Have you ever read a comic that was so good it brought you tears of joy? Do you remember what it was like to be seen and represented on a page or screen? There is a wonder in being represented, a way to feel like you are part of something. And boy, does The Unfinished Corner by Dani Colman deliver on that, joining an ever-increasing slate of independent Jewish comics and graphic novels, bringing Jewish characters and stories to life in exciting and unabashed ways. There’s an amazing new teenage hero in town. And her name is Miriam Feigenbaum, and she’s about to go on an adventure like no other.
The story is equal parts beautiful, creative, charming, heartwarming, tear-inducing, and unapologetically Jewish. The story is a simple little adventure starring a group of Bat/Bat Mitzvah age students, including one birthday/ Bat Mitzvah girl, Miriam, and her creative, funny, and unique coventurers, Avi Feuerstein David Faroukh, and new friend Judith Espinoza.
What they think is a simple trip to Washington to improve the world turns into a unique, magical, and theological adventure. The kids are whisked off by a not quite a Rabbi, Rabbi, who needs Miriam’s help. G-d hadn’t seen or completed a small corner of creation when He created the universe. The adventure is just like any adventure story: they go places, are tested, gain things to aid them in their journey and come to grips with their insecurities and questions.
Although Miriam is the story’s central character, and as the comic shows, she would not have been able to get as far as she did had it not been for Judith, David, and Avi, who come together to face this journey head-on. It is genuinely an unapologetically Jewish story for all ages that inspires hope in the future. Colman crafts a fantastic story highlighted beautifully by Rachel “Tuna” Petrocicz’s charming art. Her art is perfect for a coming-of-age, middle-school-age story.