I'm saddened to discover that Harvey Pekar has died.
Pekar is someone whose work I came late to, but I immediately felt an affinity for it. American Splendor sets the standard for indie comics--well, back when there were indie comics--with stories of Pekar's own life as a medical records clerk and comic book writer. They were deceptively mundane, but brutally honest. I could relate to a lot of them; they were so often stories about small triumphs over the insurmountable forces of life (illness, financial realities, cars that don't start, people who screw you over) or an almost noble acceptance of life as it is--being grateful for what you have because, let's face it, life can always be worse.
Pekar was also honest in his work about being his own worst enemy. His graphic novel The Quitter, probably my favorite work of his, is an autobiography in which Pekar recognizes that too often in life he quit simply because things seemed to hard or he felt like no one cared or he didn't matter. And though it ends in the usual Pekar way--with gratitude for the things he's been able to eke out of life--you can feel a palpable bitterness with the past. Or, more accurately, with the stupid decisions he made--and many of us make--during youth.
I'm sorry that there's no longer a Harvey Pekar in the world. He spoke for a lot of us, putting our own frustrations with life into words. He will be missed.
-via samuraifrog.blogspot.com
He and his artist/friend collaborators have influenced my own art and ridiculously un-funny sense of humor. I honor the mangy old coot with a simple picture:
BinauralJam
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He and his artist/friend collaborators have influenced my own art and ridiculously un-funny sense of humor. I honor the mangy old coot with a simple picture:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4791832364_f771c26f86_b.jpg
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."