What do you think?
Rate this book
American Splendor
American Splendor and More American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar
The inspiration for the award-winning movie
from HBO Films and Fine Line Features
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar
Two classic comic anthologies in one volume
Stories by Harvey Pekar
Introduction by R. Crumb
Art by Kevin Brown, Gregory Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, R. Crumb, Gary Dumm, Val Mayerik, and Gerry Shamray
The classic collection of the comics that inspired the movie American Splendor , winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival
American Splendor is the world’s first literary comic book. Cleveland native Harvey Pekar is a true American original. A V.A. hospital file clerk and comic book writer, Harvey chronicles the ordinary and mundane in stories both funny and touching. His dead-on eye for the frustrations and minutiae of the workaday world mix in a delicate balance with his insight into personal relationships. Pekar has been compared to Dreiser, Dostoevsky, and Lenny Bruce. But he is truly more than all of them—he is himself.
“Mr. Pekar has . . . proven that comics can address the ambiguities of daily living, that like the finest fiction, they can hold a mirror up to life.”
— The New York Times
“[Pekar] has a vision that makes daily city life—a ride on the bus, a run-in with a boss, or simply buying bread—dramatic.”
— Chicago Sun-Times
“Simply stated, American Splendor is the most superb literary endeavor to come off the streets of Cleveland in decades.”
— The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
“Mr. Pekar lets all of life flood into his the humdrum and the heroic, the gritty and the grand.”
— The New York Times Book Review
from HBO Films and Fine Line Features
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar
Two classic comic anthologies in one volume
Stories by Harvey Pekar
Introduction by R. Crumb
Art by Kevin Brown, Gregory Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, R. Crumb, Gary Dumm, Val Mayerik, and Gerry Shamray
The classic collection of the comics that inspired the movie American Splendor , winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival
American Splendor is the world’s first literary comic book. Cleveland native Harvey Pekar is a true American original. A V.A. hospital file clerk and comic book writer, Harvey chronicles the ordinary and mundane in stories both funny and touching. His dead-on eye for the frustrations and minutiae of the workaday world mix in a delicate balance with his insight into personal relationships. Pekar has been compared to Dreiser, Dostoevsky, and Lenny Bruce. But he is truly more than all of them—he is himself.
“Mr. Pekar has . . . proven that comics can address the ambiguities of daily living, that like the finest fiction, they can hold a mirror up to life.”
— The New York Times
“[Pekar] has a vision that makes daily city life—a ride on the bus, a run-in with a boss, or simply buying bread—dramatic.”
— Chicago Sun-Times
“Simply stated, American Splendor is the most superb literary endeavor to come off the streets of Cleveland in decades.”
— The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
“Mr. Pekar lets all of life flood into his the humdrum and the heroic, the gritty and the grand.”
— The New York Times Book Review
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
48 people are currently reading
4363 people want to read
About the author
Harvey Pekar
119 books258 followersHarvey Pekar was an American writer and comics creator whose groundbreaking autobiographical series American Splendor helped redefine the possibilities of graphic storytelling. Frequently called the poet laureate of Cleveland, he developed a body of work that approached everyday life with candor, humor, frustration, and philosophical reflection. Pekar’s voice became central to the evolution of comics into a medium capable of serious literary expression, and his influence extended to criticism, journalism, and popular culture through his essays, radio work, and memorable television appearances.
Pekar grew up in Cleveland, where his parents operated a small grocery store, and his early experiences shaped much of the sensibility that later defined his writing. His deep love of jazz led him into criticism, and through that world he befriended artist Robert Crumb. Their shared interest in music eventually led him to try writing comics. Pekar wrote his first scripts in the early seventies, sketching out stories with simple figures before passing them to Crumb and other underground artists who encouraged him to continue. With the first issue of American Splendor in 1976, Pekar began chronicling the small battles, anxieties, and fleeting moments that made up his daily life in Cleveland. His day job as a file clerk, his marriages, conversations with coworkers, frustrations with bureaucracy, and the struggle to make ends meet all became material for a series that often blurred the line between observation and confession. Over the years, he worked with a wide range of artists who interpreted his scripts in styles that mirrored the emotional tone of each story.
The success of American Splendor brought Pekar national attention. Collections such as The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar received strong critical praise, and his unpredictable, often confrontational appearances on late-night television became a defining part of his public persona. The 2003 film adaptation of American Splendor, in which Paul Giamatti portrayed him, earned major festival awards and introduced Pekar’s work to a wider audience. He continued to write graphic memoirs, biographies, collaborations, and cultural commentary, expanding his range while maintaining the blunt honesty that characterized his voice. Pekar’s work remains central to the development of literary comics, influencing generations of writers and artists who followed his example.
Pekar grew up in Cleveland, where his parents operated a small grocery store, and his early experiences shaped much of the sensibility that later defined his writing. His deep love of jazz led him into criticism, and through that world he befriended artist Robert Crumb. Their shared interest in music eventually led him to try writing comics. Pekar wrote his first scripts in the early seventies, sketching out stories with simple figures before passing them to Crumb and other underground artists who encouraged him to continue. With the first issue of American Splendor in 1976, Pekar began chronicling the small battles, anxieties, and fleeting moments that made up his daily life in Cleveland. His day job as a file clerk, his marriages, conversations with coworkers, frustrations with bureaucracy, and the struggle to make ends meet all became material for a series that often blurred the line between observation and confession. Over the years, he worked with a wide range of artists who interpreted his scripts in styles that mirrored the emotional tone of each story.
The success of American Splendor brought Pekar national attention. Collections such as The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar received strong critical praise, and his unpredictable, often confrontational appearances on late-night television became a defining part of his public persona. The 2003 film adaptation of American Splendor, in which Paul Giamatti portrayed him, earned major festival awards and introduced Pekar’s work to a wider audience. He continued to write graphic memoirs, biographies, collaborations, and cultural commentary, expanding his range while maintaining the blunt honesty that characterized his voice. Pekar’s work remains central to the development of literary comics, influencing generations of writers and artists who followed his example.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
September 4, 2013
This needs a bit of explanation. It's a true story but it sounds strange. Once there was an earnest young jazz fan called Harvey Pekar living in Cleveland, a grim industrial place by the sound of it. He collected records and through that obsession he met Robert Crumb, who you all know to be the most famous "underground comics" artist ever. Crumb was just beginning his journey to the heart of the hippy nightmare. Harvey was and is a guy with strong opinions. He hated his own joyless life - by that time he even hated his own record collecting obsession! - and he wanted to express his own disgust with modern America in some way - but how? In previous decades he might have written an unreadable social realist novel, but in 1970s Cleveland he thought of comics. But not comics as we know them. Miserable comics about life-as-it's-really-lived (by Harvey that is). The bad news was, he couldn't draw. The very good news was, however, he knew Crumb, and Crumb liked his ideas, and so agreed to illustrate them. So began a series of comic books called American Splendor (ironic title, you see). Harvey paid for the printing &c himself, and as they've never been especially popular, he's never made any money out of his strange project, which is in essence a kind of ongoing comic book diary/autobiography/social commentary. So he always had to have a day job (filing clerk at a hospital) which he hates with a passion, but also loves (because it's so easy!).
