Jul
12

My Condolences to the Pekar Family…

By GPR84 // Facts // No Comments

Just heard the news about Harvey Pekar. For those who don’t know, Harvey Pekar was an underground comic book writer best known for his comic book “American Splendor.” Although Harvey didn’t draw the comics himself, he featured art by R.Crumb, Drew Friedman and many, many other talents. A biopic about his life entitled “America Splendor” starring Paul Giamatti was released in 2003. Pekar was also a prolific freelance jazz and literary critic.

Curmudgeonly comic-book writer Harvey Pekar, whose gruff, self-deprecating trials and travails were chronicled in the series “American Splendor” and the 2003 movie of the same name, died Monday. He was 70.

Cleveland Heights police Capt. Michael Cannon told the Associated Press that officers were called to Pekar’s home by his wife at about 1 a.m. Monday. No cause of death has been released, but Cannon said Pekar suffered from prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression.

Pekar’s ailments were well-known to readers of “American Splendor” comic books, which chronicled the gruff Ohio native’s attempts to earn a buck in a world under siege by bureaucracy and idiocy. Pekar started self-publishing his stories in 1976, and became enough of a cult hit to be invited on David Letterman’s show several times in the ‘80s.

Source:
Harvey Pekar writer of American Splendor dead at 70