American Splendor Complete Series by Harvey Pekar (.CBR)

The graphic novels loved by children and adults alike
Oct 18th, 2012, 7:04 am
#1166473 by Ojay
American Splendor by Harvey Pekar and Various Artists.
Requirements: CBR Reader, 1.09 GB.
Overview: American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by the late Harvey Pekar 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, and DC Comics.

      The comics have been adapted into a film of the same name and a number of theatrical productions.

Genre: Comics, Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life.

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American Splendor
    Harvey Pekar writer
    Robert Crumb, Alison Bechdel, Brian Bram, Chester Brown, Alan Moore, David Collier, Gary Dumm, Frank Stack, Drew Friedman, Dean Haspiel, Val Mayerik, Josh Neufeld, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Sacco, Gerry Shamray, Jim Woodring, Joe Zabel, Ed Piskor, Ty Templeton, Richard Corben, Hunt Emerson, Eddie Campbell, Gilbert Hernandez, Ho Che Anderson, Rick Geary artist
    Published by Harvey Pekar, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics-Vertigo, Doubleday, Titan, 1976-2008.

        Harvey Pekar is file clerk at the local VA hospital. His interactions with his co-workers offer some relief from the monotony, and their discussions encompass everything from music to the decline of American culture to new flavors of jellybeans and life itself. At home, Harvey fills his days with reading, writing and listening to jazz. His apartment is filled with thousands of books and LPs, and he regularly scours Cleveland's thrift stores and garage sales for more, savoring the rare joy of a 25-cent find. It is at one of these junk sales that Harvey meets Robert Crumb, a greeting card artist and music enthusiast. When, years later, Crumb finds international success for his underground comics, the idea that comic books can be a valid art form for adults inspires Harvey to write his own brand of comic book. An admirer of naturalist writers like Theodore Dreiser, Harvey makes his American Splendor a truthful...

      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'.

      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'. 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.

      The stories in American Splendor concern the everyday life of Pekar in Cleveland, Ohio. Situations covered include Pekar's job as a file clerk at a Veteran's Administration 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 troubles with his car, money, his health, and his concerns and anxieties in general. Several issues (#14, #13, #18) give accounts of Pekar's becoming a recurring guest on the NBC television show Late Night with David Letterman, including a 1987 interview segment in which Pekar criticized Letterman for ducking criticism of General Electric, the parent company of NBC. 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.

      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. Starting in 1994, additional American Splendor were published by Dark Horse Comics, 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 imprint Vertigo. A second four-issue miniseries was published by DC in 2008.

    Film
      In 2003 a movie adaptation featuring Paul Giamatti playing Pekar (as well as appearances by Pekar himself) and Hope Davis as his wife was released to critical acclaim and first honors at the Sundance Film Festival in addition to the Writers Guild of America Award for best adapted screenplay. It was written and directed by documentarists Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. It was filmed entirely on location in Cleveland and Lakewood in Ohio. It was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2003 Academy Awards (it lost to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).
      IMDB Ratings: 7.6.

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American Splendor The Movie 2003


See also:

