Farewell to Harvey Pekar

We share a deep sense of melancholy today with the countless other fans and friends of Harvey Pekar, comic book author and creator of American Splendor, who died early this morning at the age of 70. If you saw the 2003 movie of American Splendor, starring Paul Giamatti (who should have gotten an Oscar or at least a nomination, but the film did receive a nom for Best Adapted Screenplay) and Hope Davis, you remember what a fascinating and unique character study Pekar's autobiographical work was. Even if you weren't a comic reader, and certainly the movie reached out far beyond that group, you felt a great empathy and appreciation for Pekar's life choices and philosophy.

Here's the trailer for American Splendor, and then a thoughtful little scene.

One of the signs of Pekar's rise to fame were his appearances on Late Night with David Letterman; author/illustrator/educator Stephen Kroniger has compiled them on his Drawger.com website and we highly recommend them.

Eccentricity is not always easy to embrace or even explain, but we're all the better for it in our lives and in other's. Farewell, Harvey...