American Splendor: Another Dollar

The late Harvey Pekar may not have been as famous or financially secure as he wanted to be, but his “American Splendor” comics were landmark works in showing how the medium could be used for realistic, autobiographical stories.  While Pekar’s curmudgeonly “character” was never the easiest person to like, you could always relate to his minor struggles and understand why he was the way he was.  In the last few years, he moved “American Splendor” over to Vertigo for a graphic novel, “The Quitter,” and two mini-series, “Another Day” and this one. 

I find that his work is always interesting, but these scenes from his later life don’t really grab me the way that his earlier stuff did.  There’s nothing that’s really “bad” here, but this will probably be of interest only to those who are already fans of Pekar’s work.  Those of you looking for a better example of why the man is so highly regarded are recommended to check out the “American Splendor” collection that Ballantine Books released to tie in with the movie (you’ll know it because it has Paul Giamatti as Pekar on the cover).  It’s a larger and more expensive collection, but the stories are more diverse and come from what was apparently a more interesting time in his life.