Download Instructions:
http://www.gboxes.com/m3747w6z0amb -- American Splendor 01 (1976)
http://www.gboxes.com/6a2tjqkp5495 -- American Splendor 02 (1977)
http://www.gboxes.com/0x14vr41unbu -- American Splendor 03 (1978)
http://www.gboxes.com/re5ypmfi1p4y -- American Splendor 04 (1979)
http://www.gboxes.com/y7669ichslgb -- American Splendor 05 (1980)
http://www.gboxes.com/rb7pmyvvmep7 -- American Splendor 06 (1981)
http://www.gboxes.com/s6vrspnplw28 -- American Splendor 07 (1982)
http://www.gboxes.com/jsnn1x1jvmqy -- American Splendor 08 (1983)
http://www.gboxes.com/vh7opsktynnb -- American Splendor 09 (1984)
http://www.gboxes.com/56eoxw3oqtoq -- American Splendor 10 (1985)
http://www.gboxes.com/31qnsqx36562 -- American Splendor 11 (1986)
http://www.gboxes.com/qjdedve5gu4n -- American Splendor 12 (1987)
http://www.gboxes.com/xtm3he429vwk -- American Splendor 13 (1988)
http://www.gboxes.com/p3m722q9ink2 -- American Splendor 14 (1989)
http://www.gboxes.com/vu8an4orh9eu -- American Splendor 15 (1990)
http://www.gboxes.com/nnlrw700fflk -- American Splendor 16 (1991)
http://www.gboxes.com/bb2ww1ywz8gz -- American Splendor 17 (1993)
http://www.gboxes.com/vtoa3kgoyycp -- American Splendor 18 (1994)
http://www.gboxes.com/zxmozcddexug -- American Splendor 19 (1995)
http://www.gboxes.com/z0rcvpudismh -- American Splendor 20 (1995)
http://www.gboxes.com/g95je01egodx -- American Splendor 21 (1996)
http://www.gboxes.com/1n4hessh6tfx -- American Splendor 22 (1997)
http://www.gboxes.com/ljnratrbl9v1 -- American Splendor 23 (1997)
http://www.gboxes.com/wb5dpoez2qtb -- American Splendor 24 (1997)
http://www.gboxes.com/ko8li1npitg2 -- American Splendor 25 (1998)
http://www.gboxes.com/rzk6tfc2t9cr -- American Splendor 26 (1999)
http://www.gboxes.com/nv00eu7z82ii -- American Splendor 27 (2000)
http://www.gboxes.com/jsly7s0ozifk -- American Splendor 28 (2001)
http://www.gboxes.com/7am3szr3kjsp -- American Splendor 29 (2002)
http://www.gboxes.com/7hl8p34e8vx5 -- American Splendor 30 (2002)
http://www.gboxes.com/pmsnj5i2ufcn -- American Splendor 31 (2002)
http://www.gboxes.com/bvreu9xakf4v -- American Splendor 32 (2006)
http://www.gboxes.com/00ljsc3huzf3 -- American Splendor 33 (2006)
http://www.gboxes.com/r9wy8he4xnvh -- American Splendor 34 (2007)
http://www.gboxes.com/0ecqnk1vop6w -- American Splendor 35 (2007)
http://www.gboxes.com/ivi37x19bayi -- American Splendor 36 (2008)
http://www.gboxes.com/2l2ggusutilt -- American Splendor 37 (2008)
http://www.gboxes.com/eddje4kttht9 -- American Splendor 38 (2008)
http://www.gboxes.com/qrqqh5zrn3bo -- American Splendor 39 (2008)
http://www.gboxes.com/4sqr0shflpgl -- American Splendor: Our Cancer Year (GN-1994)
http://www.gboxes.com/uyy1uzsdzgcy -- American Splendor: Our Movie Year (GN-2004)
http://www.gboxes.com/43nwiffbojxt -- American Splendor: The Life and Time of Harvey Pekar (GN-2003)


Misc:
Oct 18th, 2012, 7:04 am

Labor Omnia Vincit Improbus... Hard Work Conquers Everything!
Oct 18th, 2012, 7:51 am
#1166499 by Ojay
American Splendor, Our Movie Year
    Published by Titan, 2005.

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    The release of the hit movie American Splendor raised Harvey Pekar's popularity to an entirely new level, and Titan's tie-in graphic novel was a runaway critical and commercial success. Now comes Our Movie Year, a brand new graphic novel, in which Pekar portrays his sudden rise, as seen through his hilariously grumpy point of view: from Sundance, to Cannes, the Oscars and beyond...Once Harvey was content merely to flirt with fame. But now he's become a household name. Sort of. And, to tell you the truth, it's starting to bug the hell out of him. With the succes of the movie, Harvey won awards, accolades and the promise of a bigger paycheck. A lot of funny things can happen in year, and many of them happened to Harvey. And now you can read about them all...

