#Harvey Pekar 1986

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

GET YOUR HEALTHY DOSE OF AMERICAN STYLE SPLENDOR RIGHT HERE -- THE VERY FINEST.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on late, great American comic book writer Harvey Pekar, posing with a copy of "American Splendor" Vol. 1 #5 (c. 1980), in his Cleveland Heights, Ohio, home, c. 1986. 📸: Unknown/undisclosed.

ROBERT CRUMB: "You turned yourself into a comic hero?"

HARVEY PEKAR: "Sorta, yeah. But no idealized shit. No phony bullshit. The real thing, y'know? Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff."

-- "American Splendor" (2003), written & directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini

Sources: https://tytempletonart.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/harvey-pekar-part-1 & Worcester Telegram.

[bigrichseahawk]

Harvey Pekar Collection on Letterman, 1986-1994

[1962dude420-blog]

Today we remember the passing of Harvey Pekar who Died: July 12, 2010 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Harvey Lawrence Pekar (October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a well-received film adaptation of the same name.

Frequently described as the "poet laureate of Cleveland", Pekar "helped change the appreciation for, and perceptions of, the graphic novel, the drawn memoir, the autobiographical comic narrative." Pekar described his work as "autobiography written as it's happening. The theme is about staying alive, getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't."

Among the awards given to Pekar for his work were the Inkpot Award, the American Book Award, a Harvey Award, and his posthumous induction into the Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

Harvey Pekar and his younger brother Allen were born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a Jewish family. Their parents were Saul and Dora Pekar, immigrants from Bialystok, Poland. Saul Pekar was a Talmudic scholar who owned a grocery store on Kinsman Avenue, with the family living above the store. Although Pekar said he wasn't close to his parents due to their dissimilar backgrounds and because they worked all the time, he still "marveled at how devoted they were to each other. They had so much love and admiration for one another."

Pekar said he did not have friends for the first few years of his life. The neighborhood he lived in had once been all white but became mostly black by the 1940s. One of the only white kids still living there, Pekar was often beaten up. He later believed this instilled in him "a profound sense of inferiority." This experience, however, also taught him to become a "respected street scrapper."

Pekar graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1957. He then briefly served in the United States Navy. After being discharged he attended Case Western Reserve University, where he dropped out after a year. He worked odd jobs before he was hired as file clerk at the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1965. He held this job after becoming famous, refusing all promotions, until he retired in 2001.

Pekar's friendship with Robert Crumb led to the creation of the self-published, autobiographical comic book series American Splendor. Crumb and Pekar became friends through their mutual love of jazz records. It took Pekar a decade to do so: "I theorized for maybe ten years about doing comics." Pekar's influences from the literary world included James Joyce, Arthur Miller, George Ade, Henry Roth, and Daniel Fuchs.

Around 1972, Pekar laid out some stories with crude stick figures and showed them to Crumb and another artist, Robert Armstrong. Impressed, they both offered to illustrate. Pekar & Crumb's one-pager "Crazy Ed" was published as the back cover of Crumb's The People's Comics (Golden Gate Publishing Company, 1972), becoming Pekar's first published work of comics. Including "Crazy Ed" and before the publication of American Splendor #1, Pekar wrote a number of other comic stories that were published in a variety of outlets.

The first issue of Pekar's self-published American Splendor series appeared in May 1976, with stories illustrated by Crumb, Dumm, Budgett, and Brian Bram. Applying the "brutally frank autobiographical style of Henry Miller," American Splendor documented Pekar's daily life in the aging neighborhoods of his native Cleveland.

Pekar and his work came to greater prominence in 1986 when Doubleday collected much of the material from the first ten issues in American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar, which was positively reviewed by, among others, The New York Times. (1986 was also the year Pekar began appearing on Late Night with David Letterman.)

Pekar self-published 15 issues of American Splendor from 1976 to 1991 (issue #16 was co-published with Tundra Publishing). Dark Horse Comics took on the publishing and distribution of Pekar's comics from 1993 to 2003.