Somewhere along the line somebody made a stage play about the whole thing, like they do, and then they made a movie, called American Splendor, of course. Which is pretty good, but quite peculiar. In the movie the actor playing Harvey goes to see the play about Harvey (in which Harvey is played by another actor) and also meets the real Harvey. I believe this is called post-modernism, but could also be called far out.
This book is a reprint of two earlier collections, and is the full-on Harvey Pekar experience. I found it grimly compelling, dour, only occasionally humorous. For all his faults, Harvey had a lot of faults, and he never spares himself. He never apologises for himself and he never lightens up. Doesn't sound like much of a good time to be had here, but strangely, there is.
Somewhere along the line somebody made a stage play about the whole thing, like they do, and then they made a movie, called American Splendor, of course. Which is pretty good, but quite peculiar. In the movie the actor playing Harvey goes to see the play about Harvey (in which Harvey is played by another actor) and also meets the real Harvey. I believe this is called post-modernism, but could also be called far out.
This book is a reprint of two earlier collections, and is the full-on Harvey Pekar experience. I found it grimly compelling, dour, only occasionally humorous. For all his faults, Harvey had a lot of faults, and he never spares himself. He never apologises for himself and he never lightens up. Doesn't sound like much of a good time to be had here, but strangely, there is.
January 4, 2024
This was definitely not for me, finding little of interest or entertaining in the vignettes focused on life's little setbacks and highlighting the author's own insecurities, self-pity, pessimism and the occasional stroking of his own ego.
July 13, 2010
By the time I reached the story "I'll be Forty-three on Friday" I realized that this book has more deep things to say about life than most *real* novels, and as a biographical work is as comprehensive in scope as anything I've ever read. An amazing collection.
--------
(earlier impressions while reading:)
I saw the fine film version of "American Splendor." Pekar, the angry everyman iconoclast, used to be one of my favorite talk show guests back in the rough-and-tumble days of David Letterman's old NBC late night show.
So I'm belatedly entering into the world of graphic novels, partly to satisfy my curiosity but also to get some idea of what the rest of the world, especially the world that is younger than I am, are talking about. And I know, Pekar and Crumb are old-school, but gotta start somewhere...(just read two of Crumb's volumes, so I'm on my way...)
The first story really sets the tone. The poignancy of the mundane. Pekar introduces himself, talks about how people mangled and made fun of this name, and then how he discovered that the Cleveland phone book sported another Harvey Pekar other than himself and then, oddly, yet another, despite the rarity of the name. And then the sense of loss and heartbreak when the other two disappear from the book.
So, I'm reading and enjoying these nostalgic panels of life on the ground. Nerds doing nerdy things. Creatives creating. It's sweet.
UPDATE:
So I'm rolling up to the halfway point of these and I have to say they weave a spell. These are candid, honest looks at a real and ordinary American life, and yet there's so much wisdom and familiarity in the stories. Wonderful dialogue snippets from places and people overlooked in most elitist art. This is a rewarding experience.
--------
(earlier impressions while reading:)
I saw the fine film version of "American Splendor." Pekar, the angry everyman iconoclast, used to be one of my favorite talk show guests back in the rough-and-tumble days of David Letterman's old NBC late night show.
So I'm belatedly entering into the world of graphic novels, partly to satisfy my curiosity but also to get some idea of what the rest of the world, especially the world that is younger than I am, are talking about. And I know, Pekar and Crumb are old-school, but gotta start somewhere...(just read two of Crumb's volumes, so I'm on my way...)
The first story really sets the tone. The poignancy of the mundane. Pekar introduces himself, talks about how people mangled and made fun of this name, and then how he discovered that the Cleveland phone book sported another Harvey Pekar other than himself and then, oddly, yet another, despite the rarity of the name. And then the sense of loss and heartbreak when the other two disappear from the book.
So, I'm reading and enjoying these nostalgic panels of life on the ground. Nerds doing nerdy things. Creatives creating. It's sweet.
UPDATE:
So I'm rolling up to the halfway point of these and I have to say they weave a spell. These are candid, honest looks at a real and ordinary American life, and yet there's so much wisdom and familiarity in the stories. Wonderful dialogue snippets from places and people overlooked in most elitist art. This is a rewarding experience.
June 3, 2022
Paul Giamatti was perfectly cast in the 2003 film. A film which, the first time I watched it, only come a few months after Pekar's death in 2010. It's great balance of comedy and heartfelt drama had me both laughing and trying to hold back the tears. Simply loved the film so much. Naturally, I love the book too. I'd be surprised if any other autobiographical comic knocks this off its perch as my fave.
October 26, 2017
A perfect introduction to Harvey Pekar for those unfamiliar with his work or just curious to learn what he was all about. Pekar wrote literature. He was the unofficial poet laureate of Cleveland, Ohio. A fabulous movie was made about his life. It features his narration and snippets of him, you can't help but become endeared. I first learned about him during the 1980s when he would appear on The David Letterman Show, which are also featured in the movie. He was such an odd character that I had to run out and get is comic books.
He used comic artists to convey his work, so part of the charm of his work is the diversity of artists who make the pictures that go with his words. Make no mistake, he belongs in the pantheon of accomplished American writers. Let's hope that the Library of America will produce a volume or two of his work. He deserves it.
His gravesite is one of the most important places in Cleveland. Worth a visit if you're ever in town.
He used comic artists to convey his work, so part of the charm of his work is the diversity of artists who make the pictures that go with his words. Make no mistake, he belongs in the pantheon of accomplished American writers. Let's hope that the Library of America will produce a volume or two of his work. He deserves it.
His gravesite is one of the most important places in Cleveland. Worth a visit if you're ever in town.
June 5, 2022
Four stars with a couple of caveats. I was a bit afraid that American Splendor would be marred by sexist content, as are so many books written by straight men in the 1970s. Well, there's definitely some sexist content, as well as several other things that have emphatically not aged well; however, it's a testament to Pekar's writing and the talent of some of the visual artists that I was still able to enjoy the book. I should also add that Pekar can come off as an unabashed jerk, but, to his credit, he seems to mellow in the later stories.
I don't think Pekar was a genius, but I found him to have a lot of insight into himself and even into the world at large. We all know there's no such thing as an "everyman," but I can say that Pekar's life as portrayed in American Splendor was of real interest to me, and even strangely relatable.
For most of the book, Pekar lives a relatively simple life. He works a government job; he has no car; he spends his time reading or hanging out "on the corner"; he economizes by eating hot dogs and potato chips for dinner. Much of the action, such as it is, happens inside Pekar's head. We hear about his philosophy of choosing the best checkout line at the grocery store, his struggle to overcome his addiction to buying jazz records, and his discouragement at finding an empty P.O. box on Saturday morning. (The empty P.O. box leads Pekar to ruminate on the possibilty of an afterlife, at the end of which he decides to go home and watch cartoons on TV. The story concludes with the following lines: "This guy's weekend is over. But he'll try again next week. He really doesn't have much choice." Absolutely priceless.)
Although my life is very different from Pekar's, it has the same kind of simplicity, and I have a similar tendency to live inside my head. For me, it was nice to see this kind of life given its due.
I also really liked getting a peek into what life in Cleveland was like (for some people) in the 1970s and early 1980s. Whenever one of the artists chose to include detailed street scenes of Cleveland, I ate it up. ("The Day before the Be In" is a great example; the illustrations make that story.)
