The Transformations of Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor : “Ordinary Life Is Pretty Complex Stuff”

Abstract

The transformations of Harvey Pekar's American Splendor:'Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff' Julia Round (Bournemouth University) Harvey Pekar's comic book American Splendor tells the story of 'our man' across four decades, giving us his observations on everyday American life -and, in the case of Our Movie Year, the not-so-everyday.It's a brilliant combination of the universal experience and the individual human condition, as Harvey offers us his acerbic opinions on everything from shopping queues to politics.Throughout its run it has been illustrated by a stellar range of underground comics artists, including R. Crumb, Kevin Brown, Greg Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, Gary Dumm, Val Mayerik, and Gerry Shamray.The flexibility of the visuals attached to Pekar's instantly identifiable voice makes it an excellent example of adaptation in action, as this article will discuss.

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