In 2006, Pekar released a four-issue American Splendor miniseries through the DC Comics imprint Vertigo. This was collected in the American Splendor: Another Day paperback. In 2008 Vertigo released a second four-issue "season" of American Splendor that was later collected in the American Splendor: Another Dollar paperback.

Pekar's best-known and longest-running collaborators include Crumb, Dumm, Budgett, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Zabel, Gerry Shamray, Frank Stack, Mark Zingarelli, and Joe Sacco. In the 2000s, he teamed regularly with artists Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld. Other cartoonists who worked with him include Jim Woodring, Chester Brown, Alison Bechdel, Gilbert Hernandez, Eddie Campbell, David Collier, Drew Friedman, Ho Che Anderson, Rick Geary, Ed Piskor, Hunt Emerson, Bob Fingerman, and Alex Wald; as well as such non-traditional illustrators as Pekar's wife, Joyce Brabner, and comics writer Alan Moore.

In addition to his autobiographical work on American Splendor, Pekar wrote a number of biographies. The first of these, American Splendor: Unsung Hero (Dark Horse Comics, 2003), illustrated by David Collier, documented the Vietnam War experience of Robert McNeill, one of Pekar's African-American coworkers at Cleveland's VA hospital.

Shortly before 1 a.m. on July 12, 2010, Pekar's wife found Pekar dead in their Cleveland Heights, Ohio, home. No immediate cause was determined. In October the Cuyahoga County coroner's office ruled it was an accidental overdose of antidepressants fluoxetine and bupropion. Pekar had been diagnosed with cancer for the third time and was about to undergo treatment.

Pekar was interred at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. His headstone features one of his quotations as an epitaph: "Life is about women, gigs, an' bein' creative."

[kevrocksicehouse]

Going to the show. Warren Oates, who played in supporting and ensemble roles for most of his career, got the lead in “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”(a movie with merit and a very memorable title). Here are five other memorable times character actors got the lead role.

Jeff Goldblum in The Fly. D: David Cronenberg (1986). “Is this death? Am I dying?” No, a botched teleportation accident fused your DNA with a housefly’s, but this question, and that Jeff Goldblum dropped his trademark querulous irony to ask it, gets to the heart of Cronenberg’s vision – if we’re just biological matter, what then?

Tom Wilkinson in In the Bedroom. D: Todd Field (2001).  Wilkinson has the kind of face  that you wouldn’t pick out in a crowd. Playing a man whose son has been killed, he shows everything he’s lost behind that unremarkable face and how when revenge is what’s left, he might get away with it.

Paul Giamatti in American Splendor. D: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (2003). Harvey Pekar’s autobiographical comic made the life of an average schlub and the ordinary people around him (and why “average” and “ordinary” are such inadequate words). Giamatti’s character actor visage works the same magic. There’s not a second his sour, nervous face doesn’t hold the screen.

David Straithairn in Good Night and Good Luck. D: George Clooney (2005). Straithairn has a touch of Gregory Peck’s rectitude in his voice, which can make him sound stiff. It’s perfect for this portrayal of legendary TV newscaster Edward R. Murrow, whose moral authority dovetails with his own moment in history (the red-baiting McCarthy era) when the nation was threatened from within by a self-promoting demagogue chasing even greater power by exploiting a nation’s fear and resentm — yeah, it pretty much works for these days too.

Michael Shannon in Take Shelter D: Jeff Nichols (2011). Shannon is every villain these days, but in this film he’s just a sweaty, terrified prophet obsessed with protecting his family from the ecological disaster he sees in visions, and scared he’s going crazy. This film gets scarier every year.

[gritboy]

American Splendor #13

This 13th issue published in 1986 features: “Sweet Like ‘Oney”, script by Harvey Pekar, art by Frank Stack; Frank and Harvey discuss Ollie North. “My Struggle With Corporate Corruption And Network Philistinism”, script by Harvey Pekar, pencils by Joe Zabel, inks by Gary Dumm; Harvey has been invited back on the David Letterman show and is determined to turn the discussion to political…

[alonalambert]

The Impact of Underground Comix

Let us go back to the 1960’s. Well, actually, maybe we shouldn’t...

