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James Sturm. The Golem's Mighty Swing. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly, 2003.100 pp. Paper, $16.95 U.S., $24.95 Canada.
The Stars of David, advertised as the "Bearded Wandering Wonders," is a traveling baseball team in the 19205 in the United States. It is made up of Jewish ballplayers (except for Henry Bell, a black player who spent twenty years in the Negro Leagues but who is now known as Hershl Bloom, a member of the "lost tribe" in order to play on the all-Jewish club). The team is managed by Noah Strauss, "the Zion Lion," who played briefly with the Boston Red Sox before his knees gave out (and he couldn't crack the regular outfield of Lewis, Hooper, and Speaker).
The team travels around the country in an old, run-down bus, playing in every small town that can field a team, and it draws well because the local residents all want to see "the Jews" get beaten. And therein lies the heart of this story: idyllic, rural, laid-back Middle America is seen as comprised of people who are...