Titlebar

American Splendor




Title Creator Publisher Series Price
American Splendor #4 Harvey Pekar Vertigo American Splendor $2.69
($2.99 list)

Read more and comment...
American Splendor #1 - 4 Harvey Pekar Vertigo American Splendor $2.69
($2.99 list)

Read more and comment...
American Splendor #1 Harvey Pekar Vertigo American Splendor $2.69
($2.99 list)

Read more and comment...
Huntington, West Virginia "On the Fly" Summer McClinton, Harvey Pekar Villard American Splendor $17.77
($19.99 list)
Ontheflysm
Read more and comment... 		The first full length work completed since Pekar's death last summer, "On the Fly" is a compendium of "characters" that Pekar came across during his travels on the lecture circuit during his "in demand' status that followed the release of the American Splendor film.  Reading this book harkens back to the early days of the American Splendor comics in that it is a collection of disparate works relating Harvey's interactions with the world around him.  The difference here is that he focuses more on the lives of others than his own.  The tales in this book are divided between two tales of entrepreneurs from his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio and two tales from the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  He provides a lengthy look at the lives of a State College couple along with a meandering anecdote filled recounting of numerous encounters in the titular town of Huntington, including those with another couple who own a comic book shop and are making a movie for which they ask Harvey to make a cameo appearance.  This collection amply testifies to the fact that Harvey never lost his ability to transform quotidian encounters into revealing studies of human being.  On the visual front, the entire book is illustrated by Summer McClinton, an artist with whom we were not previously familiar.  Her work here is uneven and amateurish at times, but it has its moments – especially in her chapter headings, where she shows particular strength in creating visually appealing combinations of logo-style lettering and images.  All in all she does a more than serviceable job of visually translating the tales that make up this engaging look at the life and times of Harvey Pekar in the 21st century.
American Splendor Presents Bob & Harv's Comics Harvey Pekar , R. Crumb Thunder's Mouth Press American Splendor $14.44
($16.00 list)
Bobandharvscomics-1
Read more and comment... 		What's new about this one is the price.  We are now able to offer this classic 1996 volume that collects the entirety of R. Crumb's contributions to Harvey Pekar's trailblazing comics series at an amazing low price  that we hope will be a boon to all of those who are watching their wallet yet have their eyes out for high quality comics.  It really doesn't get much better than these titanic team-ups.  These are the comics that put American Splendor on the map and transformed Harvey Pekar from just another working schmoe to an icon of the independent artistic spirit that inheres to the American working class.  Yowza!  Anyone who hasn't managed to get around to reading these yet is in for a real treat, and even those that have may want the chance to savor them yet again (and again, and again...).  RECOMMENDED!   Preview it, here.
American Splendor: Our Movie Year Harvey Pekar , Mark Zingarelli, Ed Piskor American Splendor $14.40
($16.95 list)
Amsplmovieyr
Read more and comment... 		The first original book (as opposed to original comics, later collected in book form) since Our Cancer Year, Our Movie Year is all about exactly what you think: the experiences of Harvey and his wife, Joyce (who  together make up the "Our" of the title) before, during and after the making of the American Splendor movie.  But there's more:  there are a bunch of strips dealing with Harvey's passions:  classic jazz & blues, comics & collecting, and Cleveland.  As for the artists this time around:  there's the usual suspects along with a few new faces.  Pittsburgh-based artists have their highest profile ever in a Pekar collection:  Pittsburgh transplant, Mark Zingarelli starts the whole thing off with the title track, as it were, and also handed in the art chores on "Blackout," a thirteen-pager on the August 14 blackout.  Pittsburgh's own Ed  Piskor, a newcomer, closes out the collection with the 24-page (the longest piece in the book!) "Around the World and Back to Earth."  Also contributing are long time American Splendor veterans R. Crumb (only two pages, tho'), Gary Dumm (who is the collection's major contributor), Gerry Shamray and Frank Stack.  This is a great, well-rounded collection that is sure to be a hit with American Splendor fans, new and die-hard alike.
American Splendor: Ordinary Life Is Pretty Complex Stuff Harvey Pekar Ballantine Books American Splendor $17.77
($20.00 list)

Read more and comment... 		Just in time for the movie, the powers that be at Random House have pulled out the plates for the two original classic collections of stories from Harvey's own original magazines, American Splendor and More American Splendor, that last saw the light of day fifteen years ago, and combined them both into one quite affordable 300 page volume.  Let us give thanks....   See the movie and then read the real thing.