Aryeh Mahr: A Jewish-comic Visionary

I’m saddened to learn of the Ultimate Aliyah of a dear friend and co-worker, Eric Aryeh Mahr, the CEO of Targum Press, co-creator, editor and writer of Mahrwood Press, and creator, writer and editor of the greatest titles in Frum comics: Journeys, Shmuel HaNagid, Rashi, Rambam, Junior Pirates and “Balm in Gilead”, a book of varied works dedicated to helping families who were injured or lost their homes due to the Ketusha attacks by Hizbullah in the summer of 2006, combining the talents of many Greats from the comic world, in which I was honored to have my art and story, “Safe in Safed”, included by Eric.

Eric was a dedicated husband to Jody, and a wise and loving father to Benny, Chavi, Raphi and Yosef. The fine and balanced young adults into which his children have grown, are the greatest testimony to Eric’s gentle menchkeit.
Eric was also an exceptional visionary who bridged the apparently differing worlds of the comic-book superhero and Haredi Frumkeit; enthusiastically entwining Torah learning with 4-color illustrations and bringing them together in a series of appealing and kosher books that has lit the hearts and faces of tens of thousands of Religious Jewish readers, both young and old, and in English, Hebrew, French and I don’t know how many other languages.

I’ve heard that Eric collapsed of a heart attack, while giving a eulogy at the grave of his Uncle in Buffalo, NY; who had just passed away while Eric and Jody were in town for the levaya of Jody’s father.

I guess disasters really DO come in threes.

Eric and I worked together on the book “Journeys”, which were the adventures of Mordy and Sender and their Uncle Ari’s wonderful Time Machine, which brings them all the way back in time to the First Temple in Jerusalem, just as the Babylonians were preparing to invade. It was a wonderful, epic work, where Eric and my wife, NatanYah, and I, wrote the scripts, while I drew and inked the art; which was then colored by Miri Haus and Ariel Bauer, and published originally in 42 weekly installments on the back page of the week-end suppliment of the Jewish newspaper, HaModia. Later, it was republished as an over-sized, 64-page, hard-cover book with additional stories and art about the same 3 characters, by Eric and myself and other artists, including Joe Rubenstein, Eduardo Alfuente, and Ben Huteman.

Tragically and sadly, my last meeting with Eric ended on an unpleasant note; and while I later spoke to him on the phone to apologize for my impolite behavior, I never felt I completed the appropriate tikun with him, his children and we’ve barely spoken since.

I missed you, Eric, even before you left.

I miss our long night’s discussions of Torah, the Jewish People and All-Things Super-Heroic.
I miss sharing our mutual love of old films, and of your favorite superhero of all-time; John “The Duke” Wayne.

I miss talking with you of the stories behind the writers, artists and creators of the Messianic Myths that manifested in Superman and all those many others who followed him. We were Brothers of the Four-color Pulp; and you’ve left a huge, blank space in my life that pencil and ink won’t fill.

Moshe Chaim Levy
Tsfat