I'm not really sure how to end this review,* except to say that when I started reading American Splendor, I intended to donate it to the Goodwill when I finished it. However, by the time I was done, I had decided to keep the book because I think there's a real possibility that I would like to return to it someday. So that's my endorsement.
*A footnote. The blurb on the back calls American Splendor "the world's first literary comic book." I would like to state for the record that I don't see how this could possibly be true. Given the rise of underground and independent comics in the 1960s and early 1970s, I think it's likely that literary comic books were around, if not widely distributed, well before Pekar began publishing in the mid- to late 1970s. These include plenty of comics by women, largely overlooked in their day and generally forgotten now. But they can still be found if anyone has the desire to look for them!
I don't think Pekar was a genius, but I found him to have a lot of insight into himself and even into the world at large. We all know there's no such thing as an "everyman," but I can say that Pekar's life as portrayed in American Splendor was of real interest to me, and even strangely relatable.
For most of the book, Pekar lives a relatively simple life. He works a government job; he has no car; he spends his time reading or hanging out "on the corner"; he economizes by eating hot dogs and potato chips for dinner. Much of the action, such as it is, happens inside Pekar's head. We hear about his philosophy of choosing the best checkout line at the grocery store, his struggle to overcome his addiction to buying jazz records, and his discouragement at finding an empty P.O. box on Saturday morning. (The empty P.O. box leads Pekar to ruminate on the possibilty of an afterlife, at the end of which he decides to go home and watch cartoons on TV. The story concludes with the following lines: "This guy's weekend is over. But he'll try again next week. He really doesn't have much choice." Absolutely priceless.)
Although my life is very different from Pekar's, it has the same kind of simplicity, and I have a similar tendency to live inside my head. For me, it was nice to see this kind of life given its due.
I also really liked getting a peek into what life in Cleveland was like (for some people) in the 1970s and early 1980s. Whenever one of the artists chose to include detailed street scenes of Cleveland, I ate it up. ("The Day before the Be In" is a great example; the illustrations make that story.)
I'm not really sure how to end this review,* except to say that when I started reading American Splendor, I intended to donate it to the Goodwill when I finished it. However, by the time I was done, I had decided to keep the book because I think there's a real possibility that I would like to return to it someday. So that's my endorsement.
*A footnote. The blurb on the back calls American Splendor "the world's first literary comic book." I would like to state for the record that I don't see how this could possibly be true. Given the rise of underground and independent comics in the 1960s and early 1970s, I think it's likely that literary comic books were around, if not widely distributed, well before Pekar began publishing in the mid- to late 1970s. These include plenty of comics by women, largely overlooked in their day and generally forgotten now. But they can still be found if anyone has the desire to look for them!
October 2, 2009
The more I read of Harvey Pekar the more I appreciate his gentle wisdom and genius for revealing the magic of mundane life. Inspired by the success of his friend Robert Crumb, Pekar decided to start writing underground comics himself in the 70s, toiling in relative obscurity until the movie based on his comics opened to critical raves. Pekar's own work deserves even more praise, for taking the comics medium seriously. The antithesis of superhero dreck, American Splendor singles out the heroism of everyday life for study. Radically departing from traditional narrative, Pekar relates seemingly simple anecdotes (from losing the gas cap to his car to pondering death on a walk home from work) that nail the truth about what is joyful and painful in this life more than anyone I have read in a long time. It doesn't matter if you like comics or not, Harvey Pekar is a writer worth reading.
March 12, 2010
Harvey Pekar is that guy—you know the one. Irritated, opinionated; he has a dead-end job that he's really pretty good at (although he's educated far beyond what the work requires), but that's almost beside the point, because what's interesting about him isn't what he does, it's what he says. Harvey Pekar's audience includes graphic artists like Robert Crumb and Robert Armstrong, and his work inspired a very good, award-winning film (also called "American Splendor"), starring Paul Giamatti and featuring appearances by Pekar himself. These are the original strips that inspired such a following, bringing the first two American Splendor collections together into a single volume, with a cover taken from the poster for the 2003 film.
Pekar is a rare and special talent, a keen-eyed observer and reporter of minutiae, who can make the mundane interesting. He is, to reverse a science-fictional conceit, the opposite of a "Mute Inglorious Tam" (scroll down a bit on that page)—Tam being the medieval serf in a brilliant short story by Frederick Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth. Tam finds himself compelled to make up stories about an existence beyond his own. Like Tam, Harvey Pekar is caught in a mundane, unadventurous and unappreciative society; however, Harvey Pekar tells stories about his own existence, utterly mundane as that is, and also unlike Tam's uncaring fellow serfs, Pekar somehow manages to find an audience for these stories.
I remember seeing Pekar once on TV, in an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman" which must have been the one on August 31, 1988, according to an article by James Hynes, about whose own work I've written before. Pekar's unscripted and authentic interaction with Letterman's attempts at humor and ingratiation was much closer to what the average man on the street might say than to what a seasoned television personality could come up with. Letterman didn't handle Pekar well, at all, and the interview ended in confusion and anger. It was a rare instance of reality breaking through into the scripted world of TV.
You won't find a lot of explosions here; no high-tech weaponry or alien machines; no skin-tight uniforms or capes fluttering in the breeze from a faraway planet. You might see a city bus, or the inside of a V.A. hospital's file room, though. You might see something real.
Pekar is a rare and special talent, a keen-eyed observer and reporter of minutiae, who can make the mundane interesting. He is, to reverse a science-fictional conceit, the opposite of a "Mute Inglorious Tam" (scroll down a bit on that page)—Tam being the medieval serf in a brilliant short story by Frederick Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth. Tam finds himself compelled to make up stories about an existence beyond his own. Like Tam, Harvey Pekar is caught in a mundane, unadventurous and unappreciative society; however, Harvey Pekar tells stories about his own existence, utterly mundane as that is, and also unlike Tam's uncaring fellow serfs, Pekar somehow manages to find an audience for these stories.
I remember seeing Pekar once on TV, in an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman" which must have been the one on August 31, 1988, according to an article by James Hynes, about whose own work I've written before. Pekar's unscripted and authentic interaction with Letterman's attempts at humor and ingratiation was much closer to what the average man on the street might say than to what a seasoned television personality could come up with. Letterman didn't handle Pekar well, at all, and the interview ended in confusion and anger. It was a rare instance of reality breaking through into the scripted world of TV.
You won't find a lot of explosions here; no high-tech weaponry or alien machines; no skin-tight uniforms or capes fluttering in the breeze from a faraway planet. You might see a city bus, or the inside of a V.A. hospital's file room, though. You might see something real.
January 15, 2013
Look there's so much here that it is gonna take me a long time to read from go to woe. But I love it. Pekar's way washes over you and American Splendor isn't so much a read but a hobby.
Of all the works I'm at volume 9 or something..and I have them all. No abridging.
There is no adventure and maybe the anecdotal way of it isn't the least bit exciting -- but as an exercise in life story telling Splendor is autobiographical gold.
One of the truly great comics....
[Then go catch the film: it's excellent].
Of all the works I'm at volume 9 or something..and I have them all. No abridging.
