicles the adventures of Dream , who rules over the world of dreams. It ran for 75 issues from January 1989 until March 1996...
); Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French contemporary graphic novelist, illustrator, animated film director, and children's book author...
(Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
, Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
(Maus
Maus
Maus: A Survivor's Tale, by Art Spiegelman, is a biography of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It alternates between descriptions of Vladek's life in Poland before and during the Second World War and Vladek's later life in the Rego Park neighborhood of...
); Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television, known for creating the animated television series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic-book company Milestone...
(Static Shock
Static Shock
Static Shock is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered in September 2000 on the Kids' WB! block and ran for four seasons, with a total of 52 half-hour episodes....
); and Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
(The Spirit
The Spirit
The Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
). At an event at MoCCA
Mocca
Margaux Uson known professionally as Mocha Uson and Mocha is a Filipino singer, dancer and model best known for her work as lead vocalist for the Mocha Girls.-Early life and career:...
celebrating the release of the book Kaplan was asked what the comic artists he interviewed—such as Eisner, Spiegelman, and Gaiman—have in common. He said that they were "elevating the art" and showing comics to be "art with a capital A." On the panel to discuss Kaplan's work was Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.-Career:...
, legendary creator of The Joker
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
, Robert Sikoryak
Robert Sikoryak
Robert Sikoryak , a.k.a. R. Sikoryak, is a comic book artist who specializes in making comic adaptations of literature classics, producing a mashup of high and low cultures...
, who does comic adaptations of literature, and Danny Fingeroth
Danny Fingeroth
Daniel "Danny" Fingeroth is an American comic book writer and editor, better known for a long stint as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics.-Career:...
, former Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
editor at Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and author of "Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society."
Kaplan's book, From Krakow to Krypton: The history of Jews in Comics, came out in Sept 2008 from JPS, with a foreword by American Splendor
American Splendor
American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by the late Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the most recent in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals...
creator Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar
Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name.Pekar described American Splendor as "an...
.
Arie Kaplan has taught at temple Sharay Tafila in New York City.
Quotes
- "Jews built the comic book industry from the ground up, and the influence of Jewish writers, artists, and editors continues to be felt to this day."
Personal life
On May 30, 2004, Kaplan married playwright Nadine Graham. "I'm very goal-oriented. I pursue something until I've worn it down to a nub. That's what I did with Nadine."External links
- Arie Kaplan's Website
- Debra Rubin, "Did you hear the one about the Jewish comedy writer?" The Jewish State, 2/28/03
- Gary Shapiro, "In Comics, Villains Needed" The New York Sun, 8/31/06