Let’s just briefly consider the time that was the Sixties: a time of conflict, protest, instability, and the aim for massive change. This stressful period was also filled with a developing Anti-Authority, protest, and youth culture fighting against America’s traditional values. With these culture shifts came new and interesting developments in expression and entertainment; We specifically will take a look at the impact this had on Comics and Graphic narratives. Around this time Comics were mostly limited to magazine, newspaper, and specified publications which often involved heavy business driven influence on the work itself. There were standards and rules within publishing that limited the content being shown and who could create said content. The previously mentioned Anti-Authority themes of the sixties did change the game, however.

With children’s pocket change coming into play at this time, and of course the mentioned conflict within cultural tradition a new world of comics was created, Underground Comix and Alternative comics. With very similar drives towards satire, taboo discussion, personal expression, and overall shock value both new forms of comics became a new and exciting form of anti-traditional entertainment. The serious and often very adult topics intrigued people within protest culture and teenage audiences. All while the Taboo discussions served as naughty introductions to adult themes for children and teenagers. Groups like that of Mad Magazine and Zap Comix began changing what the world of comics could look like. New art styles, taboo topics, serious issues, and social movements were showcased within these publications.

With this change and the ever-expanding audience of comics viewers, further development of personal expression within comics was becoming more common. Sexuality, Feminism, and social expectation were often explored inspired by these underground Comix through biographical works. Harvey Pekar’s “American Splendor” comic series is a primary example of comic and biographic unity. Narratives like that of “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel and “Maus” by Art Spiegelman both showcase what can be inspired by the Underground Autobiography. With this unity of personal storytelling and comic fundamentals allowed artists to showcase elements of themselves that were more taboo topics. Alison Bechdel’s work was an expression of her sexuality and her learning about a new side of her father. With underground Comix inviting self-publication artists were able to share serious topics to a wide audience in a way that is more approachable for the artist themselves; and in the case of Spiegelman making the content easier to digest for readers. Art Speigleman’s “Maus” was a graphic novel that told one family’s perspective of World War II. While some would argue his use of Anthropomorphic characters aided in downgrading the impact of the story, but either way it’s a creative decision that he wanted to make in order to tell his story. With that side note, the importance of self-publication and self-expression is the main thing I wish to highlight.

The development and growth of Underground Comix opened a new world of possibility for cultural and emotional growth. The artists of the underground were able to bring important topics and social movements towards the foreground of entertainment exposing more people to honest examples of the lives many others lived. These artists created a space for important discussion and a fight for change with entertaining, satirical, and sometimes just emotional works. This change in comics continues to carry into the modern day where we see art and narratives heavily inspired by this past comic movement.

Until the next, 

Alona Lambert Comic works mentioned:  Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. 1st Mariner Books ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007. 

[written by Harvey Pekar ; illustrated by David Collier]. Harvey Pekar's American Splendor : Unsung Hero. Milwaukie, Or. :Dark Horse Comics, 2002  

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. New York : Pantheon Books, 1986-1991.

[makerslab]

Musings on Creativity and Harvey Pekar

            I am in graduate school and was asked to comment on “From your perspective, how many teachers nurture the creative spark within ALL students?” in relation to a movie about a creative “genius” of my choosing. I chose the movie “American Splendor” and here is what happened...

           Creativity is found in the reality of life being observed then twisted, consumed, digested, and reformed into something beyond vomit. Something that others can relate to, stand next to and say, “I could have done that. I could have painted that picture. That’s nothing special.” Except, it is special and you didn’t paint anything. It’s special because you identify with that “it” and wish you had done “it.”  Usually, this takes you by surprise and unexpectedly. This feeling of inspiration to go do something similar and even copy what you just experienced. For some, perhaps most, this is short lived and they move on in their life and forget the creative experience they were given. For some, perhaps the few, the inspiration is embraced and it leads to taking risks and trying something similar, or, maybe, something new.

