Harvey Pekar

The series was made into a succesful movie of the same name.

Pekar self-published the series until the early 1990s, when Dark Horse Comics took over publication. In 1987, Pekar was honored with the American Book Award for the series and Dark Horse celebrated the 25th anniversary of American Splendor in 2001 with a special issue. In 2005, he wrote The Best of American Splendor, a collection of some of his best work.

American Splendor is illustrated by high-profile artists such as Robert Crumb, Frank Stack and Joe Sacco. Internationally successful, Pekar collaborated with comic book illustrator Colin Warneford in England to produce the aptly titled issue, American Splendour: Transatlantic Comics.

Pekar began his writing career as a prolific music and book critic with reviews in The Boston Herald, The Austin Chronicle, Jazz Times, Urban Dialect (a paper native to Cleveland), and Down Beat Magazine, among many other journals. His critiques are available on the Internet and dispersed amongst personal homepages by his devoted fans. Pekar also collaborated with his wife, Joyce Brabner, on a book-length autobiographical comic, Our Cancer Year.

Pekar began working on a freelance basis with the critically acclaimed, award-winning radio station WKSU. He is the recipient of two prestigious awards, first place in the PRNDI (Public Radio News Director’s Incorporated) "Commentary/Essay" section for his piece, "What's In a Name,” and RTNDA (Radio-Television News Director’s Association) Regional Edward R. Murrow Award for “Best Writing” for his piece, "Father’s Day."

Pekar has made two cameo appearances in films and appeared on Late Night with David Letterman eight times between 1986-1988. It was Pekar's interest in politics, and specifically NBC's affiliation with General Electric, that got him banned from the show. Eventually he was asked to return and Pekar made two more appearances in the early 1990s.

Despite keeping himself extremely busy contributing to different media, Pekar maintains a low profile in Cleveland. In 2001, he retired from his job as a full-time file clerk at the local VA Hospital, where he had worked since 1966.