Harvey Pekar Obituary

Harvey Pekar 1939 - 2010

By Brian Prisco | Posted Under Miscellaneous | Comments (17)

Harvey Pekar doesn’t take your shit. He was an observer of life, someone who never minced words or bit his tongue. He was constantly befuddled by the idiocy of the great unwashed. He collected his salty take on life in Cleveland in journals which would become American Splendor. His lifelong chum, R. Crumb, started inking them into comic books, and Pekar changed the face of comics forever. There’d be no Daniel Clowes, there’d be no Alison Bechdel, there’d be none of that single issue collection of howling into the ether because you know there are people listening.

His outrage, his bravado, his melancholia might seem like bitter fruit, but Pekar had a devilish sense of humor. He named his ranting American Splendor after all. But it wasn’t just an angry man shouting at the kids to get off his damn lawn. He championed the veterans that surrounded him at his file clerking job. He wrote constantly and honestly and adoringly of his wife. He was respected and admired — American Splendor was illustrated by any number of comics heroes, including the equally harrumphing Alan Moore.

Pekar slouched towards glory, grumbling and snarling and bitching, because he was outraged at the general stupidity of the world around him. Is it any wonder we loved the dude? He could have been the mascot for Pajiba.

Harvey Pekar passed away today. He was 70. Rest in peace.

Follow @pajiba

← Where Did the Bad Pajiba Touch You? | Eloquent Eloquence | The Girl Who Played With Fire Review | The Sh*t-Kicking Misandrist Damsel in Distress →

Comments

Dear Cleveland,

You certainly are having a rough week aren't you? So sorry to hear about your loss(es). First beer is on me.

RIP Harvey.

xoxo
JenVegas

Posted by: JenVegas at July 12, 2010 1:44 PM

Thanks for this. Harvey Pekar was my hero.

Posted by: Melodie at July 12, 2010 1:46 PM

ah yes, thank you. i was just reading some horrible article on AP referring to Pekar as a "cult" comic author and getting pissed.

i clicked on pajiba thinking, "you sons of bitches had better have a decent obit on pekar!"

and there it was. i guess i didn't need to get all pissed off and surly.

ah, i pulled a pekar! :)

Posted by: glittergirl at July 12, 2010 1:50 PM

I'd insinuate that LeBron leaving killed Pekar, but there's a better than average chance that Pekar didn't even know what basketball was. What a wonderful prick.

Posted by: myjetski at July 12, 2010 1:58 PM

Well, shit, that sucks.
Long ago I was the manager of a record store in Cleveland and Harvey came in there all the time. He was an odd bird, alright.

Posted by: rajah rabbit at July 12, 2010 1:59 PM

R.I.P to one of the greats.

Posted by: idleprimate at July 12, 2010 2:07 PM

Thanks for the tribute, Mr. Prisco. Harvey will be missed.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at July 12, 2010 2:13 PM

I didn't discover Pekar until I watched the film adaptation of American Splendor. I knew of him, via Crumb and my job at Barnes and Noble, but I'd never read his stuff. Then, as good as Paul Giamatti was, he stole his own movie. Which makes sense, really, his comics are wonderful-- the only thing the movie has over the books is Pekar's voice. Which I would have had the chance to hear, if I'd just gotten to Denton early enough to see him speak at last year's jazz festival. I honestly thought there'd be another chance. Sigh.

Rest in Peace, Harvey.

Posted by: RobP at July 12, 2010 2:33 PM

I got dragged to see American Splendor (the movie) without having a clue who Harvey Pekar was. I enjoyed it a lot.

Posted by: BWeaves at July 12, 2010 2:35 PM

RobP. "Then, as good as Paul Giamatti was, Harvey Pekar stole his own movie." You really nailed it!

Posted by: BWeaves at July 12, 2010 2:37 PM

This one hurts. Thanks for the spot on tribute, Prisco.

Rest in peace Harvey.

Posted by: Barnes78 at July 12, 2010 3:17 PM

R.I.P. Harvey. He put a smile on my face so many times and American Splendor is one of my favorite movies ever. What a loss.

Posted by: Snrub at July 12, 2010 3:44 PM

Me too BWeaves. I'm not that familiar with comics, but I loved his story.

Posted by: Julie at July 12, 2010 3:54 PM

Thanks Jen, but we will survive. Like the old t-shirt said, "Cleveland: You gotta be tough." I was able to interview and write about Harvey a couple of times over the years. A good man and consumate Clevelander.

Posted by: stryker1121 at July 12, 2010 7:16 PM

The only way this story could get better would be the news that Pekar commited suicide after shooting his lover R. Crumb in the head.
That is all.

Posted by: Jack Random at July 12, 2010 8:08 PM

I didn't hear about this till visiting Pajiba tonight...I'll have to get in touch with one of my college professors, he was friends with Harvey, he even't came to our class once to "talk"

Posted by: Luke at July 12, 2010 9:50 PM

I always wanted to have a job like Harvey Pekar at the VA hospital. Just a quiet chore list of details and tolerating the occasional unavoidable brush with other humans. A few years ago I got a job like that. Kind of like Harvey, though, I couldn't just read the files of people and not see them as, well, people.

It was fun to see Harvey get famous almost against his will, bitching and kicking and slyly maybe slightly enjoying it just a little. He couldn't both care about the people he told stories about so well and prevent you from caring too. There's the rub that landed this cantankerous invisineighbor on Letterman and Miramax's doorstep. It's still delightful to think about.

I could still be a crabby secretary, but damned if like Harvey I din't care more than a little about the files I was reading. So now I have to suck it up and run a division. Every time against my autistic OCD nature I have to greet clients, or figure out petty squabbles I could give a fuck about, I think about Harvey Pekar manning up to be interviewed, or my Dad ballsing up to face another day of building houses in the hard Ohio snow.

Who gives a fuck about you, LeBron? The real King of Cleveland left this morning.

Posted by: Stacy D at July 12, 2010 11:41 PM

Pajiba

Pajiba: Reviews, Commentary, Angst

Harvey Pekar 1939 - 2010

Comments