Danny Fingeroth is an award-winning writer, editor, and historian. He’s an experienced, entertaining and informative speaker and presenter who specializes in Jewish-American pop culture history, as well as more general approaches to pop culture.

Fingeroth has written books about the Jewish backgrounds of the creators of the most popular comics and graphic novels—including the creators of Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man—and about the psychology of superheroes and their fans. He’s written highly-praised, engaging biographies of Marvel guru Stan Lee and of Jack Ruby, the history-changing killer of presumed-JFK-assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

Having done hundreds of presentations in the US and Europe, Fingeroth brings a mix of intelligence and entertainment to his talks and presentations. Drawing on his years as a professional visual storyteller, and as an accomplished author, his talks are accompanied by compelling visuals that bring home the points he’s making and keep his presentations and panels interesting and exciting.

Fingeroth spent close to two decades as a writer and editor at Marvel Comics. He has spoken and taught at venues as varied as the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum, Columbia University, the New School, NYU, the San Diego Comic-Con, the Bob Dylan Conference and the Marx Brothers Festival, as well as at the Center for Jewish History, the YIVO Institute, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, the Borscht Belt Museum, the Maltz Museum, the Limmud Conference, and the MiMaster Art Institute in Milan.

Presentations & Topics

From Superman to Maus: The Jewish History of Comics and Graphic Novels

From the beginning of the modern superhero comic book to the underground revolution through the current age of the graphic novel, Jewish publishers and creators have been instrumental in the development of the medium that fuels so many of our dreams and fills our movie theaters. In this presentation, comics writer, editor and historian, Danny Fingeroth (author of Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero) tells us why and how the comics medium—dubbed “sequential art” by innovative cartoonist Will Eisner—was so much a product of immigrant Jewish creativity.

Based on his books Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero and A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee, Fingeroth gives a PowerPoint-fueled presentation about the history of comics and graphic novels and the instrumental role Jewish writers, artists, and publishers played in the development of the medium. 

A Marvelous Life: The (Jewish) Story of Stan Lee

Based on his book, A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee, Fingeroth discusses the sometimes-controversial life and career of Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber), the Jewish co-creator of Spider-Man, the Avengers, Iron Man, the X-Men and many other iconic Marvel superheroes. In a PowerPoint-supplemented presentation, Fingeroth charts how Lee rose from impoverished immigrant Jewish roots in the Bronx to become the most famous figure in the worlds of comics and graphic novels, including his cameos in movies based on his co-creations. We see how Lee, despite his successes and the admiration of fans, could never escape the accusations that he treated his creative partners—especially Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko—unfairly, reaping more than his fair share of credit and money. 

Jack Ruby: The Many (Jewish) Faces of Oswald’s Assassin

Based on his 2023 biography Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald’s Assassin, Fingeroth shines a spotlight on Ruby, whose November 1963 murder of presumed JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV, changed history. 

Fingeroth brings to life the strange, violent odyssey of this often-neglected figure, a product of Chicago’s Jewish Maxwell Street ghetto. Fingeroth explores how Ruby’s actions were seen in a Jewish context, including observations gleaned from Ruby’s rabbi, Hillel Silverman, who visited Ruby regularly in prison.

This PowerPoint-aided presentation will be of special interest for baby boomers and for anyone with an interest in the history of the Kennedy era.  

Additional Topics

• Superheroes & Psychology

• Late night TV and its history

• The comedy of Mel Brooks

Danny can also organize and moderate panels on topics including:

• Cantors of the Golden Age of the Catskills

• The Marx Brothers and Jewish Identity

Testimonials

Danny Fingeroth is a great speaker and we can unreservedly recommend him. He has successfully conducted well-received interviews, presentations, and panels. He has always been prepared, dependable, engaging, and insightful.

—Nancy and Carl Gropper, Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation

Danny is one of the most relatable and delightful voices in the world of Jewish comics. I have been fortunate to work with Danny on panels and presentations for the last three years, beginning with our work together on the Jewish Comics Experience convention and exhibit at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. Danny masterminded exciting presentations and panels, and delivered them in an entertaining and informative manner. Danny speaks about the comics world and its history with authority and heart, especially, but not exclusively, from a Jewish perspective.

—Miriam Eve Mora, PhD, Managing Director, Raoul Wallenberg Institute at the University of Michigan 

Danny Fingeroth has been one of our most popular speakers. Besides saying how popular a speaker he was for us, as a retired mathematician I wanted to find data to quantify how good a presenter he has been. It turns out that the 5,293 views of Danny’s class about Jack Ruby is the largest number for any of our classes. And the 688 students who registered for the Marx Brothers panel discussion that Danny organized and participated in is the largest registration for any of our classes. (And although I don’t have numbers for it, I can tell you that his presentation on Jews and Comics was terrific and well-attended.) So, I think the data shows that Danny has been our most popular presenter. And as the host, I can certainly attest that he’s always a pleasure to work with.

—Gerald Garfinkel, Treasurer/Tech Director, Jewish Study Center