            I just watched the movie American Splendor about a comic book writer called Harvey Pekar. Harvey started a comic book about his life. He played out his life in near real time with all the grit, hardship, misery and epiphanal moments that come with existing. For Harvey, this included all the strife from day to day simple moments crafted creatively into meaningful conflict. Moments of insight and double or even triple meanings. It was real and in your face. Yes, visceral. Yes, sad. Seemingly no moments of joy and happiness, but they were there too hidden in mirth and strife. Neatly wrapped in a bow made from the best “the world is ending” silk.

            Yes, every teacher has the capacity to nurture the creative spark within ALL students. No, not all teachers do this. This takes work and persistence. While I agree with some of my peers that you may not be able to get all students to take risks, show grit, and be creative, this is not what is asked. What is asked is can you nurture this. Can you establish an environment that nurtures creativity? Of course you can set up an environment that cares for and encourages the growth or development of creativity. Will the environment help ALL students? Of course not, but good teachers can and do nurture ALL students. Some teachers are adept at nurturing the student in their learning AND in developing their creativity.

             In the movie American Splendor Harvey is a file clerk at a hospital. Harvey does a great job of uncovering the tragedy of everyday life that is much more complex and strife ridden than anyone realizes. Harvey seems to feel he has nothing to lose and who knows, maybe the everyday dilemma of choosing a checkout line at the supermarket is in fact something we all want insight on how to do, or more importantly learn from Harvey’s mistakes. As Harvey careens through life in a seemingly dull existence, thousands, perhaps millions of readers follow along and gain empathy for a middle aged man’s tales of woe.

              How can ALL teachers nurture creativity in ALL students? Here is an example. Create an environment where students get to decide what context to pursue their learning in. Setup the parameters of choice and access to the student’s passion. Setup the constraints with students at the helm. Yes, we need to learn physics in physics class. The how and details can be up to the students. Then, especially for those tough students who do not want to participate, let them fail. If you give a student the choice to do anything they want to and promise them YOU won’t say “no” they will not believe you. Explain to them that success is not up to the teacher. The teacher’s job is to give them access and, most importantly, push them further than they feel comfortable. Let them know that they still need to convince the teacher. They still need to explain their understanding. They still need to demonstrate their knowledge and skill. They still need to assess themselves in front of the teacher, but they get to pitch the how and that how can includes so many interesting and creative twists and turns.

              For the record, there is no spark of creativity. We all have fires of creativity. The fires of creativity may burn behind many walls and teachers can show students how to touch those walls and feel the heat. Or, teachers can give students the tools to build an ax to break down the walls and catch the world on fire with their creativity.

I missed American Splendor the first time around, I plan on catching up!

1972 - Harvey Pekar shows his story ideas and crude comic book drawings to Robert Crumb, who agrees to help draw a fully realized comic and to recruit other artists.

1975 - Harvey Pekar begins production on his own comic book.

1976 - The first issue of "American Splendor" is published.

1985 - Conrad Bishop writes and directs the first theatrical adaptation of "American Splendor," which debuts in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

1986 - "American Splendor" is collected into a large anthology for the first time, making it more easily available for new fans. This trade is entitled "American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar."

1987 - The first "American Splendor" anthology wins the American Book Award. That same year, a second theatrical adaptation of "American Splendor" debuts at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C., directed by James C. Nicola and adapted for the stage by Llyod Rose.

1988 - During an appearance in August on "Late Night with David Letterman," Harvey Pekar once again accuses NBC's parent company General Electric of dishonest and amoral practices. This time, he adds that remarks by the host made Letterman "look like a shill" for GE. Having warned Pekar about accusing GE of such things during a previous interview, Letterman bans Pekar from the show for several years.

1990 - A third stage adaptation of "American Splendor" debuts at Hollywood's Theater in L.A. and runs for a year. It stars Dan Castellaneta as Harvey Pekar. Castellaneta later gains fame as the voice of Homer Simpson, along with several other roles on "The Simpsons."

1994 - With wife Joyce Brabner as co-writer, Pekar releases the autobiographical graphic novel "Our Cancer Year," discussing his experience with lymphoma cancer. The same year, "American Splendor" begins publishing under Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse will continue publishing the title until 2002.

1995 - "Our Cancer Year" wins the Harvey Award for "Best Graphic Album of Original Work."

