Julian Voloj: Superman's Heirs

How Jewish Immigrant Children Invented the American Comic Book Industry

Julian Voloj – Person mit dunklen Haaren und Dreitagebart, trägt einen schwarzen Strickpullover, schaut ernst. Hintergrund unscharf.

Julian Voloj, a native of Münster who has lived in New York City since 2002 and is the author of numerous internationally successful graphic novels, is creating three comic books for the 39th Jewish Culture Days Berlin, which will be made available to visitors free of charge. Voloj, who has served as a guest lecturer at renowned U.S. universities and schools, also offers insight into the history of Jewish-American comics.

An early milestone in modern comics is the 1897 comic strip “The Katzenjammer Kids” by German-born cartoonist Rudolph Dirks, which was heavily inspired by Wilhelm Busch’s “Max and Moritz” (1865). The genre, which was initially met with derision, achieved unprecedented popularity with “Superman” (1938). The character created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel immediately inspired a new genre: superheroes! Batman and Captain America followed, and then, in the 1960s, a renaissance of the superhero genre took place thanks to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who almost single-handedly created the Marvel Universe. In 1992, Art Spiegelman became the first comic book artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale.”

In his lecture, Voloj traces the evolution of the genre—from its beginnings to the present day—in a knowledgeable and entertaining manner.

Next date:

• Date Sunday, 15/November/2026 16:00
• Venue Jüdisches Gemeindehaus
• Address Fasanenstraße 79-80, 10623 Berlin