Harvey Pekar's Cleveland
-
-
4.2 • 21 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
“One of the very greatest works by that unique and irreplaceable American voice, the truly splendorous Harvey Pekar... graced by the impeccable and poignant artistry of Joseph Remnant.”
— From the introduction by Alan Moore
"America’s poet-comic-laureate of curmudgeonhood is sorely missed, but thankfully, this posthumous book, like Hamlet’s father, is here to remind us of the great man, the great Pekar."
— Jonathan Ames, author and creator of HBO’s Bored to Death
A lifelong resident of Cleveland, Ohio, Harvey Pekar (1939-2010) pioneered autobiographical comics, mining the mundane for magic since 1976 in his critically acclaimed series American Splendor.
Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland is sadly one of his last, but happily one of his most definitive graphic novels. It presents key moments and characters from the city's history, intertwined with Harvey's own ups and downs, as relayed to us by Our Man and meticulously researched and rendered by artist Joseph Remnant. At once a history of Cleveland and a portrait of Harvey, it's a tribute to the ordinary greatness of both.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The late Pekar celebrates, to the extent the obligatorily morose underground cartoonist was capable of celebrating anything, his hometown of Cleveland and the life he spent there. After a pocket history of that once great city, Pekar focuses on the period he lived through, a period that sadly came to an end in July 2010 with his death. Rambling but often insightful, and unafraid to show himself in an extremely uncomplimentary light, Pekar illustrates 70 years of recent history as seen through the eyes of one gloomy but talented pessimist. Despite his personal proclivities, Pekar occasionally comes close to visible enthusiasm for a city he clearly loved, warts and all, for his entire life; there is even the faintest hint of optimism that "the mistake by the lake" might someday regain its lost glory. Pekar's insights are more than matched by Remnant's art although akin to the crosshatched realism of one of Pekar's most acclaimed collaborators, R. Crumb, Remnant brings this very personal history to vibrant life with his own flair for the charm of the ordinary. With an introduction by Alan Moore and a short essay by Jimi Izrael, Cleveland will stand as a must-have volume in Pekar's body of work.
Customer Reviews
Pekar's Cleveland is a winner!
This graphic book is well-suited to the iPad. Pekar lends his considerable artistic talent to a forgotten slice of America. His localism is infectious and laudable.
What sample?
It would be helpful if the sample included some portion of the actual work written by Harvey Pekar. I'm interested and curious about the book, but Alan Moore's introduction is about as useful in deciding on this purchase as a back cover review blurb on a shrink-wrapped book.
That said, the cover is lovely to zoom in on, the lower half reminding me of the urban panels of Crumb's Short History Of America. Remnant appears to use an appealing style that evokes aspects of both Crumb and Chester Brown, at least based on the few images previewed. I only wish I could "flip" through it a little more thoroughly to see if I would like reading this on a tablet.
Preview is horrible
Looks like they scanned pages from a book - quality is bad.