1996 - With R. Crumb, Harvey Pekar publishes "American Splendor Presents: Bob & Harv's Comics."

2003 - The "American Splendor" movie is released, starring Paul Giamatti as Harvey Pekar. It wins the "Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film" at the Sundance Film Festival and receives the "Best Adapted Screenplay" award from the Writers Guild of America. It is nominated for "Best Adapted Screenplay" at the Academy Awards. The same year, Pekar publishes "American Splendor: Unsung Hero," a biography on Robert McNeill, a Vietnam veteran and colleague of Pekar's.

2004 - Pekar publishes "American Splendor: Our Movie Year," an anthology of comics about the film adaptation of American Splendor and comics that were written around the time of the film.

2005 - With Dean Haspiel, Pekar publishes "The Quitter" through DC's Vertigo imprint. The graphic novel deals with recollections of Pekar's youth.

2006 - Pekar releases "Ego & Hubris: The Malcolm Malice Story," a biography on the man behind OverheardInNewYork.com. In the same year, a new American Splendor mini-series is published by Vertigo. That year, Pekar also becomes the first guest editor of the Best American Comics of 2006 collection.

2007 - Pekar publishes the book Macedonia, collaborating with writer Heather Roberson and illustrator Ed Piskor. The book focuses on Roberson's experiences while traveling through the Republic of Macedonia.

2008 - A "second season" mini-series of "American Splendor" is published by Vertigo. Pekar also publishes "Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History."

2009 - The jazz opera "Leave Me Alone!" marks Pekar's debut as a theatrical writer. The same year, Pekar publishes "The Beats," a historical look at the Beat Generation, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Pekar also publishes his final American Splendor anthology, entitled "American Splendor: Another Dollar." Toward the end of 2009, he begins the webcomic The Pekar Project, published by SmithMag.net.

We'll miss you, big guy.

 References

 Kistler, A. (2010). Harvey Pekar: A Timeline of a Comic Book Icon. Retrieved from: https://tinkerlab.com/what-is-tinkering/http://comicsalliance.com/harvey-pekar-a-timeline-of-a-comic-book-icon/

[kevrocksicehouse]

La Belle Noiseuse. D: Jacques Rivette (1991). Michel Piccoli as a legendary artist, blocked for years on a portrait of his wife, who starts to finish it with a woman who is not his wife. The audience watches for nearly four hours as he sketches and she models, and it never looks away.

American Splendor. D: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. (2003). Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) starts a great underground comic book career by taking inspiration from everything in his ordinary life – his shit job, his cancer diagnosis – but mostly the passionately mundane love story he shares with his wife, Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis). Every once in awhile the real Harvey and Joyce stop by to see how the actors playing them are doing.

Adaptation. D: Spike Jonze. (2002). Nicolas Cage as a tortured writer whose attempt to adapt an essay by Susan Orleans (Meryl Streep) turns into an abyss of self-hatred and anxiety. Nicolas Cage as his twin brother who doesn’t understand what’s so difficult about this whole writing thing, read an article about it and it doesn’t really seem that hard. Charlie Kaufman’s brilliant script winds up honoring both viewpoints.

Sid and Nancy. D: Alex Cox. (1986) Walking catastrophe Sid Vicious meets screeching apocalypse Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb who never topped her performance because how could anyone?). She inspires him not to rock and roll glory but to the murder/suicide that became the pathetic and horrible footnote to his life. The saddest funny movie you’ll ever see.

Ed Wood. D: Tim Burton. (1994). Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, the washed-up junkie who once played and defined the role of Dracula and who jump-starts Wood (Johnny Depp in what is still his best work) to make the Worst Movie of All Time or as he calls it “My Masterpiece.”

[gritboy]

American Splendor #11

This 11th issue published in 1986 features: “A Matter of Life and…”, script by Harvey Pekar, pencils by Val Mayerik; Harvey recalls his deteriorating behaviour in a shipping clerk job he had. “Common Sense”, script by Harvey Pekar, art by Val Mayerik; Harvey rides the bus while a bus driving instructor spouts out his “common sense.” “Time Flies… Time Drags”, script by Harvey Pekar, art by Bill…