While there are some amazing surprises (who knew Richard Corben could portray Pekar's milieu so convincingly?) there's also a lot of "meh" material as well and the end result is another one of those mixed bags.įinally, for those looking to get go beyond the comics, there's Harvey Pekar: Conversations, a collection of interviews, edited by Michael Rhode. The idea was to pair Pekar up with some unexpected, more genre-based artists in addition to his more traditional collaborators and see what happens. There's been a number of graphic novels about cancer and terminal illness in the ensuing years, but this remains the best of the bunch.Īfter the success of The Quitter, Pekar did two American Spendor mini-series for Vertigo, collected in paperback as Another Day and Another Dollar. The book takes a while to get going (there's a lot of stuff about Brabner's peace activism work and her relationship with some teen refugees that honestly could have used some trimming), but once it does, it makes for a compelling read. Ably and strikingly illustrated by Frank Stack (author of The New Adventures of Jesus), it's a pretty stark look at what a draining, tense experience it is to be seriously ill in modern America. This is also where he delves into his appearances on the David Letterman show, for those who are curious to hear about that.Īfter American Splendor and Letterman, Pekar is best known for Our Cancer Year, in which he and his wife, Joyce Brabner, chronicled his first bout with Lymphoma (his cancer returned later in his life).
The New American Splendor Anthology is another solid anthology culled from Pekar's series, and features some great collaborations, including an inspired (and kinda loopy) one with Chester Brown. My understanding is it only collects stories from the 1990s and onward, which may not make it the best pick for a first-timer, but if there's an intrepid reader out there who can enlighten me of its value in the comments section, please feel free. Crumb was one of Pekar's best - if not the best - interpreters, and the two had a rapport that made for o ne of the best collaborations in the history of comics.Ĭontinuing along the "greatest hits" thread, there is also apparently a Best of American Splendor collection, though I haven't had an opportunity to track down a copy yet. On the other hand, if you want a slimmer, more distilled reading experience, you could start with Bob an Harv's Comics, which only collects the stories Pekar did with Robert Crumb.
Robert crumb harvey pekar series#
This collects the first two Ballentine anthologies from his comic book series and contains most of his best work, including "The Harvey Pekar Name Story," "Alice Quinn," "Hypothetical Quandary" and "A Ride Home." This is pretty much the pure, unadulterated source.
Robert crumb harvey pekar movie#
My first suggestion would be to go with the American Splendor movie tie-in book (the one with Paul Giamatti on the cover, above).
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