    Fans of Pekar's slice-of-life series American Splendor might be worried when they pick up this latest installment. Pekar is known for his everyman persona and his man-of-the-people storytelling style. But can he keep those qualities in the face of an award-winning movie based on his autobiographical comic book series? Happily, the answer is "you bet." Pekar's narrative style, as always, is straightforward. Mostly, he talks to the "camera." Occasionally, he lets readers into his head through halting, uncertain thought balloons (which nicely reproduce actual thoughts). Some of Pekar's stories are simple reportage, such as an account of his various David Letterman appearances. Others--like his description of locking himself out of his car at the movies--are great character studies. Throughout the stories in this collection, Pekar retains his trademark character: humble, down-to-earth, yet prickly at times. The art, by a crew of well-known independent cartoonists, varies in style--photo-reference realism, 1960s-style underground, computer graphics--but not in quality. All of it gets Pekar right. And some--like Mark Zingarelli's and R. Crumb's--is near perfect. Pekar fans will enjoy this strong collection, and be happy to see Pekar's adventures continuing in Hollywood and beyond.

    The padding is some of the best stuff!, Reviewed by Stefan Jones on March 23, 2006
      I got a big kick out of the "American Splendor" movie. In addition to being a fun flick, it brought Pekar some well-deserved attention. It was nice to see him get interviews and a chance to travel around.

      It was pretty much a sure thing, then, that I would buy "Our Movie Year," a comeek about Pekar's brush with fame.

      Well . . . I'm not sorry I bought the book, but it's a mixed bag.

      Here's the disappointing part: Unlike "Our Cancer Year," this isn't a single story book, planned from the beginning, or even a collection of original short pieces. It is a compilation of dozens of short pieces, apparently reprinted from magazines and Harvey's own comic. This would be OK, but in many cases they cover the same events. Some are reprises of how Harvey came to write autobiographical comics . . . a story well known to anyone who has read the earlier "American Splendor" anthologies. Sure, in some cases the material is told from a different angle, or in more detail. For example, Harvey's reprisal of his rocky relationship with David Letterman is more honest and introspective.

      What really made this book worth buying was what might be considered padding, totally unrelated to the events surrounding the movie: Short illustrated pieces on famous authors, jazz legends, and other cultural items. Items like these are how Harvey earns his living, and it was really neat to see them. In addition to being interesting in their own right, they show that Pekar can more than "stories about nothing."

      I give this one a thumbs up, and would especially recommend it to those who haven't read any of Pekar's other books.

    "I've picked up some extra gigs because of the movie's success, but what happens when that's over?" Reviewed by Kerry Walters on May 6, 2008
      Harvey Pekar is famous for chronicling the everyday, and for helping the rest of us take notice of the fact that the ordinary things of life are really quite wondrous. Even in Our Cancer Year, co-written with his wife Joyce Brabner, Pekar focuses on an event that was harrowing for him personally but (alas!) increasingly ordinary from a statistical perspective: the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. But in Our Movie Year, Pekar seems to break stride by focusing on an event that's truly extraordinary: the release of an award-winning film about his life and work.

      Here's another extraordinary thing: Pekar writes about this event in the way that his fans have come to know and love. He's obviously pleased that his work has achieved recognition and approval from a wider than usual audience. But what makes the story interesting is that Pekar's pleasure is constantly shadowed by his usual cloud of neuroses: anxiety over whether the film will bring future writing gigs or a nosedive into obscurity once the box office hoopla ends; money worries; travel anxieties; and up-and-down moods in response to events. The story is a really intriguing psychological portrait of mixed emotions.

      As one would expect, the book describes in some detail the high-energy events surrounding the film: scrounging up producers and backers; debuts in Cleveland and NYC (the latter threatened by a blackout); the excitement of the Sundance and Cannes festivals; and film-connected travel to England, Ireland, Australia, and Japan. But wonderfully sandwiched in between these story lines are more typical Pekar stories involving misplaced keys, flat tires in winter, and dealing with bureaucrats. The message seems to be that even when extraordinary events occur, everyday life, with its hassles and small victories, continues.

