The Big Kahn: A Sequential Drama

I can't believe there's no reviews for this yet. Here's a decent, adult themed, (PG-13 maybe for some nudity, etc.) story. If not for the pictures, it'd be a great novelette (I don't mean that derogatorily, I just mean as far as length goes). But, it has pictures, and they give the book a flavor of everyday Jewish life (warts and all), which helps move the story along, and give a full 176 pages to build the relationships and community. The story itself is interesting: A con-man becomes a Rabbi, marries a Jewish woman, has kids, and dies 40 some odd years later. That's when everyone finds out about the charade, and the story is about how it affects his family, and community. It's a damn fine story, in which you may even learn something about the Jewish faith,the artwork is great, and really fits the story. What more could you ask for?

would like to see it in colour. or even made into a film. a provoking tale of truth, dishonesty and how we may interpret the two.

Rabbi David Kahn has passed away, leaving behind a grieving widow and three children: Avi, the eldest and the most likely to follow in his father's footsteps; Lea, the rebellious daughter; and Eli, the youngest son. They've all entered into a period of mourning for the great man they knew, as has the congregation of his temple. Truly, he was one of the greats, and they all know it. But they don't, not really. Unto the scene bursts Kahn's brother, a ragtag crook with bad manners and no appreciation for Jewish rules and rituals. That's because he isn't Jewish, and neither was David Kahn. The two were a pair of con men who went on the run decades earlier. David chose the best disguise and wound up posing as a rabbi in New Jersey. Obviously, this throws everyone into turmoil. Avi falls in with a non-Jewish girl, Lea drifts even further away from Judaism, and Eli begins to question his faith--and finds answers--in a way he never had before. Kleid's script is a wonder, with its pitch-perfect ear for dialogue. Paired with Nicolas Cinquegrani's richly textured shades and overtones, it not only captures New Jersey well--it also fully delivers on the premise of the story. When the no-good brother bursts in, disrupting everything and causing chaos at the scene, the emotions he provokes in the family and in the crowd are so nicely executed that they feel completely real--Cinquegrani's work bringing the panels to life right along with the script, which is at times funny and then heartbreaking. The Big Kahn is an adventurous step for Kleid, author of Brownsville and the webcomic Action, Ohio. Like Brownsville, it's a Jewish story set out east, but it's so simply executed (and subtly ambitious) that it sneaks up on you more easily and more casually than you expect. Its great strength lies in that. I loved the story and was glad to be able to read it in graphic novel form. -- John Hogan

This story makes no sense. "Rabbi David Kahn" has already died before the beginning. What did he die of? We don't know. We are told that although he was not Jewish he not only practiced Orthodox Judaism to the letter, but was even the main Rabbi at an Orthodox synagogue of a significant size. His degrees are said to have been faked. It is completely impossible for the synagogue board to not have verified these documents. There is simply no getting around that fact. Also, his wife would certainly have realized on their honeymoon whether or not he had a Brit (circumcision). There would have been no way to hide that! What was the author thinking? Apparently "Rabbi David Kahn" began to take Judaism completely seriously soon after meeting his soon to be wife. Indeed, we are never told of any trangressions he has committed since the marriage (other than lying about being Jewish). There is absolutely no logic to this whatsoever. Were Judaism to have been "the only truth I have known" as David is quoted at one point as saying, he CERTAINLY would have converted to Judaism and immediately been regarded as a FULL JEW IN EVERY RESPECT. There is NO way of getting around this and thus this story is completely impossible to believe. No one ever discusses the concept of conversion to Judaism. This book is written as if such a possibility does not exist. Clearly the author enjoys the idea of Jews having sex with non-Jews, as he devotes several panels to it. Perhaps Kleid thinks he is being adventurous by doing this, but in reality it has been done ad nasuem before, and in much more realistic ways. R' Avi Kahn's transformation is simply not believable. Lea's disrespect for her father was disgusting. It was little more than an excuse for Kleid to show a Jew having sex with a non-Jew. In conclusion, don't buy this book as it is worthless. It all seems to be based on the coincidence that the Hebrew name Kahn and the English word "con" are pronounced the same.