Alison Bechdel and Harvey Pekar to be Featured at UCLA
With all due respect to Superman, “Titans of the Graphic Novel” features two authors who have shown that comic books are a fertile medium for introspection and autobiography: Harvey Pekar, who for decades has chronicled his mundane adventures in “American Splendor,” and Alison Bechdel, the creator of the illustrated memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.
Description
Description
The inspiration for the award-winning movie
from HBO Films and Fine Line Features
- 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 panels: the humdrum and the heroic, the gritty and the grand.”
—The New York Times Book Review
Additional Details
Additional Details
- ISBN13: 9780345468307
- Condition: New
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews
Splendid
Review Date: September 27, 2003
Reviewer: Johnny Heering, Bethel, CT United States
This book contains two classic comic anthologies in one volume. It features the contents of the out of print books American Splendor and More American Splendor. Obviously, this was released to capitalize on the publicity that the American Splendor film is getting. Well, if the movie inspires people to search out the comics of Harvey Pekar, that is a good thing. This is great stuff. Harvey has a way of making ordinary life seems interesting. I think if you saw the movie and liked it, you will also dig this book.
It’s one of the marks of a genius that he can see what’s extraordinary in the ordinary. That’s Harvey Pekar’s gift. While he may seem mordbid or depressing to some, the way he renders the little moments in life is truly inspiring. I would recommend this book to anyone who says “drama is not the stuff of ordinary life.” Wrong! It just takes the right eye to see it. Pekar also reminds me of Charles Bukowski (Post Office) and Richard Perez (The Losers’ Club). I recommend American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar—highly!
Life as it’s never portrayed
Review Date: February 11, 2004
Reviewer: A Customer
It’s one of the marks of a genius that he can see what’s extraordinary in the ordinary. That’s Harvey Pekar’s gift. While he may seem mordbid or depressing to some, the way he renders the little moments in life is truly inspiring. I would recommend this book to anyone who says “drama is not the stuff of ordinary life.” Wrong! It just takes the right eye to see it. Pekar also reminds me of Charles Bukowski (Post Office) and Richard Perez (The Losers’ Club). I recommend American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar—highly!
Harvey’s First Collection, Possibly His Best
Review Date: March 26, 2000
Reviewer: Chris Bryant, Richmond, VA USA
This is the first paperback collection of Harvey’s work, and no collection is complete without it. There are more one- and two-page stories than his later work, and this edition does concentrate on Harvey’s work life more than anything else. The longer story on how he got to meet Bob Crumb is priceless. It never fails to amaze me how truthful Harvey is about his character flaws, and that’s one reason his work is so compelling. Definitely worth the money and time to have Amazon hunt this one down for you.
