American Splendor

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For the 2003 film adaptation, see American Splendor (film)

American Splendor #1 cover

American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books and graphic novels written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. It was adapted into a movie in 2003.

1 Overview
2 Film
3 Stage
4 2006
5 Trivia
6 Trade paperbacks available
7 External links

[edit] Overview

Pekar was one of the first writers to believe that everyday real life could be a viable topic for comic books, traditionally the province of fantasy-adventure and other genre stories. He began his series in 1976 while working as a file clerk at a Veteran's Administration hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Being unable to draw himself, he recruited his friend and underground comics artist Robert Crumb to help create a comics series based on Pekar's own life.

A wide assortment of other artists have also illustrated his stories, which are realistic and mostly true narratives dealing with the mundane troubles and frustrations of the everyday world. Besides Crumb, other notable American Splendor illustrators include Alison Bechdel, Chester Brown, David Collier, Gary Dumm, Frank Stack, Drew Friedman, Dean Haspiel, Val Mayerik, Josh Neufeld, Brian Bram, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Sacco, Gerry Shamray, Jim Woodring, Joe Zabel, and even writer Alan Moore. Pekar tends to document difficult living conditions ("keeping an old car alive in a Cleveland winter") and other people in his life such as co-worker Toby Radloff, an adult male with Asperger's Syndrome^{[citation needed]}, who fills a life (initially appearing rather empty) with a variety of projects including fandom, inexpensive computers, and the Revenge of the Nerds movie. The series gained him cult-fame and notoriety, especially after Pekar became a recurring guest on Late Night with David Letterman. Pekar's run on Letterman became more sporadic after an interview segment in which Pekar criticized Letterman for ducking criticism of GE, the parent company of NBC. The interview ended with name-calling, in which Pekar called Letterman a "shill" and Letterman mocked Pekar's comic book and called him a "dork."

Pekar wrote 17 issues of the original American Splendor series from 1976 to 1993, which, except for the last few issues, he also self-published and self-distributed. By keeping back issues in print and available (contrary to the industry practice of the time), Pekar continued to receive income on previously-completed work, although at the time some of them were published, according to his Comics Journal interview, he was losing thousands of dollars per year on the books.

Starting in 1994, Pekar wrote additional American Splendor comics to be published by Dark Horse Comics, although these issues are not numbered as part of Pekar's original series. They include the two-issue American Splendor: Windfall and several themed issues such as American Splendor: Transatlantic Comics and American Splendor: On the Job. Pekar's work has become increasingly biographical, such as his three-issue miniseries American Splendor: Unsung Hero, which chronicles the Vietnam experience of Pekar's African-American co-worker Robert McNeill.

In addition to the 31 issues of American Splendor, Pekar has written two larger works which carry the American Splendor label, Our Movie Year (Ballantine Books, 2004), a collection of comics written about or at the time of the American Splendor film, and Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story (Ballantine, 2006). Pekar has also written two graphic novels which are not officially labeled American Splendor: Our Cancer Year (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994), co-written with Pekar's wife Joyce Brabner and illustrated by Frank Stack, and The Quitter (DC Comics, 2005, illustrated by Dean Haspiel.

It is also worth noting that several American Splendor reprint anthologies exist from various publishers, their material not (for the most part) overlapping.

[edit] Film

Main article: American Splendor (film)

In 2003 a movie adaptation featuring Paul Giamatti playing Pekar (as well as appearances by Pekar himself) and Hope Davis as his wife was released to critical acclaim and first honors at the Sundance Film Festival in addition to the award for best adapted screenplay from the Writer's Guild of America. It was written and directed by documentarists Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. It was filmed entirely on location in Cleveland and Lakewood in Ohio. It was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2003 Academy Awards (it lost to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).

[edit] Stage

Theatrical productions based on American Splendor have been mounted over the years. The first of these was produced by The Independent Eye in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1985, adapted and directed by Conrad Bishop. The second, produced in 1987 at Washington, DC's Arena Stage, was adapted by Lloyd Rose and directed by James C. Nicola. The third, which is represented in fictionalized form in the American Splendor movie, ran from September 1990 through September 1991 at Hollywood's Theatre/Theater in Los Angeles, California; it was adapted and directed by Vince Waldron, and starred Dan Castellaneta as Harvey.

[edit] 2006

In the summer of 2006 Pekar will release a five-issue American Splendor miniseries through Vertigo [1].

[edit] Trivia

Drew Carey's character on the sitcom The Drew Carey Show is often seen reading American Splendor. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Trade paperbacks available

Pekar, Harvey (1991). The New American Splendor Anthology. Four Walls Eight Windows. ISBN 0-941423-64-6.
Pekar, Harvey (1994). Our Cancer Year. Four Walls Eight Windows. ISBN 1-56858-011-8.
Pekar, Harvey (1996). American Splendor Presents: Bob & Harv's Comics. Four Walls Eight Windows. ISBN 1-56858-101-7.
Pekar, Harvey (2003). American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-46830-9.
Pekar, Harvey (2003). American Splendor: Unsung Hero. Dark Horse. ISBN 1-59307-040-3.
Pekar, Harvey (2004). American Splendor Our Movie Year. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-47937-8.
Pekar, Harvey (2005). Best of American Splendor. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-47938-6.
Pekar, Harvey (2005). The Quitter. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-0399-X.