There is no adventure and maybe the anecdotal way of it isn't the least bit exciting -- but as an exercise in life story telling Splendor is autobiographical gold.
One of the truly great comics....
[Then go catch the film: it's excellent].
April 9, 2007
Harvey Pekar is one of the few ordinary, every day heroes out there that's actually managed to get media attention. His contemplative, relatable stories about every day life give the reader room to reflect on their own ordinary surroundings and friends in a way that gives them great meaning. In a culture that is more and more driven and dominated by celebrities and media hype, it is refreshing to read a book like American Splendor that insists on the beauty and intelligence of regular people.
May 21, 2021
The other day I was reading a review about James Joyce's Ulysses and a dude said that reading and understanding that book isnt as much about being intelligent as much as it is about being Irish. He lived in Dublin so he could relate to things in that book like only Dubliners could.
Well I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I've lived in a few other states for a couple years but I always wind up back here.
I've lived in crappy neighborhoods and worked tons of crappy jobs. I've dealt with Cleveland weather and people with Clevelands somewhat unique attitude. It's funny when native New Yorkers tell you, "Man, people from Cleveland are MEAN!"
Another thing I think I have in common with Harvey is that I have aspergers. To me it's pretty clear he had it too, although that diagnoses was very uncommon in his time.
Anyways, it's cool to read these stories about parts of Cleveland that I'm so familiar with. It's cool to see him walk down streets in places that I've walked down myself. Taking the same public transportation, driving on the same bridges.
I remember some friends and I would take the rapid down to Tower City, this great big mall downtown. We would see Harvey or sometimes even Toby, one of Harvey's buddies, riding the transit. I knew who they were but didnt wanna bother them. I wouldnt have known what to say anyways. I wasnt super into his stuff in my early 20s. I liked reading novels more, although my main focus was drugs, music, alcohol and girls (and in that order). The only comics I cared much for were Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.
This is a great comic, with great stories about being a normal dude, living in a normal place, dealing with normal every day life and thinking normal every day thoughts. It's kind of a diary. I think some people may like it cause it can be funny, some may like it cause it can be serious, some may like the really amazing art and some may like the morals some of the stories kinda give. Some may not dig it too much though, they may think it's boring. I get it. I disagree but I get it.
I'm one of those people who dig it. I dug it a lot actually.
Well I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I've lived in a few other states for a couple years but I always wind up back here.
I've lived in crappy neighborhoods and worked tons of crappy jobs. I've dealt with Cleveland weather and people with Clevelands somewhat unique attitude. It's funny when native New Yorkers tell you, "Man, people from Cleveland are MEAN!"
Another thing I think I have in common with Harvey is that I have aspergers. To me it's pretty clear he had it too, although that diagnoses was very uncommon in his time.
Anyways, it's cool to read these stories about parts of Cleveland that I'm so familiar with. It's cool to see him walk down streets in places that I've walked down myself. Taking the same public transportation, driving on the same bridges.
I remember some friends and I would take the rapid down to Tower City, this great big mall downtown. We would see Harvey or sometimes even Toby, one of Harvey's buddies, riding the transit. I knew who they were but didnt wanna bother them. I wouldnt have known what to say anyways. I wasnt super into his stuff in my early 20s. I liked reading novels more, although my main focus was drugs, music, alcohol and girls (and in that order). The only comics I cared much for were Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.
This is a great comic, with great stories about being a normal dude, living in a normal place, dealing with normal every day life and thinking normal every day thoughts. It's kind of a diary. I think some people may like it cause it can be funny, some may like it cause it can be serious, some may like the really amazing art and some may like the morals some of the stories kinda give. Some may not dig it too much though, they may think it's boring. I get it. I disagree but I get it.
I'm one of those people who dig it. I dug it a lot actually.
August 13, 2014
"American Splendor" was really my first self-motivated exploration into the world of graphic novels. With a mixture of thoughtfulness, neurosis, anger, and kindness, Pekar's anthologies (read straight through) provide one of the most poignant entries into the complexity of "everyday" American life that I have read. Having been born in the early 90s, I will be the first to admit I know very little about the two decades that preceded my existence. As Pekar says somewhere in this anthology, "we think the world started when we were born." This is the closest I have ever felt to those decades. "American Splendor" earns the avant-garde label that Pekar himself assumes in one of these strips, solely for the fact that these are comics-a medium driven by fantasy and action-where nothing really happens. Conversations and anecdotes (that are shared everyday, often in a disposable kind of way..i.e. my car wouldn't start) drive this strip. Sometimes, this can be a bit dull and even a little preachy. But then at the same time, it comes from the genuine place of one man with a sharp mind living a dull life. The feeling of stasis that comes with a dead-end job and a mind that is always turning is the beauty and tragedy of his life, and thus, the strip. Often, Pekar's introspection and self-awareness is disarming (in the best way). Any author that has the guts and thoughtfulness to close a story about being mugged with the line "one thing you should not do is to take this story as a criticism of blacks in general. So far as I can tell people react to circumstances about the same way no matter what their race" has me hooked. It's hardest to just say the thing, sometimes. In every one of Pekar's comics, no matter what it is about, Pekar says the thing. Also, it is my favorite thing to imagine Harvey constantly pestering artists to draw for him, seeing as he didn't do his own illustrations.
If you have never seen Pekar's interviews with Letterman, do yourself the favor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09hcCk...
If you have never seen Pekar's interviews with Letterman, do yourself the favor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09hcCk...
April 9, 2017
Pekar is the founder of literary graphic novels, so being a big fan of the genre I had to check out his work. It's odd, I assumed his stuff would be pretty cynical, but it's quite the opposite. It holds a pulse to the everyday Joe and offers little tidbits of advice on life.
July 17, 2010
R.I.P. Mr. Pekar.
February 13, 2025
Huge fan of the film, so I finally decided to give this a gander. It's a collection of various short story works done by different artists with Harvey as the writer. If you like the movie (like I do) it is cool to see what inspired it - but that was just it for me. I think I enjoyed Our Cancer Year much more because it was one long narrative, as opposed to just a string of "short stories." It kind of gets repetitive after a while, to be honest, but that's just my opinion.
July 14, 2020
Great stories by a real outsider writer, the bard of Cleveland. Pekar's subject is the small, day to day stuff of his life (generally), seemingly humdrum but somehow compelling. Pekar wrote the stories but did not illustrate them and to me, one of the most interesting things about this book was what the several artists involved brought to the stories. You've got classic R. Crumb stuff, to me often quite murky, and then you have work by Gerry Shamray that I swear blows right open the idea of a graphic novel. And plenty inbetween. It's almost a primer in how visual style influences our perception of a story. Definitely worth looking at.
July 2, 2019
Synopsis: American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar collects the two anthology collections of Pekar's autobiographical series published from the mid-70s to mid-80s.
