American Splendor


American Splendor is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular intervals. Publishers were, 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].

Origins

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:
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.
Recurring character Toby Radloff first appeared in American Splendor #9, as did Joyce Brabner. Pekar and Brabner's adopted daughter, Danielle, was first introduced in American Splendor: Bedtime Stories.

Themes

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 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 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, the artists for his comics, and a three-issue miniseries American Splendor: Unsung Hero, which chronicles the Vietnam experience of Pekar's African-American co-worker Robert McNeill.

Artists

As Pekar was not an artist himself, and was incapable of "drawing a straight line", according to a line in the film version of his story, he recruited his friend, underground comics artist Robert Crumb, to help create a comics series. Besides Crumb, other notable American Splendor illustrators include 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, and Greg Budgett. Later issues employed a new crop of artists, including Ty Templeton, Richard Corben, Hunt Emerson, Eddie Campbell, Gilbert Hernandez, Ho Che Anderson, and Rick Geary.

Publication history

Pekar produced seventeen issues of American Splendor from 1976 to 1993 — usually each May — which, except for the last few issues, he also self-published and self-distributed. By keeping back issues in print and available, 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.
NumberDate of PublicationPages ArtistsPublisher
1May 197652Brian Bram, Greg Budgett, Robert Crumb, Gary Dumm, Lad JericHarvey Pekar
2April 197760Bram, Budgett, Crumb, DummHarvey Pekar
3197856Budgett, Crumb, DummHarvey Pekar
4197960Crumb, Dumm, Michael T. Gilbert, Gerry ShamrayHarvey Pekar
5198060Budgett, Crumb, Dumm, ShamrayHarvey Pekar
6198160Budgett, Dumm, Michael T. Gilbert, ShamrayHarvey Pekar
7June 198260Kevin Brown, Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, Crumb, Rick Dahl, Dumm, Jack Millie, ShamrayHarvey Pekar
8198360Brown, Budgett, Cavey, Crumb, Dumm, ShamrayHarvey Pekar
9198460Carroll, Crumb, Dumm, Philip Fried, Barry Hoffman, Bill Knapp, Val Mayerik, May Midwest, M. SonodaHarvey Pekar
10198560Bill Crook, Dumm, Knapp, Mayerik, Sonoda, Joe ZabelHarvey Pekar
11198660Joyce Brabner, Budgett, Dumm, Knapp, Mayerik, Spain Rodriguez, Ed Wesolowski, ZabelHarvey Pekar
12198760Budgett, Gilbert Clark, Crumb, Dumm, Drew Friedman, Mayerik, Shamray, James Sherman, Spain, Frank Stack, Wesolowski, ZabelHarvey Pekar
13198860Budgett, Dumm, Friedman, Rebecca Huntington, Paul Mavrides, Mayerik, Don Simpson, Stack, Wesolowski, ZabelHarvey Pekar
14198960Alison Bechdel, Budgett, Stephen DeStefano, Dumm, Linda Dumm, William Fogg, Friedman, Huntington, Mavrides, Simpson, Stack, Wesolowski, ZabelHarvey Pekar
15199060Chester Brown, Dumm, Knapp, Alan Moore, Carol Sobocinski, Spain, Stack, Richard G. Taylor, Wesolowski, Zabel, Mark ZingarelliHarvey Pekar
16Nov 199160Dumm, Sobocinski, Spain, Stack, Jim Woodring, ZabelHarvey Pekar in association with Tundra Publishing
17199360Dumm, Mavrides, Joe Sacco, Shamray, Sobocinski, Stack, J. R. Stats, Alex Wald, Woodring, ZabelDark Horse Comics
A Step Out of the NestAug 199436Dumm, ZabelDark Horse
Windfall 1Sep 199544Dumm, Josh Neufeld, Stack, ZabelDark Horse
Windfall 2Oct 199544Dumm, Scott A. Gilbert, Neufeld, Sacco, Stack, ZabelDark Horse
Comic-Con ComicsAug 199628Dumm, Scott A. Gilbert, Neufeld, ZabelDark Horse
On the JobMay 199728Dumm, Sacco, Stack, ZabelDark Horse
Music ComicsNov 199728SaccoDark Horse
Odds and EndsDec 199728Dumm, Sam Hurt, Neufeld, Sacco, Shamray, ZabelDark Horse
Transatlantic ComicsJul 199828Stack, Colin WarnefordDark Horse
TerminalSep 199928Dumm, Sacco, StackDark Horse
Bedtime StoriesJune 200028David Collier, Dean Haspiel, Neufeld, Sacco, Spain, StackDark Horse
Portrait of the Author in his Declining YearsApr 200128Collier, Dumm, Haspiel, Neufeld, Sacco, StackDark Horse
Unsung Hero 1Aug 200228CollierDark Horse
Unsung Hero 2Sep 200228CollierDark Horse
Unsung Hero 3Oct 200228CollierDark Horse
1Nov 200636Hilary Barta, Budgett, Dumm, Glenn Fabry, Haspiel, Ty TempletonVertigo
2Dec 200636Eddie Campbell, Richard Corben, Haspiel, Leonardo Manco, Chris Samnee, Chris Weston, Chandler WoodVertigo
3Jan 200736Zachary Baldus, Budgett, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Dumm, Hunt Emerson, Rick Geary, Haspiel, Neufeld, Templeton, Steve VanceVertigo
4Feb 200736Ho Che Anderson, Baldus, Budgett, Dumm, Emerson, Bob Fingerman, Geary, Haspiel, Gilbert HernandezVertigo
Vol 2 1June 200836Baldus, Barta, Philip Bond, Haspiel, Mike Hawthorne, David Lapham, John Lucas, Ed Piskor, WestonVertigo
Vol 2 2July 200836Baldus, Budgett, Dumm, Emerson, Haspiel, Lora Innes, Lapham, Jose Marzan, Neufeld, Darick Robertson, TempletonVertigo
Vol 2 3Aug 200836John Cebollero, Darwyn Cooke, Geary, Haspiel, Sean Murphy, Neufeld, Warren Pleece, SamneeVertigo
Vol 2 4Sep 200836Budgett, Dumm, Geary, Haspiel, Robertson, TempletonVertigo

Collected editions

Many stories from American Splendor have been collected into trade paperbacks from various publishers, their material not overlapping.
Pekar wrote two larger works which carry the American Splendor label: Our Movie Year, a collection of comics written about or at the time of the American Splendor film, and Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story, a biography of the early life of the author Michael Malice.
Pekar also wrote two graphic novels which are not officially labeled American Splendor but which should arguably be considered part of it: Our Cancer Year, co-written with Pekar's wife Joyce Brabner and illustrated by Frank Stack, covering the year when Pekar was diagnosed with cancer; and The Quitter, illustrated by Dean Haspiel, which deals with Pekar's youth.

Theatrical productions

Theatrical productions based on American Splendor have been mounted over the years:
In 2003 a movie adaptation featuring Paul Giamatti playing Pekar 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. The film was written and directed by documentarians Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, and was filmed entirely on location in Cleveland and Lakewood in Ohio. At the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, the film received the FIPRESCI critics award. It was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2003 Academy Awards.