Steve Niles: Jew or Not a Jew? Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem Preview

By on Thursday, May 16th, 2013

Steve Niles, the creator of 30 Days of Night, has written a new version of a classic Jewish mythological tale titled Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem. What the crap? Is that dude even Jewish? My Jewdar is not going off at all. Should I check for a circumcision or does it matter whether Niles is a Yid or not?

The comic is set for release by Dark Horse Comics on June 12th, with art by Matt Santoro and covers by Dave Watcher. The synopsis states:

The giant clay monster from Jewish legend goes on a Nazi-killing rampage in order to protect the inhabitants of a small Jewish stronghold and an injured British pilot.

The golem is one of the most well-known Jewish mythological creatures. The golem is a clay monster created by a Rabbi using magic in order to protect Jewish communities from anti-Semitism and Pogroms. There have been many versions of the story, the most well-known takes place in 16th century Prague. In most stories the artificial life form eventually goes nuts, loses its purpose and starts killing innocents. It must then be destroyed by its maker.

The Golem myth was a clear influence on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Comic superheroes have been compared to golems because they are artificial life created to protect people. There is even a Pokémon character based on the clay mammoth.  The tale is by far the Jewish tale gentiles are most obsessed with, and there have been many versions of it in mainstream media including movies, a Simpsons cameo and an appearance on the X-Files.

One of the main themes of the story is that creation is not to be messed with. The golem is a false savior; stupid and uncontrollable. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Niles stated “The Golem is [a] monster created from faith and extreme emotion. It is not mindless or rampaging, but designed with a very specific set of goals based on what its creator needs.” Niles is correct that the Golem is created for a set purpose, but he stated that the monster is “not mindless”; this goes against the most every version of the story. The term golem is used as a Yiddish diss meaning stupid fool.

I have no proof Steve Niles is not Jewish, but I have not seen any Bar Mitzvah photos either. Should it matter if he is Jewish or not? A little bit. The Holocaust alone is a difficult topic to write on and must be written with great sensitivity and respect to those lost. I own many graphic novels based on Jewish history and mythology and often will pre-order them if they are by a trusted author. Niles has not proven his loyalty, connection or knowledge of Jewish subjects. I look forward to seeing his take on this classic tale, although I am looking at it with skepticism, I truly hope it is something spectacular.

Here is the preview:

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Jay Deitcher, LMSW(@mrdeitcher) embraces the term MUTANT and proudly represents his MUTANT brothers and sisters.  He is an educator on comic history and runs successful Free Comic Book Day events yearly.  You can see a listing of his incredible articles and his highly energetic videos at JayDeitcher.com.

Jay Deitcher is a writer and licensed social worker from Albany, NY. He is currently taking MFA courses at the College of St. Rose. You can read his other work at JayDeitcher.com.

S#!T Talking Central

  • MaryQueeny Hill

    I’m not sure I get your point about whether or not he is jewish. So can a writer write about women, unless she is female? I don’t take that personally when a man writes about a woman’s rape from her perspective. Steve Niles sometimes writes from a woman’s perspective, and he does it in very sincere ways. A writer can’t say anything about historical happenings unless he has some sort of connected family history or religious heritage? Does one have to be Native American in order to write about their holocaust? And what about fantasy? Do dragons have to exist in order to write about them? I am certain from the previews that Niles has a fantastic and very sensitive take on this. But whether or not he is Jewish is a ridiculous point to make.

    • Jay

      To answer your questions, Yes, I do believe, in most cases, it would absolutely be better to have Native American stories written someone with Native American heritage. And yes, I would love to hear a dragon tale written from the perspective of an actual dragon!

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