My Thoughts: Like most American Splendour books I've read, this one composes of various anecdotes relating to Pekar's life along with those surrounding his life while touching upon profound themes of loneliness, insecurity, existential crisis, etc, making all the putatively ordinary individuals in his stories fascinating in some way or another. Likewise, the art style ranges were diverse, each adding their own unique flavor to the stories from the likes of R. Crumb, Gary Dumm (who generally collaborated with Greg Budgett), Sue Cavey, etc. Nevertheless, what struck me as sui generis was the use of colloquialisms (such as 'pad' for apartment and 'bread' for money) which has seemed to fizzle out of his speech in later works, most of which take in the suburbs rather than the ghettos. Of course, since there was an extensive myriad of tales to go through, I will sum up my overall sentiments by gathering my personal top 5 stories:
5. Read This - No, this is not me demanding you to finish reading through my review despite being utterly bored by my painstaking critique (for which the antidote is to simply skip through with it) but the actual title of the story centering around Harvey's initially so-so relationship with a rather conservative jazz record collector. The ending was a sagacious reminder that one's true friends can often be the ones who we tend to look over due to their somewhat hostile exterior with one of the most memorable quotes being from Harvey himself stating directly to the audience:
'Friendliness is not one of the first things I look for in a friend. The most important things are honesty an' reliability. Gimmie a sour-faced buddy who returns phone calls, shows up when he's supposed to, an' pays his debts when they're due.'
4. The Young Crumb Story - The second tale in this collection was an interesting one about how R. Crumb (who illustrated this very story) and Harvey Pekar met.
3. An Argument at Work - A tragic chronicle of the life of Herschel, an underappreciated intellectual. Keep in mind when I say tragic, I don't mean it in its conventional literary sense, but one that fits into the context of a series mundane slice-of-life vignettes as such here where Herschel, despite having written high-end articles for well-reputed periodicals, remains a lonely individual due to his peers' superficial views of success. Worse yet, he still has to work a dead-end 9-5 job which he dislikes just to make ends meet since writing alone wouldn't help him. I subsequently ended up feeling quite terrible about his dismal position.
2. I'll be Forty-three on Friday (How I'm Living Now) - Harvey begins to introspect his life in profound ways, to paraphrase reviewer Evan's words, many 'real' novels and, to add, graphic novels fail to capture.
And my all time (for the nonce at least) favorite story of mine is__
1. An Everyday Horror Story - This harrowing anecdote shows horror can come in forms extending beyond the supernatural or even true crime stories. Here, we learn about Harvey's months-long struggle with laryngitis which unfortunately took place during his honeymoon. One cliché but true insight gained here was that true love can survive through the many hindrances of life. However, the most important lesson I found here was not to abuse one's voice even if my annoying 5-year sister is constantly annoying me as I am writing a book review.
Final Thoughts: While I did get into American Splendor starting with Harvey's later work, I still can confidently say I highly recommend a new reader to begin with this book as a foray into his opus since it allows readers to witness the writer's slow character evolution.
My Thoughts: Like most American Splendour books I've read, this one composes of various anecdotes relating to Pekar's life along with those surrounding his life while touching upon profound themes of loneliness, insecurity, existential crisis, etc, making all the putatively ordinary individuals in his stories fascinating in some way or another. Likewise, the art style ranges were diverse, each adding their own unique flavor to the stories from the likes of R. Crumb, Gary Dumm (who generally collaborated with Greg Budgett), Sue Cavey, etc. Nevertheless, what struck me as sui generis was the use of colloquialisms (such as 'pad' for apartment and 'bread' for money) which has seemed to fizzle out of his speech in later works, most of which take in the suburbs rather than the ghettos. Of course, since there was an extensive myriad of tales to go through, I will sum up my overall sentiments by gathering my personal top 5 stories:
5. Read This - No, this is not me demanding you to finish reading through my review despite being utterly bored by my painstaking critique (for which the antidote is to simply skip through with it) but the actual title of the story centering around Harvey's initially so-so relationship with a rather conservative jazz record collector. The ending was a sagacious reminder that one's true friends can often be the ones who we tend to look over due to their somewhat hostile exterior with one of the most memorable quotes being from Harvey himself stating directly to the audience:
'Friendliness is not one of the first things I look for in a friend. The most important things are honesty an' reliability. Gimmie a sour-faced buddy who returns phone calls, shows up when he's supposed to, an' pays his debts when they're due.'
4. The Young Crumb Story - The second tale in this collection was an interesting one about how R. Crumb (who illustrated this very story) and Harvey Pekar met.
3. An Argument at Work - A tragic chronicle of the life of Herschel, an underappreciated intellectual. Keep in mind when I say tragic, I don't mean it in its conventional literary sense, but one that fits into the context of a series mundane slice-of-life vignettes as such here where Herschel, despite having written high-end articles for well-reputed periodicals, remains a lonely individual due to his peers' superficial views of success. Worse yet, he still has to work a dead-end 9-5 job which he dislikes just to make ends meet since writing alone wouldn't help him. I subsequently ended up feeling quite terrible about his dismal position.
2. I'll be Forty-three on Friday (How I'm Living Now) - Harvey begins to introspect his life in profound ways, to paraphrase reviewer Evan's words, many 'real' novels and, to add, graphic novels fail to capture.
And my all time (for the nonce at least) favorite story of mine is__
1. An Everyday Horror Story - This harrowing anecdote shows horror can come in forms extending beyond the supernatural or even true crime stories. Here, we learn about Harvey's months-long struggle with laryngitis which unfortunately took place during his honeymoon. One cliché but true insight gained here was that true love can survive through the many hindrances of life. However, the most important lesson I found here was not to abuse one's voice even if my annoying 5-year sister is constantly annoying me as I am writing a book review.
Final Thoughts: While I did get into American Splendor starting with Harvey's later work, I still can confidently say I highly recommend a new reader to begin with this book as a foray into his opus since it allows readers to witness the writer's slow character evolution.
July 26, 2015
This anthology is neat because it shows every artist Pekar has worked with over the years; I really didn't care for Robert Crumb's caricature-like art, enjoyed Greg Budgett's clean style so much more. Favorite comic was the one about serving on Jury Duty, although he really doesn't cover politics a lot, but there's lots of introspection about self-loathing. Pekar was self-aware about his status as a "working-class intellectual" in that while he does earn his daily bread via a "flunky" but more importantly "safe" gig as a government filing clerk, his passions and intellectual curiosity remain elsewhere. Depressingly relate-able.
January 21, 2020
Some of the stories in this collection of American Splendor made their way into the film, including the monologue concluding with, "Who is Harvey Pekar?" which is one of my favorite strips. Later American Splendor became a bit too meta and self-referential, and while there are moments like that here, it's much less than the "Best Of" collection.
There's quite a bit of Crumb in this collection too, which I like. His artwork is so "cartoony" it provides a nice contrast to the realness of Pekar's world.
Many stories have some moments of profundity, some are kind of boring, but Pekar is just a guy who lived a life I enjoy peeping on. What else can I say?
There's quite a bit of Crumb in this collection too, which I like. His artwork is so "cartoony" it provides a nice contrast to the realness of Pekar's world.
Many stories have some moments of profundity, some are kind of boring, but Pekar is just a guy who lived a life I enjoy peeping on. What else can I say?
Read
September 6, 2016After years of reading bits and pieces of American Splendor, this was my first book-length treatment. Isolation, depression, poverty, the shit circumstances of intellectual life, the incessant squalor of 1970s America... they're all here, all told with real humanity. I don't often see comics with this degree of pathos even if (as with R. Crumb or Alan Moore) they're otherwise truly excellent. Universal recommendation.
