Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
07-12-10, 10:51 AM
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Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
Police: Cult comic writer Pekar dead at 70 in Ohio
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN (AP) – 18 minutes ago
CLEVELAND — Comic-book writer Harvey Pekar (PEE'-kahr), whose "American Splendor" was made into a 2003 film starring Paul Giammati, has been found dead in his Ohio home.
Coroner's spokesman Powell Caesar in Cleveland says an autopsy will be performed. He had no details on the death of the 70-year-old Pekar.
Cleveland Heights police Capt. Michael Cannon says officers were called to Pekar's home by his wife about 1 a.m. Monday. Cannon says Pekar had been suffering from prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression.
Pekar's "American Splendor" comics, which he began publishing in 1976, chronicle his grousing about work, money and the monotony of life.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN (AP) – 18 minutes ago
CLEVELAND — Comic-book writer Harvey Pekar (PEE'-kahr), whose "American Splendor" was made into a 2003 film starring Paul Giammati, has been found dead in his Ohio home.
Coroner's spokesman Powell Caesar in Cleveland says an autopsy will be performed. He had no details on the death of the 70-year-old Pekar.
Cleveland Heights police Capt. Michael Cannon says officers were called to Pekar's home by his wife about 1 a.m. Monday. Cannon says Pekar had been suffering from prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression.
Pekar's "American Splendor" comics, which he began publishing in 1976, chronicle his grousing about work, money and the monotony of life.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
07-12-10, 12:26 PM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
This is very sad. I will admit not knowing of him beyond the movie, but it was very enlightening and I found myself engaging with him and his character. Now I HAVE to pick up the books.
07-12-10, 02:41 PM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
That hurts. Discovering American Splendor in the very early 80's, way before he appeared on Letterman, hit me like an H-bomb. I'd never seen any slice of life autobiographical comics before, and Harvey's were truly special.
The library here had him as a guest last year in a month long salute to graphic novel storytellers and he was wonderful- very warm (in his own halting way) and generous with his time and seemingly very appreciative of the reception (it was near a full house in the auditorium). He seemed to be in good health and spirits then which makes this a real shock.
RIP Harvey, you were one of a kind.
07-13-10, 05:59 AM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/us_...a/10607410.stm
The silver lining in the above obituary is that "His wife, Joyce Brabner, told police he had gone to bed at 1630 on Sunday in good spirits."
The silver lining in the above obituary is that "His wife, Joyce Brabner, told police he had gone to bed at 1630 on Sunday in good spirits."
07-15-10, 07:37 AM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
His personality is extremely different from the movie's portrayal. Granted, there's an admission of the movie being much more ham-handed than the reality it's mean to represent, and there are several times where he's smirking because he knows he's playing a joke on the audience. If you read his comics or his blog, you'll find him to be a touching, sensitive, and very magnanimous human being. I've also met him in person, and I always liked how he came off, even to his critics.
07-16-10, 06:25 AM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
It has been a bad week in Cleveland. I did a number of stories for Harvey and find it hard to believe he's now gone. I always enjoyed working with him, especially on the last story which, at the time, I suspected would be the last time I got to work with him. I remember meeting up with him on Coventry and a passing car beeped and the driver yelled out "Hey, Harvey." He was a living Cleveland landmark.
07-20-10, 08:55 AM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
The day after Pekar's death I decided to order his last few books, which had always been on my "I'll pick that up someday" list, but were always bumped down for other stuff. I found Ego & Hubris from an Amazon seller for 88 cents and jumped on it.
It arrived yesterday, and to my surprise it was a copy from the Cleveland Public Library. That felt like a cool little bonus.
It arrived yesterday, and to my surprise it was a copy from the Cleveland Public Library. That felt like a cool little bonus.
07-23-10, 05:05 PM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
"The underground cartoonists were a generation — a group of artists who knocked down the walls between art and commerce, shattering the traditional shape and meaning of a comic book. Later, the 'alternative' cartoonists came along — or whatever you wish to call my generation of cartoonists — who wanted to produce comics as a legitimate art medium. But in-between these two generations there was Harvey. A generation of one. Probably the first person who wanted to use the comics medium seriously as a writer. Certainly the first person to toss every genre element out the window and try to capture something of the genuine experience of living: not just some technique of real life glossed onto a story — not satire, or sick humor or everyday melodrama — but the genuine desire to transmit from one person to another just what life feels like."
- Gregory Gallant -
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- Gregory Gallant -
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07-24-10, 08:23 AM
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Re: Harvey Pekar - R.I.P.
Helen Mirren was wearing an RIP Harvey Pekar shirt at the Red panel at Comic Con. When asked about it she gave a touching story about how his comics made her realize comic books were more than just superheroes.
