Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar was an influential American comic book author, best known for his autobiographical series "American Splendor." Born on October 8, 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jewish immigrant parents, Pekar's early life was marked by the hardships of his family's experiences, including the impact of Alzheimer's disease on his parents. After serving in the Navy and briefly attending university, he held various jobs, ultimately finding a long-term position as a file clerk at a Veterans Administration hospital, which he maintained until 2001.
Pekar began writing in the early 1960s, contributing articles and reviews to several publications. He transitioned into comic books in the 1970s, creating "American Splendor," which debuted in 1976 and featured stories about his everyday life, illustrated by renowned comic artists. The series received critical acclaim and was adapted into a film in 2003, garnering several awards. Pekar was known for his candid and often humorous storytelling style, exploring themes of struggle and resilience. In addition to his comic work, he contributed essays to radio and print, reflecting his diverse interests and advocacy. He passed away on July 12, 2010, leaving behind a legacy of authentic and relatable storytelling in the comic medium.
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Subject Terms
Harvey Pekar
Writer
- Born: October 8, 1939
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
- Died: July 12, 2010
- Place of death: Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Biography
Harvey Pekar was born on October 8, 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland who died a few years after they were afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease in their late sixties. After graduating from high school, Pekar enlisted in the navy in 1957. He later attended Case Western Reserve University but dropped out without earning a degree. He then worked at a variety of jobs, including microfilm clerk, janitor, elevator operator, and photocopier, before landing a job in 1966 as a file clerk at a Veterans Administration hospital in Cleveland, where he remained until 2001.
Pekar began writing in the early 1960’s, contributing jazz reviews, book critiques, and articles about popular culture to a variety of publications, including Down Beat, Jazz Review, Evergreen Review, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Boston Herald, Urban Dialect, and Jazz Times. In the 1970’s, he contributed stories to a number of underground comic books, including Bizarre Sex, Flaming Baloney, Snarf, and Flamed-Out Funnies. He later expanded upon these stories and self- published an ongoing autobiographical comic book chronicle, American Splendor.
American Splendor was first published in 1976 and appeared on an almost annual basis. It featured the illustrations of many major comic book artists, including R. Crumb (who Pekar met in 1962 while looking for jazz records at a swap meet), Sue Cavey, Frank Stack, Chester Brown, Joe Sacco, Greg Budgett, Gary Dumm, and Spain Rodriguez. Each artist drew the series in his or her particular style, detailing the accounts of Pekar’s daily battles with coworkers, shoppers, and women who would not date him. The stories in American Splendor were sometimes grouchy, often humorous, usually fatalistic, yet somehow always life-affirming. Since the mid-1980’s, American Splendor has been collected and released in several volumes; two of these volumes, American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar and The New American Splendor Anthology, won American Book Awards. The 2003 film American Splendor, based on Pekar’s work, won awards at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals.
Pekar normally maintained a low profile, but after the success of American Splendor he was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman. He appeared on the television program eight times between 1986 and 1988 before being banned for his strident political statements and criticism of the National Broadcasting Company’s parent corporation, General Electric. The ban later was lifted, and Pekar appeared twice more in the early 1990’s.
In 1983, Pekar married for a third time to writer and peace activist Joyce Brabner. The two later collaborated on the autobiographical comic book Our Cancer Year, detailing Pekar’s battle with lymphoma; the book won a Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Original Work.
In 1999, Pekar began freelancing as a commentator on radio station WKSU-FM in Kent, Ohio, and he has since won a PRNDI Award (2000) and a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award (2001) for his broadcast essays. He also is a contributing columnist for the Cleveland Free Times and shows no signs of slowing down, despite suffering from recurring bouts of cancer. In 2005, he published The Quitter, an autobiographical record of his early years, and in 2006 he released a five-issue American Splendor miniseries.