American Splendor: Our Movie Year
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
From off the streets of Cleveland, the amazing and occasionally regrettable true-life adventures of Harvey Pekar, cineaste.
Harvey Pekar is from Cleveland. This much you know. But with the release of American Splendor, the indie hit film based on his comic of the same name, the world discovered Harvey in earnest. Once Harvey was content merely to flirt with fame. But when fame wanted a commitment, he found himself a household name. Sort of. And, to tell you the truth, it’s starting to bug the hell out of him.
An original, incisive graphic novel featuring the talents of R. Crumb, Gary Dumm, Mark Zingarelli, and other artists, Our Movie Year chronicles a whirlwind twelve months in the life of Harvey Pekar. It recounts his rise from the filing room at the Cleveland VA hospital to the red carpet at Cannes, Sundance, the Oscars, and beyond–where Harvey won awards, accolades, and the promise of a bigger paycheck. A lot of funny things can happen in a year, and many of them happened to Harvey. And now everyone gets to read about them in Our Movie Year.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fans of Pekar's slice-of-life series American Splendor might be worried when they pick up this latest installment. Pekar is known for his everyman persona and his man-of-the-people storytelling style. But can he keep those qualities in the face of an award-winning movie based on his autobiographical comic book series? Happily, the answer is "you bet." Pekar's narrative style, as always, is straightforward. Mostly, he talks to the "camera." Occasionally, he lets readers into his head through halting, uncertain thought balloons (which nicely reproduce actual thoughts). Some of Pekar's stories are simple reportage, such as an account of his various David Letterman appearances. Others like his description of locking himself out of his car at the movies are great character studies. Throughout the stories in this collection, Pekar retains his trademark character: humble, down-to-earth, yet prickly at times. The art, by a crew of well-known independent cartoonists, varies in style photo-reference realism, 1960s-style underground, computer graphics but not in quality. All of it gets Pekar right. And some like Mark Zingarelli's and R. Crumb's is near perfect. Pekar fans will enjoy this strong collection, and be happy to see Pekar's adventures continuing in Hollywood and beyond.
Customer Reviews
Harvey Pekar at His Best
Harvey Pekar's "Movie Year" covers his experiences developing and marketing his autobiographical "American Splendor" movie. If you are familiar with his other work there is little I need to say other than to note that this is one of his better works. If you are not, then this is excellent introduction as a backdrop to the film. Harvey is working class guy, retired file clerk, who has a gift of capturing the most ordinary events and instilling something remarkable in them. You will never look at those "small moments" same way again.