Meschugge, Graphic Novel

The Dutch policeman who stood by idly watching terrorist-supporters hunting down and attacking Jews on their city’s streets on the night of November 7^th should keep one thing in mind. Those who survive a pogrom (as the mayor of Amsterdam herself described it) come out of the horrors hardened and tougher. That is exactly why the Jewish Ghetto of 1905 Copenhagen was considered such a rough-and-tumble neighborhood. Frankly, the police hardly notice a Jack the Ripper-style serial killer stalking the ghetto until he (or it) nearly finishes his sinister project in Benni Bodker’s graphic novel Meschugge, illustrated by Christian Højgaard, which goes on-sale tomorrow.

Froken Nathansen’s family is Jewish, but they consider themselves part of the assimilated establishment. Rebelling against their bourgeoisie lifestyle, she fancies herself a progressive reformer. Unfortunately, her boss, police magistrate Kingo is not as progressive as she assumed, when she accepted the job as his stenographer-secretary.

When he dispatches Nathansen to take notes during the autopsy of a murdered Ghetto sex-worker (that is probably not the term they used in 1905 Denmark, but anything more descriptive tends to get censored on this platform), it clearly represents a low priority for the magistrate. However, when Nathansen realizes she partially witnessed the murder when she took a wrong turn walking home the night before, she feels duty bound to investigate.

Her young waifish informer quickly clues her into the pattern of ripper-esque killings that have largely gone unnoticed in the Ghetto. So far, there was only one survivor, who escaped after the killer carved a Kabbalist figure on her forehead.

The Kabbalist implications to the killings add an intriguing dimension to the mystery. Højgaard’s art also perfectly captures the story’s eerie noir vibes. However, it is hard to fully realize the ultimate monster (“meschugge” being the Yiddish word for crazy or insane, closely derived from the Hebrew equivalent) on the printed page—and it would be almost impossible to do it justice on film.

Still, Nathansen’s investigation is compelling stuff and her tangles with official corruption are even more so. Bodker certainly calls out the hatred of Jews that was rife in early 20^th Century Europe (and continues to be popular on elite college campuses today). Yet, perversely, one could almost envision some haters using certain plot points to further justify their hatred.

Of course, rational readers will easily discern that is the exact opposite of Bodker’s intentions. Frankly, this is just a dark tale, through and through, but also quite a striking one, thanks to Højgaard’s starkly dramatic art. Recommended for mature and sophisticated graphic novel readers, Meschugge goes on-sale tomorrow (11/12) at book and comic retailers.