The Writer
Ben Berkowitz ’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 ’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—one 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 The Writer, “a thrilling tale of Jewish folklore and magic” 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’s 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’s dates back decades.
“My brother and I have always had a fondness for comic books,” Berkowitz says. “We’d sit in front of the TV at our Papa and Nana’s house growing up, reading them or drawing superheroes. Over the years, that love only grew.”
Berkowitz loved comics so much that when he arrived at Connecticut College 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.
“I got into filmmaking and storytelling at Conn,” Berkowitz recalls. “So, 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.”
But Berkowitz—and his brother—never 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.
“It was this troubling trend. So we thought, ‘You know what? We need to celebrate the Jews who built this industry.’”
As they worked to develop the perfect Jewish superhero, the “Berkowitz Bros” had their own light bulb moment—could their duo be a trio?
“We were trying to think of who could be a relatable, beloved character. And it was just, ‘Josh Gad! You know, Disney legend, music man.’ So, literally, in one night, we put this outline together and cold-emailed his manager, Meredith. She’s wonderful—she reps us now—and 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’re immediately like, ‘This is a no-brainer.’”
Olivetti was the final piece of the puzzle, bringing the story to life with his bold and strikingly realistic illustrations.
“He is a legend,” Berkowitz says. “He was the only person we felt could do this story. His art is genius, absolutely gorgeous.”
As storytellers, the Berkowitzes—and Gad, whom Ben joking refers to as the third Berkowitz brother—focused 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.
“Antisemitism is on the rise,” Berkowitz acknowledges. “We 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’re such a magical part of Judaism. We want to keep them alive and bring them to a new audience.”
With the completed collection now on stands, will The Writer return? Will Berkowitz’s 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.
“I think we will surprise people. But I will say I’m addicted now. I want to keep making comics as long as possible.”