      There's a curious redundancy in the book. The lead story, the multi-part "The American Splendor Movie," illustrated by Mark Zingarelli, is duplicated later on in "My Movie Year," illustrated by Gary Dumm. The latter is less good than the former, and could easily have been omitted. Toward the end of the book, Pekar offers film and book reviews as well as a few Crumb-like biographies of musicians. And speaking of Crumb: there's a wonderful Crumb-illustrated piece, "Reunion" (p. 55), in which Pekar, using his old pal Crumb as a straight man, pokes fun at his own compulsiveness. It's really brilliant.

      I don't think that Our Movie Year would be a good introduction to Pekar to anyone unfamiliar with his work. But it surely is yet another example of the man's genius. Highly recommended.
Oct 18th, 2012, 7:51 am

Labor Omnia Vincit Improbus... Hard Work Conquers Everything!
Oct 18th, 2012, 9:09 am
#1166541 by Ojay
American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar
Introduction by R. Crumb
Published by Doubleday, 1986.

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      “Mr. Pekar has . . . proven that comics can address the ambiguities of daily living, that like the finest fiction, they can hold a mirror up to life.” —The New York Times
      “[Pekar] has a vision that makes daily city life—a ride on the bus, a run-in with a boss, or simply buying bread—dramatic.” —Chicago Sun-Times
      “Simply stated, American Splendor is the most superb literary endeavor to come off the streets of Cleveland in decades.” —The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
      “Mr. Pekar lets all of life flood into his panels: the humdrum and the heroic, the gritty and the grand.” —The New York Times Book Review

    American Splendor is the world?s first literary comic book. Cleveland native Harvey Pekar is a true American original. A V.A. hospital file clerk and comic book writer, Harvey chronicles the ordinary and mundane in stories both funny and touching. His dead-on eye for the frustrations and minutiae of the workaday world mix in a delicate balance with his insight into personal relationships. Pekar has been compared to Dreiser, Dostoevsky, and Lenny Bruce. But he is truly more than all of them? He is himself.

    Splendid, Reviewed by Johnny Heering on September 26, 2003.
      Obviously, this was released to capitalize on the publicity that the American Splendor film is getting. Well, if the movie inspires people to search out the comics of Harvey Pekar, that is a good thing. This is great stuff. Harvey has a way of making ordinary life seems interesting. I think if you saw the movie and liked it, you will also dig this book.
Oct 18th, 2012, 9:09 am

Labor Omnia Vincit Improbus... Hard Work Conquers Everything!
Jan 24th, 2015, 7:05 pm
#2394238 by Ojay
Added American Splendor: Unsung Hero by Harvey Pekar
Requirements: CBR Reader, 35 MB.
Overview: Chronicles the Vietnam experience of Pekar's African-American co-worker Robert McNeill.

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American Splendor: Unsung Hero
    Harvey Pekar writer
    Diana Schutz editor
    Cary Grazzini production
    Published by Dark Horse Comics, 2002.
Jan 24th, 2015, 7:05 pm

Labor Omnia Vincit Improbus... Hard Work Conquers Everything!
Jan 24th, 2015, 7:07 pm
#2394244 by Ojay
Added: Our Cancer Year by Joyce Brabner and Harvey Pekar
Requirements: CBR reader, 105 Mb
Overview: Harvey Pekar is probably most well known for his work on American Splendor, a movie of which was made starring Paul Giamatti. But this tender story, which tells the painful and touching tale of his discovery that he has lymphoma and must begin chemotherapy. The news comes as Pekar and his wife, Brabner, are preparing to buy a house. As always with Pekar’s work, Our Cancer Year is most remarkable for its utter normalcy. Pekar is an everyman through and through. As such, when he battles his disease, he does it in a comically human way. The title of this work is apt, too, because Pekar and his wife experience everything together in this fight against cancer. Pekar’s strengths as a storyteller shine in this volume as his cancer battle is contrasted with the first Gulf War, going on at the same time. War too is an all-too-human affliction, but Pekar is able to find the glorious in even the most mundane traits of mankind. That’s always been his gift, and it’s on full display here.

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Jan 24th, 2015, 7:07 pm

Labor Omnia Vincit Improbus... Hard Work Conquers Everything!