jobnik!

by Miriam Libicki

Miriam Libicki, an American Jewish girl from a religious home, enlists in the Israeli Army one summer against everyone's better judgment. Many qualities seem to make her unsuited for IDF her Hebrew isn't great, she is shy and passive, and she has a tendency to fall in love with anything that moves. If that weren't enough, the Al Aqsa uprising, a.k.a the second Palestinian Intifada, erupts a few weeks after she is stationed as a secretary in a remote Negev base. Will Miriam survive threats of terrorism, the rough IDF culture, and not least, her horrible taste in men?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Jewish, Israel

152 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published November 3, 2008

About the author

Miriam Libicki was born in Columbus, Ohio. After living in Jerusalem and Seattle, Washington, she is now based in Vancouver, BC. She completed her Bachelor's of Fine Arts from Emily Carr Institute in 2006. She is the creator of the comic series, Jobnik!, and the drawn essays Towards a Hot Jew, ceasefire, fierce ease and Jewish Memoir Goes Pow! Zap! Oy! (published in The Jewish Graphic Novel: Critical Approaches, from Rutgers University Press, December 2008).

Reviews

[Perlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made me sad. The author was clearly a lost teen at the time this story takes place, and seeing her lack of self-esteem and good sense was so painful and disheartening, that it was hard to read.
The insight into life on the base makes it clear why many religious families are concerned about having their kids in the army. There seemed to be a real lack of clarity about what Jews are doing in this place and why. The background of the “Al Aqsa Intifada” is portrayed factually, but without much context for understanding the wider story.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe there wasn't more to write about for her service. Maybe she wasn't allowed to write more, but, this book is a pretty thin and pretty hollow account of Miriam Libicki's actual Israeli army service. Kinda disappointed in what turned out to be a wayward account of a teen's (sad) sexcapades. Miriam is lonely and lost and surrounded by gross womanizers. And maybe that's the army experience (that was her army experience), but I can't help but feel like I'm missing more of the larger picture/story of what army service is like. There were bits of history, for her it was current events, sprinkled throughout of the Second Intifada (aka "the Al-Aqsa Intifada"), which made the book more relevant and interesting for me, but overall, this was a weak 3 stars.

I also didn't particularly love Libicki's art style (big eyes, like Bratz dolls), but there was one page that were very striking to me: Page 45 is a whole sky full of stars (stars of Davids) and fighter jets. Very much like the cover, but in a full page spread of black and white, with little Miriam Libicki at the bottom asking, "dear god, where am I?"

[Derek Royal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revisiting my first exposure to Libicki's comics.

[Shoshanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspective, vignettes from Miriam Libicki's time in the Israeli army.

[Anouk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of the art style and I was disinterested in her sexcapades

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strength here is the artwork: roundish, chunky bodies with big eyes. Very soothing to look at.

Neat portrayal of the mundane aspects of military life, while terrible shit is happening. She clearly feels like she's helping if only by doing her small part.

Content notes for young men being obnoxious, weird hetero ideas about virginity. And Jian Ghomeshi makes and appearance--this probably was published before his very public downfall.

[Nick Kives · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I expected more from this book than what it actually was. Jobnik is a derogatory slang term used by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for non combat soldiers like desk clerks. At 18 an American Jewish girl decides to join the IDF. I expected more of a story about a girl struggling with the change, but it ends up just being more of a journal of things that happen, and not always connected or with a flowing narrative. Then there is a pencil art work. Only drawn and colored with pencil, and at some points you aren't sure if a character is male or female, and for myself, not being familiar with Hebrew names still wasn't sure if the character was male or female until there were other interactions. This hovered around a 2 or 3 for me, but could have easily given it a 2.

[Sam Wescott · Rating 3 out of 5]

When reflecting on this book, I can definitely see its merits. It portrays the very personal reaction to a devastating and complicated war on a realistic and understated character. Following that character through her battles with self-esteem and intimacy leads the reader through a touching journey that is simple and reflective. It's a good book.

However, I cannot honestly say that I enjoyed reading it. It was a quick read that had touching moments, but was overall a little too understated and quiet. Maybe it'll have more of an impact after a re-read.

[Rachael Marks · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's such an interesting point of view that I feel like there are some deeper insights Libicki could have gotten into, but the historical moments felt copied and pasted and I wanted to know a bit more about how she interacted with people other than the ones she was sort hooking up with. I think the sexuality question could have been more interesting, given her religious background, but this seemed to only start to open up for conversation.

[Sasha Boersma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art. Intriguing concept. Story a bit fuzzy. Lots of great panels and vignettes within her story, but there are gaps in the narrative - her mental illness, why exactly she joined the army... Then the ending just ends. I look forward to reading more of her work to see how she develops her storytelling skills, but this title is a bit raw.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a self-serving chronicle about....I'm not actually sure what. I couldn't really derive a narrative anywhere amongst the pages except for some oral sex and maybe a displaced abject commentary? I don't know....wouldn't recommend.

[Katie J Smyza · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting art style, but the narrative somehow seems starry-eyed and slow even in the midst of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Some really solid page design in certain parts.