August 19, 2011
Depressing as all hell with repetative content. Yeah, I know that this is a landmark work that invented a genre, but I had to force myself to finish it. The stories become more fleshed out near the end of the book, but good luck wading through the painfully boring segments.
September 11, 2011
Amazing book! The art in each story is beautiful and poignant, just as the prose and dialogue are. But really, the thing I enjoyed the most about this book was Harvey Pekar's dry, no-nonsense sense of humor and timing. I chuckled almost constantly while reading it.
June 7, 2011
The first half of this collection containing his earlier works were fun and insightful looks at life. In the latter years, his stories and thoughts are just ramblings in my honest opinion.
Want to read
June 21, 2015I adore Harvey Pekar's work, and count him as one of my earlier influences. I've read his comics before, but not the entire anthology. Need to keep an eye out for this one.
April 3, 2012
I read this when i was 10 or 12. I could already relate to that level of neuroticism. Old Soul.
November 23, 2017
When young, I was a bit mystified when I was force-fed the myths of the ancient civilizations, which in my case meant the Greeks and Romans. I thought to myself: Do these preposterous fairy tales really have anything to teach us? This was not the fault of the teachers or the education system: I was literal-minded then, and I remain so now. However, I am (slightly) better educated now than when I was 12, so I realize that the study of myth can have value, especially in the absence of abundant evidence about how people lived in ancient times. But how much better, how much more fascinating, it would be to have a simple factual description of what, for example, an average stonemason's day was like in 30 AD.
Similarly, today, I don't understand the popularity of comic book superhero genre, which falls into the populous category of activities that tens of thousands of people engage in but seem inexplicable to me, joining such diverse elements as: wearing earrings (voluntarily punch a hole in the side of your head? or even your nose? really?), washing and waxing your car on cold winter days (ok, actually, on any day at all), buying popcorn at movie theaters, buying and wearing diamonds, voting against one's own self interest, and taking interest in the lives of talentless celebrities. But I digress
Perhaps someday, like I did in the case of Greek and Roman myths, I will learn that there is some redeeming quality in today's superhero comic book genre that I was just too dense to comprehend. Until that time, however, I can take solace in the fact that, if I am not interested in superheroes in any form, I can ignore 90+% of the comic book genre, which has been re-christened “graphic novels” so that those of us insecure in our intellects can discuss them with dignity. I have a busy life, and I appreciate being off the hook in this manner.
As a matter of fact, if you read this book, Maus, and Persepolis, you seem to make a serious dent in the list of books that appear in the tiny central bubble of the Venn diagram wherein the three circles are labelled “graphic novels”, “no superheroes”, and “worthwhile”. (If you know any other books that should go in this bubble, please leave me a comment.)
Reading this book also caused me to re-examine some of Pekar's appearances on late-night television. I asked myself often: How much of this is a big put-on? Pekar was famously (at that time) irascible on the David Letterman program, but occasionally I thought I saw a character-breaking smile play across his face, as if to say “I'm not really a jerk, but I play one on TV”.
It also played that way, to my eyes, on the printed page. I asked myself: Can a person be reflective enough to produce the text of American Splendor but also clueless enough to produce the action described therein? For example, one episode relates Pekar's botched honeymoon trip from his native Cleveland to the Pacific Northwest. Pekar gets sick in an annoying (for him) but non-life threatening way: he has a condition that deprives him of his voice. He proceeds to make the honeymoon less pleasant for his new wife. Why? He's frustrated that he cannot participate in discussions that his wife seems to be enjoying perfectly well without him. Is he really so selfish that he cannot think "Well, it's her honeymoon too, I'll just sit quietly"?
I guess there are people in this world who are as childish and selfish as that, but few of those people go out later and lay their selfishness bare for the world to see as Pekar does. But it's hard to square the Harvey Pekar who behaves like a clueless jerk with the Harvey Pekar who observes his own bad behavior so unsparingly.
I enjoyed reading this book because, even though some pages are filled with panels of Harvey speaking directly to the reader in dense “eye dialect”*, it was still a much faster read than most conventional books I read and, as such, a welcome break from the latest 1000-page doorstop I'm now slogging through, even though it was very far from a cheerful read.
Now that Pekar has passed away, and his descriptions of life in 1970s Cleveland have become like a historical drama, it is perhaps more important to read about how normal people of that era lived because, you know, sooner or later, all of them will pass away, and it will be a lot like they never lived. Sometimes I wonder if today's electronic storage medium will go the way of the eight-track tape and the floppy disk, and if only paper medium will remain. If it does, I certainly hope this document is somehow miraculously preserved. It would be a shame if future civilizations know us only through our superheroes.
*meaning, speech rendered to portray the speaker's dialect, for example: “If y'want t'know more about that stuff, th'person t'ask is William F. Buckley or someone a'that ilk.”
Similarly, today, I don't understand the popularity of comic book superhero genre, which falls into the populous category of activities that tens of thousands of people engage in but seem inexplicable to me, joining such diverse elements as: wearing earrings (voluntarily punch a hole in the side of your head? or even your nose? really?), washing and waxing your car on cold winter days (ok, actually, on any day at all), buying popcorn at movie theaters, buying and wearing diamonds, voting against one's own self interest, and taking interest in the lives of talentless celebrities. But I digress
Perhaps someday, like I did in the case of Greek and Roman myths, I will learn that there is some redeeming quality in today's superhero comic book genre that I was just too dense to comprehend. Until that time, however, I can take solace in the fact that, if I am not interested in superheroes in any form, I can ignore 90+% of the comic book genre, which has been re-christened “graphic novels” so that those of us insecure in our intellects can discuss them with dignity. I have a busy life, and I appreciate being off the hook in this manner.
As a matter of fact, if you read this book, Maus, and Persepolis, you seem to make a serious dent in the list of books that appear in the tiny central bubble of the Venn diagram wherein the three circles are labelled “graphic novels”, “no superheroes”, and “worthwhile”. (If you know any other books that should go in this bubble, please leave me a comment.)
Reading this book also caused me to re-examine some of Pekar's appearances on late-night television. I asked myself often: How much of this is a big put-on? Pekar was famously (at that time) irascible on the David Letterman program, but occasionally I thought I saw a character-breaking smile play across his face, as if to say “I'm not really a jerk, but I play one on TV”.
It also played that way, to my eyes, on the printed page. I asked myself: Can a person be reflective enough to produce the text of American Splendor but also clueless enough to produce the action described therein? For example, one episode relates Pekar's botched honeymoon trip from his native Cleveland to the Pacific Northwest. Pekar gets sick in an annoying (for him) but non-life threatening way: he has a condition that deprives him of his voice. He proceeds to make the honeymoon less pleasant for his new wife. Why? He's frustrated that he cannot participate in discussions that his wife seems to be enjoying perfectly well without him. Is he really so selfish that he cannot think "Well, it's her honeymoon too, I'll just sit quietly"?
I guess there are people in this world who are as childish and selfish as that, but few of those people go out later and lay their selfishness bare for the world to see as Pekar does. But it's hard to square the Harvey Pekar who behaves like a clueless jerk with the Harvey Pekar who observes his own bad behavior so unsparingly.
