The current issue of Time Magazine online contains a review by Andrew D. Arnold of the latest issue of American Splendor published by Dark Horse. With all the mainstream press that comic creators have been getting lately (see 'NY Times Lauds Chris Ware,' 'Los Bros in Time,' and 'Safe Area Gorazde..'), it's about time that Harvey Pekar gets some national media attention for his realistic, slice-of-life comic storytelling. Arnold characterizes Pekar as 'ornery, but also highly intelligent and colorful. He's a working-class intellectual, a reactionary liberal, and a sympathetic jerk.' Like Robert Crumb (who has illustrated many of Pekar's stories), Pekar is also given to a kind of brutally honest introspection that can reach the point of self-laceration as he peels away the layers of defensiveness that we all hide behind.
Like a Dutch genre painter of the 17th Century, Pekar makes art out the mundane doings of everyday life. Pekar has made American Splendor the antidote to mainstream American superhero comics with their power fantasies and galaxy-saving plots. He writes comic stories about misplacing his keys, not about saving Cleveland from a hurtling asteroid. Pekar can be difficult (ask David Letterman), but you can always learn something from reading American Splendor. Time writer Arnold is 'dead on' when he calls Pekar, 'the Lenny Bruce of comix, often funny, sometimes poignant, but always truthful in a medium that mostly specializes in fiction.'
The most recent American Splendor--Portrait of the Author in his Declining Years--was released in early April by Dark Horse. Between five and ten back issues are also in print. Whether it's filling in holes in back issue stock, or simply displaying the new issue more prominently, the mainstream publicity definitely provides an opportunity to promote a worthwhile product.
