The Big Kahn [Paperback]

Neil Kleid (Author), Nicholas Cinquegrani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 2009

Rabbi David Kahn has lived a forty-year lie: he is not, nor has he ever been, Jewish. When at his funeral, the rabbi s grifter brother reveals the truth, it forces the Kahn family to struggle with grief and betrayal as their congregation examines their every move and question their very faith. His son, Rabbi Avi Kahn, the heir apparent, spirals down in an affair with his rebellious sister Lea s non-Jewish roommate. Lea rethinks the religion she s run from, strong enough to alter her father s life, while Eli the youngest Kahn inherits his father s long-forgotten legacy. Somehow, with the help of the uncle he never knew and his slowly re-awakening sister, he attempts to return faith and order to his family and community and reinstate his father s good name. Neil Kleid, Xeric Award winning author of Ninety Candles and NBM s Brownsville, and illustrator Nicolas Cinquegrani offer a drama about loss, lies, belief and renewal in this dramatic graphic exploration of a family secret so well-hidden, it questions the very nature of faith.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Questions of faith, trust and integrity are dealt with in this intense graphic novel. David Kahn was never Jewish, yet he lived for 40 years as a well-respected rabbi. On the day of his funeral, Roy Dobbs, his grifter brother, reveals himself and the truth to the surviving members of the Kahn family. Suddenly ostracized from their community, they are forced to come to terms with their father's lies. Rabbi Avi Kahn, the oldest son, suddenly finds his future in jeopardy and turns to his rebellious sister Lea's non-Jewish roommate for comfort—an act that will only further confuse him. As Lea rethinks the religion she's spent her life running from, youngest brother Eli discovers exactly how much he's like his late father. After coming apart at the seams, family members are forced to find a way to put their lives back together, a process painfully captured by Kleid. Cinquergrani is skilled at capturing a wide range of emotions, deftly capturing the characters' pain. The Big Kahn is not an easy book to read, especially given its underlying religious questions, but it is gripping. (Sept.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: NBM Publishing, Inc. (September 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561635618
• ISBN-13: 978-1561635610
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,369,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Xeric-Award winning cartoonist Neil Kleid authored Ninety Candles, a graphic novella about life, death, legacy and comics; Brownsville, a graphic novel about the Jewish mafia, and The Big Kahn, a drama about a family secret so well-hidden, even the family didn't discover it until it was too late. Neil has written for Marvel and Image Comics, DC Comics, Shadowline, NBM, Dark Horse Comics, Slave Labor Graphics, Random House and Puffin Graphics. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and son, working on two graphic novels, several comic book series, a novel and no sleep. Pray for him at www.rantcomics.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Times Funny and Then Heartbreaking, November 17, 2009

By 

GraphicNovelReporter.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Big Kahn (Paperback)

Rabbi David Kahn has passed away, leaving behind a grieving widow and three children: Avi, the eldest and the most likely to follow in his father's footsteps; Lea, the rebellious daughter; and Eli, the youngest son. They've all entered into a period of mourning for the great man they knew, as has the congregation of his temple. Truly, he was one of the greats, and they all know it.

But they don't, not really. Unto the scene bursts Kahn's brother, a ragtag crook with bad manners and no appreciation for Jewish rules and rituals. That's because he isn't Jewish, and neither was David Kahn. The two were a pair of con men who went on the run decades earlier. David chose the best disguise and wound up posing as a rabbi in New Jersey.

Obviously, this throws everyone into turmoil. Avi falls in with a non-Jewish girl, Lea drifts even further away from Judaism, and Eli begins to question his faith--and finds answers--in a way he never had before.

Kleid's script is a wonder, with its pitch-perfect ear for dialogue. Paired with Nicolas Cinquegrani's richly textured shades and overtones, it not only captures New Jersey well--it also fully delivers on the premise of the story. When the no-good brother bursts in, disrupting everything and causing chaos at the scene, the emotions he provokes in the family and in the crowd are so nicely executed that they feel completely real--Cinquegrani's work bringing the panels to life right along with the script, which is at times funny and then heartbreaking.

The Big Kahn is an adventurous step for Kleid, author of Brownsville and the webcomic Action, Ohio. Like Brownsville, it's a Jewish story set out east, but it's so simply executed (and subtly ambitious) that it sneaks up on you more easily and more casually than you expect. Its great strength lies in that. I loved the story and was glad to be able to read it in graphic novel form.

-- John Hogan

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Run, don't walk to buy this book!, October 8, 2009

By 

Ford Prefect "a hoopy frood" (Touring the Galaxy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Kahn (Paperback)

Really enjoyed The Big Kahn; couldn't put it down. A must read for fans of Kleid, and if you haven't read his stuff, now's the time to start. I was amazed that he could take such an original premise and yet write about topics such as coping with loss and questioning/exploring one's faith in a manner that was so relatable to the average person.

In short, a wonderful read.

5.0 out of 5 stars book review, December 1, 2011

By 

scott - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Kahn (Paperback)

Rabbi David Kahn has passed away, leaving behind a grieving widow and three children: Avi, the eldest and the most likely to follow in his father's footsteps; Lea, the rebellious daughter; and Eli, the youngest son.