I enjoyed reading this book because, even though some pages are filled with panels of Harvey speaking directly to the reader in dense “eye dialect”*, it was still a much faster read than most conventional books I read and, as such, a welcome break from the latest 1000-page doorstop I'm now slogging through, even though it was very far from a cheerful read.
Now that Pekar has passed away, and his descriptions of life in 1970s Cleveland have become like a historical drama, it is perhaps more important to read about how normal people of that era lived because, you know, sooner or later, all of them will pass away, and it will be a lot like they never lived. Sometimes I wonder if today's electronic storage medium will go the way of the eight-track tape and the floppy disk, and if only paper medium will remain. If it does, I certainly hope this document is somehow miraculously preserved. It would be a shame if future civilizations know us only through our superheroes.
*meaning, speech rendered to portray the speaker's dialect, for example: “If y'want t'know more about that stuff, th'person t'ask is William F. Buckley or someone a'that ilk.”
October 4, 2023
I have been going through a rough patch in my personal life over the past few months. I won't go into the whats or whys or wherefores of it all, suffice it to say that life is a strange thing and that there are no guarantees. A friend of mine repeatedly urged me to check out the works of Harvey Pekar. He told me that his life mirrored mine at the moment and vice versa. I trust the opinion of this friend, as he turned me on to Bukowski and is an artist who has produced work which I hold in extremely high regard.
Harvey Pekar is the star and hero of his own strip, the autobiographical American Splendor. While I know nothing about underground comics (or comix, as the kids who are now grandparents called them at the time), I can appreciate how far ahead of it's time this comic was. I am confident in saying that Pekar invented an entirely new language for comic books. Nothing out there at that time read like this. It was so far ahead of it's time that it reads as contemporary with 2016 eyes. I read things in the here and now and also consider the work within the context in which it was published, and this holds up on both counts.
Pekar is a well-intentioned (if self-defeating) free thinker who is his own best friend and worst enemy in one. In that regard he is exactly like the rest of us, at least those of us who are humble and like the simple life. Like Pekar, I toil in a seemingly menial job but am content with the living that I have eked out because of it. I would rather have relative financial security and let my mind soar at work than be stuck doing something “important” which would yield only less happiness for me. My only ambition in this life is to be happy, or as close to happy as I can be within the context of my circumstances. Also like Pekar, I value truth and loyalty over flash and hype in people. Pekar cannot fathom why virtues are not more valuable than monetary success, and he's right. A great artist whose work brightens the world can be poor while someone who does things to screw people over gets rewarded financially. Don't both things add value to life? One adds cultural value, the other financial value to a company's bottom line. What does that say about us as a society when we view and reward the one which is worse for everyone more favorably?
Pekar writes about ordinary life, which sounds boring on paper but in reality is the real heavy, kids. Waking To The Terror Of The New Day is profound. An Argument At Work is one of the many reasons that this book spoke to me. Leonard & Marie was touching. Stetson Shoes spoke to me for a reason I won't share here. I'll Be Forty-Three On Friday (How I'm Living Now) is the best story in the book. Pekar makes nothing seem like something important. Maybe it is because real life is important. Folks tend to sweep the little things under the rug when they should maybe stop and pay attention, because the little things become the moments that define us. At least that is the realization that I have come to over the past few months. The big picture versus the little picture. Focus on the one and you lose sight of them both.
Pekar touches on many themes such as race, socioeconomic circles, gentrification and integration and the effects thereof, and other truths. The lighter fare offsets the heaviness or preachiness of the weightier topics, resulting in a well-balanced slice of life.
The art is a mixed bag. While I am admittedly of the Adams/Kirby/Ditko/Steranko school of thought most of these cats carry the story forward well enough. A few of them are very good, with ideas far outside of the box of what comic books could look like during this time frame.
Middle age is a strange thing. I am no longer a young man ready to inherit the world, nor am I ready to give up on it. I'm not old enough to reap the rewards that old age brings. Middle age is like you're here, only here isn't necessarily what you once thought it would be, and even if you wanted it it may not be where you belong anyways. If there are answers to what life is, I certainly haven't found them yet. Harvey Pekar might have, though. He at least tries to point you in the right direction. Maybe further reading of his work will reveal the answer.
Harvey Pekar is the star and hero of his own strip, the autobiographical American Splendor. While I know nothing about underground comics (or comix, as the kids who are now grandparents called them at the time), I can appreciate how far ahead of it's time this comic was. I am confident in saying that Pekar invented an entirely new language for comic books. Nothing out there at that time read like this. It was so far ahead of it's time that it reads as contemporary with 2016 eyes. I read things in the here and now and also consider the work within the context in which it was published, and this holds up on both counts.
Pekar is a well-intentioned (if self-defeating) free thinker who is his own best friend and worst enemy in one. In that regard he is exactly like the rest of us, at least those of us who are humble and like the simple life. Like Pekar, I toil in a seemingly menial job but am content with the living that I have eked out because of it. I would rather have relative financial security and let my mind soar at work than be stuck doing something “important” which would yield only less happiness for me. My only ambition in this life is to be happy, or as close to happy as I can be within the context of my circumstances. Also like Pekar, I value truth and loyalty over flash and hype in people. Pekar cannot fathom why virtues are not more valuable than monetary success, and he's right. A great artist whose work brightens the world can be poor while someone who does things to screw people over gets rewarded financially. Don't both things add value to life? One adds cultural value, the other financial value to a company's bottom line. What does that say about us as a society when we view and reward the one which is worse for everyone more favorably?
Pekar writes about ordinary life, which sounds boring on paper but in reality is the real heavy, kids. Waking To The Terror Of The New Day is profound. An Argument At Work is one of the many reasons that this book spoke to me. Leonard & Marie was touching. Stetson Shoes spoke to me for a reason I won't share here. I'll Be Forty-Three On Friday (How I'm Living Now) is the best story in the book. Pekar makes nothing seem like something important. Maybe it is because real life is important. Folks tend to sweep the little things under the rug when they should maybe stop and pay attention, because the little things become the moments that define us. At least that is the realization that I have come to over the past few months. The big picture versus the little picture. Focus on the one and you lose sight of them both.
Pekar touches on many themes such as race, socioeconomic circles, gentrification and integration and the effects thereof, and other truths. The lighter fare offsets the heaviness or preachiness of the weightier topics, resulting in a well-balanced slice of life.
The art is a mixed bag. While I am admittedly of the Adams/Kirby/Ditko/Steranko school of thought most of these cats carry the story forward well enough. A few of them are very good, with ideas far outside of the box of what comic books could look like during this time frame.
Middle age is a strange thing. I am no longer a young man ready to inherit the world, nor am I ready to give up on it. I'm not old enough to reap the rewards that old age brings. Middle age is like you're here, only here isn't necessarily what you once thought it would be, and even if you wanted it it may not be where you belong anyways. If there are answers to what life is, I certainly haven't found them yet. Harvey Pekar might have, though. He at least tries to point you in the right direction. Maybe further reading of his work will reveal the answer.
