Harvey Pekar, writer of 'American Splendor', dead at 70

Harvey Pekar, whose autobiographical comic book series "American Splendor" portrayed his unglamorous life with bone-dry honesty and wit, was found dead at home early Monday, authorities said. He was 70.

The cause of death was unclear, and an autopsy was planned, officials said. Pekar had prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression, said Michael Cannon, a police captain in suburban Cleveland Heights.


Officers were called to Pekar's home by his wife about 1 a.m., Cannon said. His body was found on the floor between a bed and dresser. He had gone to bed around 4:30 p.m. Sunday in good spirits, his wife told police.

Pekar's ailments were well-known to readers of "American Splendor" comic books, which chronicled the gruff Ohio native's attempts to earn a buck in a world under siege by bureaucracy and idiocy. Pekar started self-publishing his stories in 1976, and became enough of a cult hit to be invited on David Letterman's show several times in the ‘80s.

"I could be a way-worse person than I am," Pekar told the News in 2005 when he released the graphic novel, "The Quitter." "I realize that I'm pretty flawed, but you know - I haven't killed anybody yet."

It wasn't until the 2003 release of the movie, "American Splendor," starring Paul Giamatti as Pekar, that mainstream America really got to know all about the writer's flaws, his bizarre courtship of his beloved wife Joyce Brabner, the adoption of their foster daughter, Danielle, and his heart-breaking struggle with cancer.

"Beneath the well-known gruff exterior, Harvey was a deeply compassionate person and of course, a brilliant mind," said Jonathan Vankin, and editor of Pekar's at Vertigo Comics, via email. "He created, almost single handedly, an entirely new kind of comics and his commitment to what he did was absolute and uncompromising. We've all suffered a huge loss today, in comics of course, but also in American culture."

Not bad for the son of poor Polish immigrants, who was discharged from the Navy after only four weeks and dropped out of college, before landing a mind-numbingly boring civil service job. Somehow he made the mundane seem exotic.

"Harvey lived life and every last detail was written and drawn and published," artist and frequent collaborator Dean Haspiel said. "The best way to honor Pekar now is to read his life, just like he would have wanted you to."