Harvey Pekar
| Harvey Pekar | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Harvey Lawrence Pekar October 8, 1939 Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Died | July 12, 2010 (age 70) Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Comic book writer, filing clerk, music and literary critic |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Underground comics, Alternative comics |
| Subject | Autobiography |
| Notable works |
American Splendor Our Cancer Year |
| Years active | 1974–2010 |
| Spouse | Karen Delaney (1960-1972) Helen Lark Hall (July 1977-Feb. 1981) Joyce Brabner (1984-2010; his death; 1 foster child) |
Harvey Lawrence Pekar (/ˈpiːkɑːr/; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a well-received film adaptation of the same name.
Frequently described as the "poet laureate of Cleveland," Pekar "helped change the appreciation for, and perceptions of, the graphic novel, the drawn memoir, the autobiographical comic narrative." Pekar described his work as "autobiography written as it's happening. The theme is about staying alive, getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't."
Harvey Pekar and his younger brother Allen were born in Cleveland, Ohio to Saul and Dora Pekar, immigrants from Białystok, Poland. Saul Pekar was a Talmudic scholar who owned a grocery store on Kinsman Avenue, with the family living above the store. While Pekar said he wasn't close to his parents due to their dissimilar backgrounds and because they worked all the time, he still "marveled at how devoted they were to each other. They had so much love and admiration for one another."
As a child, Pekar's first language was Yiddish, and he learned to read and appreciate novels in the language.
Pekar said that for the first few years of his life, he didn't have friends. The neighborhood he lived in had once been all white but became mostly black by the 1940s; as one of the only white kids still living there Pekar was often beaten up. He later believed this instilled in him "a profound sense of inferiority." However, this experience also taught him to eventually become a "respected street scrapper."
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