The golem is alive

Mendy Klein, 12, and his sister, Rivkie, 11, must leave their home in New Haven, Conn., and travel to Prague, Czech Republic, to save their father. He has been kidnapped by the scar-faced Ludmila Novakova and her partner, Pavel Novak. They want the rabbi to make them a golem (a "Jewish zombie") to help execute their evil plots. And so the story goes ... in the first issue of a new comic book series, Mendy and the Golem.

The Klein family made their debut in Mendy's Fun Page, which continues its weekly run in Jewish newspapers throughout North America and Australia. There was an illustrated novel in 1999, and now the Kleins' adventures come to life in comic book form. Published by New York-based The Golem, their stories can also be found online at www.thegolem.com.

Golem founder Tani Pinson first got into the comic book business in 1997, with the goal of breathing new life into the golem legends of Prague. He and Yankel Pinson have since teamed with artist Stan Goldberg and colorist Barry Grossman, both of Archie Comics renown, writer Matt Brandstein and Joe Rubinstein (inks) and the result is the première "episode" of Mendy and the Golem, called "The Key."

To order, six issues of the bimonthly comic book costs $30 US, 12 issues are $46 US and and 18 issues are $60 US. For more information, write to The Golem, Fifth Floor, 13-42nd St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11232-2617, or visit www.thegolem.com.