The now-renown American Splendor comic book brand began with the the classic hometown-printed series by Harvey Pekar. The first time I read one of these books, I found Pekar's stories about relatively mundane events rather dull. But as I read more and more, I came to appreciate the deeper insights he provided about everyday life in these United States. American Splendor was a monumentally groundbreaking series and has spawned many imitators of varying quality.
The original 17-issue, magazine-size American Splendor series, the first 15 issues of which he published with a local printer in Cleveland, hardly made Harvey Pekar rich. He worked a full-time job for the entire run and gained notoriety slowly over the years. Yet despite the slow beginnings and meager profits, Pekar managed to publish his comic books like clockwork, coming out with a new issue about once a year. He attracted an all-star line-up of underground, alternative and mainstream comic artists to illustrate his stories, from Robert Crumb and Frank Stack to Paul Mavrides and Don Simpson.
After a decade of publishing the series yet toiling in virtual anonymity, Pekar was invited to appear on David Letterman's Late Night TV show in 1986. It was the beginning of his own minor celebrity, which slowly grew over the next 15+ years before he became a much bigger minor celebrity with the release of the biographical, award-winning movie, "American Splendor."
Pekar's original American Splendor series ended a decade before the movie came out, but he continued his prolific collaborations with major comic book artists in several additional comics and full-length books. His passing in July, 2010 ended one of the most influential comic book careers in history. I consider all 17 of the original American Splendor comic books to be some of the most undervalued books in the market. |
