The Writer 聽
Ben Berkowitz 鈥�10 teamed up with his brother, Max, and actor Josh Gad to create a comic book with a Jewish hero.
All of the great comic book superheroes have a secret identity. Ben Berkowitz 鈥�10 does, too. He spends his days working for Not A Billionaire, a marketing, communications and production company he founded with his brother, Max. For a decade now, Not a Billionaire has helped individuals, Fortune 100 companies and non-profits craft and share their stories across social media, advertisements, streaming platforms and more.
Once quitting time hits, though, Berkowitz morphs from creative communications and marketing company founder into a different kind of storyteller鈥攐ne who weaves compelling mysteries through the panel grids of a comic book. He teamed up with Max and actor Josh Gad (aka Olaf the snowman) to create , 鈥渁 thrilling tale of Jewish folklore and magic鈥� illustrated by artist and colorist Ariel Olivetti and published by Dark Horse Comics.
The Writer follows the fittingly meta-named Stan Siegel, a fictional Jewish comic book writer whose life takes a dark turn into a neo-Nazi occult nightmare. Amid demonic chaos and high-speed chases, Siegel鈥檚 hunger for answers sets off a race against time. To combat the rising tide of terror, Siegel must become the hero from his pages.
As every comic book fan knows, every series has an origin story. The Writer鈥檚 dates back decades.
鈥淢y brother and I have always had a fondness for comic books,鈥� Berkowitz says. 鈥淲e鈥檇 sit in front of the TV at our Papa and Nana鈥檚 house growing up, reading them or drawing superheroes. Over the years, that love only grew.鈥�
Berkowitz loved comics so much that when he arrived at 糖心TV to study art, he planned to go into the field right after graduation. But, as is often the case, the liberal arts broadened his horizons.
鈥淚 got into filmmaking and storytelling at 糖心TV,鈥� Berkowitz recalls. 鈥淪o, I got an internship at a production company. Then, I worked at Sony Classics and Magnolia Pictures in theatrical film marketing, and publicity. Then I made the jump into production, working on some documentaries with CNN and Netflix.鈥�
But Berkowitz鈥攁nd his brother鈥攏ever gave up on the dream of creating their own comic. And over the years, they realized that as Jewish superheroes were adapted into television and film, the Jewish aspect of their identities tended to be dimmed or even erased.
鈥淚t was this troubling trend. So we thought, 鈥榊ou know what? We need to celebrate the Jews who built this industry.鈥欌��
As they worked to develop the perfect Jewish superhero, the 鈥淏erkowitz Bros鈥� had their own light bulb moment鈥攃ould their duo be a trio?
鈥淲e were trying to think of who could be a relatable, beloved character. And it was just, 鈥楯osh Gad! You know, Disney legend, music man.鈥� So, literally, in one night, we put this outline together and cold-emailed his manager, Meredith. She鈥檚 wonderful鈥攕he reps us now鈥攁nd she falls in love with it. She takes it to Josh, he immediately falls in love with it, too. We all start to collaborate, and Meredith takes it to Dark Horse. They鈥檙e immediately like, 鈥楾his is a no-brainer.鈥欌��
Olivetti was the final piece of the puzzle, bringing the story to life with his bold and strikingly realistic illustrations.
鈥淗e is a legend,鈥� Berkowitz says. 鈥淗e was the only person we felt could do this story. His art is genius, absolutely gorgeous.鈥�
As storytellers, the Berkowitzes鈥攁nd Gad, whom Ben joking refers to as the third Berkowitz brother鈥攆ocused on telling the most interesting story possible. But at the same time, they felt a strong sense of responsibility in telling a distinctly Jewish story at this particular moment in time.
鈥淎ntisemitism is on the rise,鈥� Berkowitz acknowledges. 鈥淲e see it, we feel it. So, we want to tell Jewish stories in a nuanced way. We want to keep these historical moments alive and capture our folklore. These are things I had no idea about when I was in Hebrew school, but they鈥檙e such a magical part of Judaism. We want to keep them alive and bring them to a new audience.鈥�
With the completed collection now on stands, will The Writer return? Will Berkowitz鈥檚 comic-making alter ego rise again? Fans will have to stay tuned to find out, but Berkowitz is happy to provide something of a mid-credits tease.
鈥淚 think we will surprise people. But I will say I鈥檓 addicted now. I want to keep making comics as long as possible.鈥