“American Jewish perceptions of Israel are often conflated with political and religious affiliation. The comics of Asaf Hanuka offer a radically different and more nuanced approach to the country and its people. Through his work, as Matt Reingold explains in this detailed study, Hanuka explores what it means to be Israeli, Jewish, and Mizrahi. At the same time, Hanuka speaks to universal themes, including the difficulties of parenting and the challenges of personal limitations. … Reingold’s study engages critically with the inconsistencies — including intentional ones — in Hanuka’s analyses of his country. … Asaf Hanuka’s work is an open book, not a closed one. Readers unfamiliar with this unique writer and artist will be drawn to his vision of the world.”
— Emily Schneider, Jewish Book Council
“Asaf Hanuka has long been one of Israel’s most provocative cartoonists and voices of dissent, and in these pages Matt Reingold’s terrifically incisive criticism illuminates compelling dimensions of Hanuka’s eclectic artistry, whether commemorating the Shoah, the insider-outsider identity of Mizrahi Israelis, anxieties about Israel’s faltering democracy, militarism, and human rights record, or the perils of fatherhood and masculinity. Hanuka’s vibrant graphic storytelling ranges from the fantastical and grotesque to the mundane, and Reingold captures all of it splendidly, demonstrating why Hanuka’s edgy work resonates both in Israel and internationally. An indispensable, captivating guide for both scholars and the classroom to a brilliant artist at the forefront of contemporary visual culture.”
— Ranen Omer-Sherman, Editor of Amos Oz: The Legacy of a Writer in Israel and Beyond
“The Comics of Asaf Hanuka: Telling Particular and Universal Stories significantly contributes to contemporary scholarship on the diversity of Israeli identities in visual media by providing the first thorough examination of the cartoons, comics, and graphic narratives of the award-winning Israeli artist Asaf Hanuka. Reingold’s compelling book captures how Hanuka’s oeuvre spanning over two decades has offered an increasingly nuanced and sharp critique of contemporary Israeli society, especially the erosion of democracy and the unfair treatment of its minorities, one which mirrors the evolution of the artist’s understanding of his own intersectional Israeli, Mizrachi, Jewish, and gendered identities. This is an indispensable book for everyone interested in the evolution of Israeli comics and identity issues.”
— Dana Mihăilescu, University of Bucharest
“This fascinating in-depth study of the work of Asaf Hanuka fluidly demonstrates the political, social, cultural, and artistic range of the cartoonist’s vision. Drawing upon Hanuka's hybrid background, Reingold shows the ways in which constructs of identity shape his richly figured comics. This is an important book that situates Hanuka’s comics in a narrative of social and political critique and speaks to the significant and enduring influence of this groundbreaking cartoonist.”
— Victoria Aarons, O.R. & Eva Mitchell Distinguished Professor of Literature, Trinity University
“This is a robust, layered reading that helps the reader understand Hanuka’s work in its Israeli context and helps to reveal what is truly groundbreaking about it. I enjoyed it immensely.”
— Kevin Haworth, author of The Comics of Rutu Modan: War, Love, and Secrets
“Matt Reingold’s close examination of Eisner Award winning cartoonist Asaf Hanuka's entire body of work adeptly analyzes the artist-writer’s diverse subjects and styles. Expanding our understanding of the comics’ landscape, this penetrating study fleshes out the many dimensions of Israeli society, Jewish identity, and Mizrahi heritage through Hanuka’s artistic navigation of that complex universe.”
— Samantha Baskind, Distinguished Professor of Art History, Cleveland State University
