Wolfman & Ruiz Team-Up for History of Israel GN

Posted: Monday, January 24, 2005
Posted By: Shawn Patty

INTO THE PROMISE LAND: WOLFMAN AND RUIZ TEAM-UP FOR HOMELAND: THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL

Marv Wolfman is a multi-award winning writer of comic books, animation, children’s books, novels, television, and more. Mario Ruiz is the creator-artist of the critically acclaimed graphic novels, Samson: Judge of Israel and Testament. Together, they will create a very unique book, HOMELAND: The Illustrated History of the State of Israel. Valor Comics, a new graphic novel publisher started last year by Ruiz along with Nachshon Press, an imprint of the Community Foundation for Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago (CFJE), have burst upon the graphic novel scene with a story straight from history and today’s current events. Valor and Nachshon have taken up the challenge to tell the story of one nation’s struggle throughout history and how it relates to people, young people especially. "We're currently in a society where everything is just "That's so five minutes ago!" You can't convince people that history directly affects what is going on now. Hopefully they'll be interested in this project not at first because it's history but because it looks like comics, which everyone loves. Then, as they read the sections, I hope they'll come to appreciate the stories. If they do read the stories then whether they know it or not they'll pick up info that might be relevant down the line," explained writer Marv Wolfman.

"HOMELAND is much more than a graphic novel. It’s an accurate, historical account of the birth of one of the great nations of the world. It’s an important project to be involved in and I am truly honored to be doing it. Working with a writer of Marv Wolfman’s caliber is truly a privilege,” added Ruiz. “In combination with the CFJE’s extensive effort to identify the key historical highlights to include in the body of work,” said William J. Rubin, Executive Director of CFJE who is overseeing the project, “we are confident that Mr. Ruiz and Mr. Wolfman will be able to create a dynamic story that covers the Biblical period through 2005.”

Rubin first contacted Ruiz with the idea for the graphic novel last March. Rubin had seen Testament, a retelling of much of the Old Testament that Ruiz had created during his tenure as editor-in-chief at Metron Press. Rubin said Testament showed evidence of Ruiz’s ability “to offer thoughtful rendition of the Hebrew Scriptures.” Rubin decided to contact Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, vice president for the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership in New York City. Hirschfield had written the introduction to Testament.

“The novel will travel through time and explore the history of the land, why the modern state came into being and its importance for the Jewish people and the world. Nothing like this exists currently. The CFJE believes very strongly that the novel will have wide appeal to the American public, children and adults of all ages - Christians, Jews and Muslims. To that end, the CFJE has every expectation that the novel will be marketed for a broad audience - both urban
and rural - throughout the country,” Rubin said.

HOMELAND: The Illustrated History of the State of Israel will be 120-pages with high-quality varnished cardstock covers and glossy interiors, available in November. It's written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by Mario Ruiz. For more information visit Valor Comics at www.valorcomics.com or www.cfje.org.

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