American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books A comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork in the form of separate "panels" that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog (usually in word balloons, emblematic of the comic book art form) as well as including brief descriptive prose. The first comic book appeared in the United States of America in 1934, written by the late Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar 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 critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the most recent in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals. Publishers have been, at various times, Harvey Pekar himself, Dark Horse Comics Mike Richardson, the owner of several comic book shops in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, began to publish in 1986 with an anthology series called Dark Horse Presents, investing profits from his stores into Dark Horse Comics. The publisher is based in Milwaukie, Oregon. Richardson opened his first comic book store, Pegasus Books, in Bend,, and DC Comics DC Comics is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner. DC Comics produces material featuring a large number of well-known.[1]
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Origins
Despite comic books in the United States being traditionally the province of fantasy-adventure and other genre stories, Pekar felt that the medium could be put to wider use:
When I was a little kid, and I was reading these comics in the '40s, I kind of got sick of them because after a while, they were just formulaic. I figured there was some kind of a flaw that keeps them from getting better than they are, and then when I saw Robert Crumb's work in the early '60s, when he moved from Philadelphia to Cleveland, and he moved around the corner from me, I thought 'Man, comics are where it's at'.[2]
Pekar's philosophy of the potential of comics is also expressed in his often repeated statement that 'comics are words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures'.[3] In an interview with Walrus Comix, Pekar described how the idea of producing his own comic book developed. In 1972 when Crumb was visiting him in Cleveland, Pekar showed him his story ideas. Not only did Crumb agree to draw some of them but also offered to show them to other artists to draw. By 1975, Pekar decided to produce and publish his own comic book.[3]
Themes
The stories in American Splendor concern the everyday life of Pekar in Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles (100 km) west of the Pennsylvania border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and became, Ohio The government of Ohio is composed of the executive branch, led by the Governor; the legislative branch, which comprises the Ohio General Assembly; and the judicial branch, which is led by the Supreme Court. Currently, Ohio occupies 18 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Ohio is known for its status as both a swing state and a. Situations covered include Pekar's job as a file clerk at a Veteran's Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors hospital and his relations with work colleagues and patients there. There are also stories about Pekar and his relations with friends and family, including his third wife Joyce Brabner and their adopted daughter Danielle. Other stories concern everyday situations such as Pekar's trouble with his car, money-worries, his health, and his concerns and anxieties in general.[1] Several issues (#14, #13, #[18]) give accounts of Pekar's becoming a recurring guest on Late Night with David Letterman Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night with Conan O'Brien then filled the time slot. As of March 2, 2009, the, including the 1987 interview segment in which Pekar criticized Letterman for ducking criticism of GE, the parent company of NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank, California. It is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network" due to its stylized peacock logo, created originally for color. American Splendor sometimes departs from Pekar's own life, with stories about Jazz musicians ([#23]), the artists for his comics (#[25]), and a three-issue miniseries American Splendor: Unsung Hero (#[29]-[31]), which chronicles the Vietnam experience of Pekar's African-American co-worker Robert McNeill.
Artists
As Pekar was not an artist himself, and was incapable of "drawing a straight line", according to a line in the film version of his story, he recruited his friend, underground comics artist Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb — known as R. Crumb — is an American artist, illustrator and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream, to help create a comics series. Besides Crumb, other notable American Splendor illustrators include Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel is an American cartoonist. Originally best known for the long-running comic strip Dykes To Watch Out For, in 2006 she became a best-selling and critically acclaimed author with her graphic memoir Fun Home, Brian Bram, Chester Brown, Alan Moore Alan Moore , who has also used such pseudonyms as Curt Vile, Venus Lounge, Jill de Ray, Sherlock Blue and Translucia Baboon, is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell. Frequently described as the best, David Collier, Gary Dumm, Frank Stack Frank Huntington Stack (b. 1937 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American underground cartoonist. Working under the name Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid persecution for his work while living in the bible belt, Stack published what is considered by many to be the first underground comic book, The Adventures of Jesus, in 1962, Drew Friedman, Dean Haspiel Dean Edmund Haspiel is a comic book artist living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the graphic novel The Quitter, Val Mayerik, Josh Neufeld Josh Neufeld is an alternative cartoonist known for his fact-based comics on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international travel and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and David Greenberger, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Sacco, Gerry Shamray, Jim Woodring Jim Woodring is a Seattle-based comic book author and artist. He also produces fine art works in a variety of other media, including painting and charcoal, and designs toys, Joe Zabel, Ed Piskor, and Greg Budgett. Later issues employed a new crop of artists, including Ty Templeton, Richard Corben, Hunt Emerson, Eddie Campbell, Gilbert Hernandez Gilberto Hernandez, born February 1, 1957, in Oxnard, California, usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also known by the nickname Beto (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbeto]), is an American comics writer/artist. Along with his brothers Jaime and Mario he co-created the acclaimed independent comic book Love and Rockets, published by Fantagraphics, Ho Che Anderson, and Rick Geary.