December 16, 2025
Judging from the cover, this book was released around the time of the 2003 film and combines the first 2 Doubleday collections ‘American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar’ and ‘More American Splendor’. I believe those contained reprints of several stories from the first 10 issues of American Splendor, published between 1976 and 1985. I was hooked straightaway. There are some first-person narrated autobiographical stories, some straight-to-reader monologues, some stories where Harvey writes about himself in the third person, and a few that don’t involve Harvey at all but seem based on observed scenarios and conversations. Some of it is quite banal, with Harvey grappling internally with his own state of mind and situation and personality and his relationships with others and getting caught in a bit of a psychological loop that was very relatable. (His record collecting obsession was also very relatable). He’s a difficult person - maybe a bit of a proto-Larry David character - but you quickly grow to care for him and I felt quite sad in a longer story when he got a vocal nodule while on his honeymoon. This period sees the beginning and end of his second marriage, and it is nice to see his relationship with Joyce Brabner begin right near the end of the book.
Pekar’s stories are often associated with the art of Robert Crumb, and Crumb illustrates much of this, but I wouldn’t say that he turns out the best work in the book. I particularly like some of Sue Cavey’s work in the 1980s strips. I have no idea how much direction Pekar gave to his artists. In some of the strips, the artist is basically illustrating a diary entry where Harvey is just thinking to himself, and this is approached in a few different ways.
It is difficult for me to understand the extent to which American Splendor was unique in the 70s because we take the comic memoir for granted now but it sounds like this was an unusual use of the medium at the time. I’d argue that the very first strip in this collection (“The Harvey Pekar Name Story”) is still pretty unusual - someone monologuing direct-to-camera. All of this is really charming and enjoyable. I’ve ordered some more books and am keen to continue reading about Pekar’s life.
Pekar’s stories are often associated with the art of Robert Crumb, and Crumb illustrates much of this, but I wouldn’t say that he turns out the best work in the book. I particularly like some of Sue Cavey’s work in the 1980s strips. I have no idea how much direction Pekar gave to his artists. In some of the strips, the artist is basically illustrating a diary entry where Harvey is just thinking to himself, and this is approached in a few different ways.
It is difficult for me to understand the extent to which American Splendor was unique in the 70s because we take the comic memoir for granted now but it sounds like this was an unusual use of the medium at the time. I’d argue that the very first strip in this collection (“The Harvey Pekar Name Story”) is still pretty unusual - someone monologuing direct-to-camera. All of this is really charming and enjoyable. I’ve ordered some more books and am keen to continue reading about Pekar’s life.
January 22, 2023
I only got halfway through the book, but I'm marking it as "read" based on the amount of times I had to hype myself up to slog through it.
I really wanted to enjoy this book.
I know the importance of Pekar's work to the growth of underground comics and to the ability of comics to be told by anyone, an "everyman." Simple vignettes of a man's daily life, his job, his hobbies, his failed relationships.
But, for the life of me, I could not get into this book.
Pekar's character is unabashedly awful. Throughout the entire book, I couldn't find a single redeemable quality about the guy, other than his appreciation for jazz. I'm well aware that not every protagonist needs to be likable or that every story needs to have some sort of overarching narrative to be insightful and important, but I felt that I wasn't going anywhere or learning anything new other than revisiting how much of a creep Pekar's character is. From his hatred of his ex-wife to his profanity-filled tirades at work over the smallest incidents, I found nothing in this character to make me want to keep reading his stories.
On top of that, Robert Crumb's signature scratchy style of artwork really emphasized that I was just spending my limited free time with a sweaty middle-aged man in a wifebeater and button-down. I know Crumb's practically mythological importance to underground comics in his own right, but his usual racist style of artwork was still there in the exaggerated depictions of black characters, giving me way too many flashbacks to Angelfood McSpade and many of Crumb's other problematic depictions.
2 stars only for the work of the other artists in the collection, especially Gerry Shamray's use of shadows and shading that gave his sections almost a dreamlike feel, which helped me forget that this is an autobiography.
I really wanted to enjoy this book.
I know the importance of Pekar's work to the growth of underground comics and to the ability of comics to be told by anyone, an "everyman." Simple vignettes of a man's daily life, his job, his hobbies, his failed relationships.
But, for the life of me, I could not get into this book.
Pekar's character is unabashedly awful. Throughout the entire book, I couldn't find a single redeemable quality about the guy, other than his appreciation for jazz. I'm well aware that not every protagonist needs to be likable or that every story needs to have some sort of overarching narrative to be insightful and important, but I felt that I wasn't going anywhere or learning anything new other than revisiting how much of a creep Pekar's character is. From his hatred of his ex-wife to his profanity-filled tirades at work over the smallest incidents, I found nothing in this character to make me want to keep reading his stories.
On top of that, Robert Crumb's signature scratchy style of artwork really emphasized that I was just spending my limited free time with a sweaty middle-aged man in a wifebeater and button-down. I know Crumb's practically mythological importance to underground comics in his own right, but his usual racist style of artwork was still there in the exaggerated depictions of black characters, giving me way too many flashbacks to Angelfood McSpade and many of Crumb's other problematic depictions.
2 stars only for the work of the other artists in the collection, especially Gerry Shamray's use of shadows and shading that gave his sections almost a dreamlike feel, which helped me forget that this is an autobiography.
December 30, 2025
"Pekar has proven once and for all that even the most seemingly dreary and monotonous of lives is filled with poignancy and heroic struggle." - Cartoonist R. Crumb (April, 1985)
Our hero is Harvey Pekar, a real-life Cleveland native who transforms his Midwest everyday into the autobiographical comic series: American Splendor. No punchlines, no caped crusaders or masked villains—just ordinary life. As Pekar himself says, “Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.”
He takes us from the addictive weight of collecting jazz records to the simple frustration of forgetting the coffee beans his wife asked him to pick up at the store. From life working as a file clerk at the local VA hospital to killing time with a novel while waiting for jury duty. From befriending acclaimed cartoonist R. Crumb (who illustrated many of his comic strips) to enduring a months-long recovery from vocal cord surgery, brought on by losing his temper too often and yelling too much.
Pekar is the guy you pass on the sidewalk or sit next to at the bar. He’s the coworker you hope doesn’t ask for a ride, but the guy you’d give one to anyway. You relate to him and resent him in equal measure. You’ve been Pekar too: dreading Monday mornings because the work week is imminent, or being so bored you decide to just go to bed.
He’s a middle-aged curmudgeon and an American classic, and his comics are well-worth the stroll.
4 out of 5
Our hero is Harvey Pekar, a real-life Cleveland native who transforms his Midwest everyday into the autobiographical comic series: American Splendor. No punchlines, no caped crusaders or masked villains—just ordinary life. As Pekar himself says, “Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.”
He takes us from the addictive weight of collecting jazz records to the simple frustration of forgetting the coffee beans his wife asked him to pick up at the store. From life working as a file clerk at the local VA hospital to killing time with a novel while waiting for jury duty. From befriending acclaimed cartoonist R. Crumb (who illustrated many of his comic strips) to enduring a months-long recovery from vocal cord surgery, brought on by losing his temper too often and yelling too much.
Pekar is the guy you pass on the sidewalk or sit next to at the bar. He’s the coworker you hope doesn’t ask for a ride, but the guy you’d give one to anyway. You relate to him and resent him in equal measure. You’ve been Pekar too: dreading Monday mornings because the work week is imminent, or being so bored you decide to just go to bed.
He’s a middle-aged curmudgeon and an American classic, and his comics are well-worth the stroll.
4 out of 5
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews