From Batman to the Holy Land

 

An American artist once had a celebrated¹ history after creating Batman and Wonder Woman covers for comic books. Then he found a new life in the Holy Land. There, he draws the everyday good and bad guys he sees on all sides.

Michael Netzer’s own story has a lot of interesting history. He was named Mike Nasser by his American-Lebanese Druze parents. He had a serious illness called polio as a child and found comfort in art. In time, he worked for Marvel² and D.C. Comics as a cover illustrator. Then he learned he had a Jewish background and moved to Israel. Now he lives on an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Netzer, who is 63, speaks Arabic as well as English and Hebrew. He sells portraits or pictures of superheroes. He says Palestinians as well as Israelis buy them. That is unusual for a religious settler.

Netzer also travels every few weeks to draw the people he sees around him. He gives those people his work for free.

“I have seen ... it seems to me, like, nine million heroes and villains⁴ in Israel. I see them all the time,” he told Reuters at his home in Ofra.

“It’s like people are the most interesting thing that there is. I look at the face and I see, you know, God looking back at me,” he said.

Netzer says he is no stranger to religious conflict. He lived in Lebanon, a country nearly destroyed by war. He knows there is the tension between Israelis and Palestinians. And he knows U.S. President Donald Trump⁵ has made that tension worse.

Trump himself can be like a person in the comics, Netzer suggests. Some see him as a hero, he said. Others believe he is the opposite.

Netzer does not seem to miss his work as a comic book illustrator. He says that in the past, others used his art to advance ideas he did not necessarily support.

“And this is probably one of the reasons that led me to slow down,” he said. “I try not to upset people.”

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

comic book – adj. a magazine that is made up of a series of comic drawing

draw – v. to make (a picture, image, etc.) by making lines on a surface especially with a pencil, pen, marker, chalk,

illness - n. a sickness

polio – n. a serious disease that affects the nerves of the spine⁶ and often makes a person permanently⁷ unable to move particular muscles

comfort - n. a sense of feeling safer or ease

portrait – n. a painting, drawing, or photograph of a person that usually only includes the person's head and shoulders

villain³ – n. a character in a story, movie, etc., who does bad things

illustrator – n. one who decorate a story, book, etc., with pictures

advance - v. to move forward

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

3 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

4 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

7 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。