Publication history
Pekar produced seventeen issues of American Splendor 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.[4] Starting in 1994, additional American Splendor were published by Dark Horse Comics Mike Richardson, the owner of several comic book shops in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, began to publish in 1986 with an anthology series called Dark Horse Presents, investing profits from his stores into Dark Horse Comics. The publisher is based in Milwaukie, Oregon. Richardson opened his first comic book store, Pegasus Books, in Bend,, although these issues are not numbered. They include the two-issue American Splendor: Windfall and several themed issues such as American Splendor: Transatlantic Comics and American Splendor: On the Job. In September 2006, a four-issue American Splendor mini-series was published by the DC Comics DC Comics is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner. DC Comics produces material featuring a large number of well-known imprint Vertigo. A second four-issue miniseries was published by DC in 2008.
| Number | Date of Publication | Pages (including cover) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1976 | 52 | Harvey Pekar |
| 2 | 1977 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 3 | 1978 | 56 | Harvey Pekar |
| 4 | 1979 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 5 | 1980 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 6 | 1981 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 7 | 1982 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 8 | 1983 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 9 | 1984 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 10 | 1985 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 11 | 1986 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 12 | 1987 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 13 | 1988 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 14 | 1989 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 15 | 1990 | 60 | Harvey Pekar |
| 16 | Nov 1991 | 60 | Harvey Pekar in association with Tundra Publishing |
| 17 | 1993 | 60 | Dark Horse Comics Mike Richardson, the owner of several comic book shops in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, began to publish in 1986 with an anthology series called Dark Horse Presents, investing profits from his stores into Dark Horse Comics. The publisher is based in Milwaukie, Oregon. Richardson opened his first comic book store, Pegasus Books, in Bend, |
| (18) A Step Out of the Nest | Aug 1994 | 36 | Dark Horse |
| (19) Windfall 1 | Sep 1995 | 44 | Dark Horse |
| (20) Windfall 2 | Oct 1995 | 44 | Dark Horse |
| (21) Comic-Con Comics | Aug 1996 | Dark Horse | |
| (22) On the Job | May 1997 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (23) Music Comics | Nov 1997 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (24) Odds and Ends | Dec 1997 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (25) Transatlantic Comics | Jul 1998 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (26) Terminal | Sep 1999 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (27) Bedtime Stories | June 2000 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (28) Portrait of the Author in his Declining Years | Apr 2001 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (29) Unsung Hero 1 | Aug 2002 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (30) Unsung Hero 2 | Sep 2002 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (31) Unsung Hero 3 | Oct 2002 | 28 | Dark Horse |
| (32) 1 | Nov 2006 | 36 | Vertigo (DC Comics) |
| (33) 2 | Dec 2006 | 36 | Vertigo |
| (34) 3 | Jan 2007 | 36 | Vertigo |
| (35) 4 | Feb 2007 | 36 | Vertigo |
| (36) Vol 2 1 | June 2008 | 36 | Vertigo |
| (37) Vol 2 2 | July 2008 | 36 | Vertigo |
| (38) Vol 2 3 | Aug 2008 | 36 | Vertigo |
| (39) Vol 2 4 | Sep 2008 | 36 | Vertigo |
Graphic novels and collected editions
Many stories from American Splendor have been collected into trade paperbacks In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles. Although trade paperback is actually a publishing term that refers to any book with a from various publishers, their material not (for the most part) overlapping.
- American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar (Doubleday, 1986) ISBN 0-345-46830-9
- More American Splendor (Doubleday, 1987) ISBN 0-385-24073-2
- The New American Splendor Anthology (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1991) ISBN 0-941423-64-6
- American Splendor Presents: Bob & Harv's Comics, with R. Crumb (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1996) ISBN 1-56858-101-7
- American Splendor: Unsung Hero, with David Collier (Dark Horse, 2003) ISBN 1-59307-040-3
- Best of American Splendor (Ballantine Books, 2005) ISBN 0-345-47938-6
- American Splendor: Another Day (DC/Vertigo, 2007) ISBN 978-1-4012-1235-3
- American Splendor: Another Dollar (2009)
Pekar wrote two larger works which carry the American Splendor label, Our Movie Year (Ballantine Books The Ballantine Publishing Group, better known as Ballantine Books, is a major American book publisher founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a pair of mirrored letter "B"'s back to back, 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 also wrote two graphic novels which are not officially labeled American Splendor but which should arguably be considered part of it: Our Cancer Year (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994), co-written with Pekar's wife Joyce Brabner and illustrated by Frank Stack Frank Huntington Stack (b. 1937 in Houston, Texas, United States) is an American underground cartoonist. Working under the name Foolbert Sturgeon to avoid persecution for his work while living in the bible belt, Stack published what is considered by many to be the first underground comic book, The Adventures of Jesus, in 1962, covering the year when Pekar was diagnosed with cancer; and The Quitter (DC Comics DC Comics is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner. DC Comics produces material featuring a large number of well-known, 2005), illustrated by Dean Haspiel Dean Edmund Haspiel is a comic book artist living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the graphic novel The Quitter, which deals with Pekar's youth.
- Our Cancer Year, with Joyce Brabner and Frank Stack (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994) ISBN 1-56858-011-8
- American Splendor: Our Movie Year (Ballantine Books, 2004) ISBN 0-345-47937-8
- The Quitter, with Dean Haspiel (DC/Vertigo, 2005) ISBN 1-4012-0399-X
- Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story, with Gary Dumm (Ballantine Books, 2006) ISBN 0-345-47939-4
Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:46:47 GMT+00:00
ChartAttack Paste Former jazz music critic Harvey Pekar, who created the influential American Splendor comics series, has died. CBC News.
fourcolors
ue, 13 Jul 2010 18:03:12 GM
Pekar was known for his heralded and harrowing autobiographical series of books known as . American Splendor. , which always depicted Pekar as a cantankerous individual, angry at the world and showing no remorse for this. ...
