Sarah Silverman gets comics cameo

Some of us have been calling comedian Sarah Silverman a character for years. Well, now there’s no mistaking that she is one… at least in a comic book.

On Wednesday, Marvel Comics published a Deadpool comic book featuring Silverman, known not only for her potty-mouthed stand up routines, but also her activism. In the comic book cameo appearance, Silverman protests the Roxxon company, a sinister corporation that appears in several Marvel comics series.

The illustrated Silverman protests the use of “tracking,” a process that involves the use of gamma rays that is Marvels’ version of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, a controversial process for extracting natural gas from the earth.

Those unfamiliar with the history of comic books might be surprised to see a real-life celebrity appear in one. Comic book experts, however, can cite many examples of cameo appearances by famous individuals, be they actors or politicians.

It turns out that Silverman is not the first female Jewish comedian to appear in a comic book. That honor goes to the late Gilda Radner of Saturday Night Live fame. In fact, she appears in an October 1978 issue of Spider-Man in which Spider-Man’s alter ego Peter Parker attends a taping of the iconic (and still running) live comedy sketch show.

Other Jewish comedians, including Don Rickles, have shown up in comic books over the decades. And believe it or not, DC Comics published 124 issues of a Jerry Lewis comic book between 1952 and 1971. Many of the Justice League superheroes, including Superman, The Flash, Batman and Wonder Woman had the pleasure of meeting Lewis, who came off just as goofy on paper as he did on screen.

And in a very bizarre twist, Woody Allen appeared in a late 1960’s comic book called The Maniaks, about a wacky band modeled on The Monkees—who, of course, had their own comic book.

Deadpool co-writer Gerry Duggan told The Hollywood Reporter that  Silverman was chosen to appear in the No. 40 issue because she is “environmentally aware and her heart is in a good place.”

Of course, we can also point to the profit as a motive for including celebrities in comic books.

“Usually cameos of real-life celebrities are just gimmicks to sell comics,” said Steven Bergson, editor of Jewish Comix Anthology.

“Famous figures like, JFK or Obama, especially give a sort of authenticity to what’s otherwise escapist fantasy,” he said.

The politically opinionated Silverman may have a high profile, but she is still probably not as widely recognizable as a US president. Still, there is no arguing about the fact that she is out there.