James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia and Steven H Silver have co-edited an issue of the Journey Planet fanzine on The Holocaust, available now for free download, which contains a number of comic-related features.
This issue has some very strong testimony, around which the issue is built, including the memories of Steven’s grandmother, who lived in the Płońsk ghetto before her internment in Auschwitz, and several other concentration camps. The issue looks at how her experiences have impacted four generations of that family, with articles from Steven’s mother, who was a hidden child of the Holocaust, Steven, his sister, and wife, as well as his daughter’s discovery that not every family has the Holocaust in a central place in their story.
Other articles look at Russell Handelman’s own family’s experiences during the Holocaust, Mark Herrup’s father’s role in helping to liberate the concentration camps, and others, who may not have as direct a link to the Holocaust, write about living in its shadow.
Daniel Kimmel and Barbara Barnett explore the cultural impact of the Holocaust as seen in film, and television, while Dina S. Krause describes the work she has done as a docent at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.
Atypical of Journey Planet, this issue also contains reprints of two short stories. Avram Davidson’s “What Time Is It?” tackled the subject of the Holocaust in the late 1940s as the devastating effects on family’s became known, and Michael A. Burstein’s “Kaddish for the Last Survivor”, originally published in Analog in 2000 and a Hugo and Nebula nominee.
downthetubes regular contributor James Bacon has four comic book related articles in this issue. The first looks at the portrayal of Concentration Camps in comics published during the time of the War, the second is the portrayal of the Holocaust in comics after the war.
He’s also provided an article on “V for Vengeance”, the British boys paper story that first ran in The Wizard the title the motto of The Deathless Men, which features Concentration Camp escapees killing Nazis.
Some of this long-running, often brutal story was later reprinted as “The Deathless Men” in The Hornet, some stories running there as strips, often credited to artist Alan Philpott, who was co-creator of Lion’s Robot Archie.
Finally, there’s a piece about the locations in Poland from Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman, as James travelled around to consider the locations today, culminating in a visit to Auschwitz.
An important and poignant issue of the fanzine, Journey Planet 81 can be downloaded here from the award-winning zine’s official website.
Further Reading…
• Vic Whittle’s guide to “V for Vengeance” in The Wizard
• The Victor and Hornet Site: “The Deathless Men” feature
• Lambiek: Alan Philpott Profile
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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