Writer Neil Kleid and artist John Broglia re-team with colorist Ellie Wright and editor Sarah Litt for Nice Jewish Boys, a modern day Jewish crime drama set in suburban New Jersey. The first issue is out now through Amazon’s comiXology Originals.
Inspired by a true-life criminal event, Nice Jewish Boys stars Jake Levin, a Modern Orthodox Jew, struggling to pay his bills, drawn into a triangle of secrets when he moonlights for his best friend, a kosher caterer-turned-criminal, who unbeknownst to him, is wanted by the FBI thanks to their other pal, a failed entrepreneur turned informant.
Behind a backdrop of synagogues and Sabbath meals, Jake and his childhood best friends, Chaim Davidovits and Lenny Klein, are embroiled in a delicate web of crime, cops, guilt, and gefilte fish, when this Jewish suburban crime story comes to an explosive head at a bar mitzvah packed with blintzes and betrayal.
Who are the nice Jewish boys? Meet the cast!
Jake Levin (45): A struggling writer and family man. Aside from his usual mortgage and bills, Jake’s on the hook for Hebrew school tuition, summer camp, soccer registration, High Holidays costs…and he’s got to pay for a bar mitzvah with a bat mitzvah to follow! Thankfully, his friends are willing to help, and despite his pride, Jake barters marketing/email work with his caterer friend Chaim who gives him a discount on meals for the event. What Jake doesn’t know, is working with Chaim means that his pride won’t be the only thing he’ll be sacrificing.
Chaim Davidovits (42): A man of appetites and gestures, big-hearted Chaim is a community leader, owner of three appetizing stores and an in-demand caterer. Friendly with the town council and local cops, Chaim is clearly a man of influence. He’s also a criminal—his business is a trafficking front for the Avodah (“the work”), his stores a vehicle through which he launders money. Additionally, he dabbles in stolen goods, credit card fraud and cyber crime. Chaim is satisfied in his small pond, benefiting from the close-knit, trusting nature of the Jewish community, and his family and friends (some who know, some who don’t) have reaped the benefits. But those appetites may be the death of him, as he seeks to expand his little empire. A staunch conservative, a vocal Zionist, a rabid Giants fan.
Lenny Klein (44): Athletic, easygoing Lenny had potential if you ask anyone who knew him as a kid. Unfortunately, years of poor luck have contributed to a slide into personal and professional decay. Divorced by Meredith, with whom he has a daughter, Shiri, Lenny’s happy-go-lucky nature has been marred by bitterness and alcoholism. Arrested for a yet-to-be-disclosed crime, Lenny has thus far skirted prison by agreeing to inform on larger crimes in the community…including those taking place in and around his best friend’s business.
Parker Levin (12, but almost 13): Bar mitzvah boy. Slim and well-liked, a good athlete but a troubled student, nervous about reading his Torah portion. Jake’s his role model, and the two enjoy talking out problems over a game of basketball or while browsing at the local comic shop. Parker has a sister, Olivia (10).
Nina Levin (39): No-nonsense, strong-willed, a nurse at Holy Name Hospital. The money is just enough to get by, and she is definitely the current breadwinner. Nina knows Jake will turn it around and encourages him to find part time work. She manages the house and is doing all the work for the bar mitzvah while Jake gets his act together—which may be why she hasn’t noticed he is entrenched in a life of crime.
Netanel Stern (37): Manager of Chaim’s Teaneck store. This former Clevelander is Chaim’s key chayal (soldier) in his criminal enterprise. Good with numbers and fists, he organizes drops and pick-ups using the trucks, and orchestrates communication and demands with the other stores. Dating Meredith, Lenny’s ex-wife, Netanel is the muscle behind the Avodah’s operations.
Shloime Garbstein (33): A Lakewood chasid, Shloime has a rabbinical degree from a Brooklyn kollel (Torah institute) and a knack for crime. The sharply-dressed mashgiach traffics and launders the Avodah’s ill-gotten proceeds while managing a ring of yeshiva scholars who service bored housewives, along with sidelines in real estate, larceny and extortion. His father leads a sect of hassidim in Lakewood, NJ…which is also a secret criminal empire far beyond the one Chaim, Netanel and Shloime have built in Teaneck.
