American Splendor Our Movie Year
by Harvey Pekar
List Price:
Our Price: $9.76
You Save: $7.19 (42%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.36 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Harvey PekarEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-12-07
ISBN: 0345479378
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of American Splendor Our Movie Year
Book Review: "I've picked up some extra gigs because of the movie's success, but what happens when that's over?" *
Summary: 5 Stars
Harvey Pekar is famous for chronicling the everyday, and for helping the rest of us take notice of the fact that the ordinary things of life are really quite wondrous. Even in Our Cancer Year, co-written with his wife Joyce Brabner, Pekar focuses on an event that was harrowing for him personally but (alas!) increasingly ordinary from a statistical perspective: the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. But in Our Movie Year, Pekar seems to break stride by focusing on an event that's truly extraordinary: the release of an award-winning film about his life and work.
Here's another extraordinary thing: Pekar writes about this event in the way that his fans have come to know and love. He's obviously pleased that his work has achieved recognition and approval from a wider than usual audience. But what makes the story interesting is that Pekar's pleasure is constantly shadowed by his usual cloud of neuroses: anxiety over whether the film will bring future writing gigs or a nosedive into obscurity once the box office hoopla ends; money worries; travel anxieties; and up-and-down moods in response to events. The story is a really intriguing psychological portrait of mixed emotions.
As one would expect, the book describes in some detail the high-energy events surrounding the film: scrounging up producers and backers; debuts in Cleveland and NYC (the latter threatened by a blackout); the excitement of the Sundance and Cannes festivals; and film-connected travel to England, Ireland, Australia, and Japan. But wonderfully sandwiched in between these story lines are more typical Pekar stories involving misplaced keys, flat tires in winter, and dealing with bureaucrats. The message seems to be that even when extraordinary events occur, everyday life, with its hassles and small victories, continues.
There's a curious redundancy in the book. The lead story, the multi-part "The American Splendor Movie," illustrated by Mark Zingarelli, is duplicated later on in "My Movie Year," illustrated by Gary Dumm. The latter is less good than the former, and could easily have been omitted. Toward the end of the book, Pekar offers film and book reviews as well as a few Crumb-like biographies of musicians. And speaking of Crumb: there's a wonderful Crumb-illustrated piece, "Reunion" (p. 55), in which Pekar, using his old pal Crumb as a straight man, pokes fun at his own compulsiveness. It's really brilliant.
I don't think that Our Movie Year would be a good introduction to Pekar to anyone unfamiliar with his work. But it surely is yet another example of the man's genius. Highly recommended.
______
Page 18.
Summary of American Splendor Our Movie Year
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.
Graphic Novels Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Graphic Novels Books
Fairy Tail 5 (Fairy Tail (Kodansha Comics))by Hiro Mashima
Del Rey; Published: 2009-01-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.89
Price in other shops:
Flight Volume Five (Flight Graphic Novels)Villard; Published: 2008-07-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Dark Wraith of Shannaraby Terry Brooks
Del Rey; Del Rey; Published: 2008-03-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.90
Price in other shops:
The Song of Danielby Philip Lee Williams
Ballantine Books; Published: 1991-12-13; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
I Saw You...: Comics Inspired by Real-Life Missed ConnectionsThree Rivers Press; Published: 2009-02-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.24
Price in other shops:
The Man in the Brown Suitby Agatha Christie
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; Published: 2007-12-03; Hardcover; Book
The Alchemist (Collins Readers)by Paulo Coelho
Collins; Published: 2006-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $18.65
Buddha, Volume 4: The Forest of Uruvela (Buddha)by Osamu Tezuka
Vertical; Published: 2006; Paperback; Book
X-Men 2by Chris Claremont
Del Rey; Published: 2003-03-04; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Happy Trailsby Berke Breathed
Little Brown & Co (P); Published: 1990-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.16
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Harvey Pekar: Conversations (Conversations with Comic Artists)University Press of Mississippi; Published: 2008-09-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.84
Price in other shops:
American SplendorGIAMATTI,PAUL; Release date: 2004-02-03; DVD
Best price: $1.74
Price in other shops:
American Splendor: Another Day - Volume 1by Harvey Pekar, Eddie Campbell Haspiel, Ty Templeton
DC / Vertigo; Vertigo; Published: 2007-04-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.69
Price in other shops:
Bob and Harv's Comicsby Harvey Pekar
Running Press; Published: 1996-11-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.85
Price in other shops:
American Splendor: Another Dollarby Harvey Pekar, Zachary Baldus
Vertigo; Published: 2009-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
The Quitterby Harvey Pekar, Dean Haspiel
Vertigo; Published: 2006-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.73
Price in other shops:
Best of American Splendorby Harvey Pekar
Ballantine Books; Published: 2005-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.34
Price in other shops:
The New American Splendor Anthology: From Off the Streets of Clevelandby Harvey Pekar
Running Press; Published: 1993-01-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops:
American Splendor and More American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekarby Harvey Pekar
Ballantine Books; Published: 2003-07-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.28
Price in other shops:
Our Cancer Yearby Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner
Running Press; Published: 1994-10-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.52
Price in other shops: