American Splendor is the series that sparked a revolution in comics and brought graphic novels to the attention of post-adolescent readers everywhere. Here is the best of American Splendor and other comics by Harvey Pekar, including never-before-seen material.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
By Bob Cronin
Format:Paperback
This comprehensive collection of American Splendor autobiographical comics by Harvey Pekar features the artwork of many prominent underground comic artists, including Jim Woodring, Joe Zabel, Gerry Shamray, Chester Brown, Spain, Drew Friedman, and R Crumb. But Pekar is truly the dominant force here. Whether he is trading records, arguing with people at work, getting sick, or losing the library's copy of "Confessions of Zeno," you'll get right inside his head as he muses, worries, broods and gets [angry] at the people in front of him in line. Strong stuff with a hard edge of realism.
Compiled from the American Splendor comic books published in the 70's and 80's (which are now largely unavailable), this is highly recommended for those who dig underground comics, new forms of biography or jazz (Pekar is also a renowned jazz reviewer and writer who sometimes talks about music in his comics).
This is not a psychedlic "head" comic, and it does not try to be hip. Harvey is no hippy, he's his own person. There is some social commentary in there too.
Compiled from the American Splendor comic books published in the 70's and 80's (which are now largely unavailable), this is highly recommended for those who dig underground comics, new forms of biography or jazz (Pekar is also a renowned jazz reviewer and writer who sometimes talks about music in his comics).
This is not a psychedlic "head" comic, and it does not try to be hip. Harvey is no hippy, he's his own person. There is some social commentary in there too.
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the second American Splendor Anthology. It features material that was written after the first Anthology came out, plus some older stuff that was left out of the first book. If you like Harvey Pekar's stuff, you will love this book. For people who became interested in Harvey because of the movie based on his life, you will be interested to find the comics based on his David Letterman appearances here. Also, Toby and the "Revenge of the Nerds" story is featured here. For Harvey's hardcore fans, there are some rarities here, such as pre-American Splendor comics from the early '70s, and Harvey's Forwards to other people's books. Buy this book, Harvey can use the money.
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By Peter Evans
Format:Paperback
I came across this book in a second hand book shop. Battered and dog-eared it set me back two pounds. Well worth six times that. Harvey narrates as if he is talking right to you, all the while probably wondering if your going to buy the records he's offering or if you'll leave in time for him to watch the game. His stories are rich with human insight, a special fave of mine being a single page story when a nerdy looking filing clerk hurts his finger and gets a plaster for it only to be unexpectedly hugged by a weeping black vietnam vet who had his life saved by him. Other gems are Harvey getting shortchanged for some grapes and his seemingly endless old book and record bulk buys. If it sounds boring, trust me, it's not. American Splendor is also drawn by a massive variety of top artists, Robert Crumb, Chester Brown and Jim Woodring to name a few.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your child's comic book from my youth in the '50-'60's
This writer shares a wide range of his inner and outer life. I enjoy the varied artist's pens who contributed images.
Worth reading more.
Worth reading more.
Published 3 months ago by Andre J Novak
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good content, but print quality suffers
The content is fine, I enjoyed it. However, the print quality is not so good. In some places it looks like a copy of a copy, the text is hard to decipher and the visuals are... Read more
Published on May 13, 2010 by Gyrofrog
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vignettes From The Lands of the Western Reserve
Since I was born and raised in Cleveland, this anthology done by Harvey Pekar intrigued me. Right from the start it caught my attention with the story "Pa-ayper-Reggs!! Read more
Published on January 1, 2010 by Richard C. Geschke
4.0 out of 5 stars
american splendor
Nice comic book. Maybe sometimes the arts are a little bit overwhelming cause of lack of colors. But still ok.
Published on February 27, 2009 by P. Aleksandra
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
This was fantastic and everything I expected. I was familiar with Pekar from his appearances on Letterman in the 80s and could not locate the graphic novellas at that time. Read more
Published on July 8, 2008 by J. Hinton
5.0 out of 5 stars
A walkin' an' talkin' man
This new collection of Harvey Pekar's quotidian American Splendor comic is not only an excellent introduction for those new to his work; it's also a great anthology for those of us... Read more
Published on April 20, 2008 by Kerry Walters
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great place to be introduced to Harvey and June
If you can't love Harvey Pekar, you can't love anyone. He is a lovely man, with as many neuroses as the rest of us, who listens and watches and reports on the people and world... Read more
Published on May 14, 2007 by Terry Weiss
5.0 out of 5 stars
More interesting than it has a right to be!
Seinfeld, a show about nothing? Pbbbb. Never thought it was that special. Heard about this guy named Harvey Pekar who writes comics about well, nothing. Read more
Published on December 17, 2004 by Ensio N Mikkola
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Your Average Superhero
I first became aware of Harvey Pekar from watching NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. Pekar, a Cleveland-based author and VA file clerk, refused to jump through the normal... Read more
Published on June 7, 1999 by "brooks_e"
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