American Splendor: The Best of American Splendor Written by Harvey Pekar
Art by Robert Crumb, Kevin Brown, Greg Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, Gary Dumm, Val Mayerik and Gerry Shamray
2005
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Harvey Pekar was one of the first people to seriously approach comic books as a medium for expressing not the fantastical or the childlike - but the mundane and the everyday - and all the countless unremarked moments of adult life ("ah, fresh bread!"). Using his own life as inspiration Pekar constructed stories that - if you're being nice: resisted easy answers and pat resolutions / or if you're being mean: don't go anywhere or do anything. If you're searching for a book that is full of immediate slice of life tales that take pleasure from being lost in their own thoughts - then you should give Harvey a try. He's an acquired taste - but one that a great many people have taken a liking to and seeing how most of the stories in this collection only last a few pages at most - it's perfect for dipping into and finding out for yourself if he's your thing.
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Links: Guy.com Article on Harvey Peker, AV Club Article on Harvey Peker, Review Graveyard Review.
Further reading: The Quitter, The Beats: A Graphic History, American Splendor presents: Bob and Harv's Comics, American Splendor: Another Dollar, Wilson, Make Me A Woman, Breakdowns.
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