The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Great news for fans of good comics and curmudgeons everywhere:

“Writer Harvey Pekar is returning to American Splendor, his autobiographical slice-of-life comic book series, with a new American Splendor mini-series from Vertigo, DC Comics’ For Mature Readers imprint. For the new mini-series, Pekar will work with several artists, including Dean Haspiel, who collaborated with Pekar on the critically acclaimed recent graphic novel The Quitter.

Cleveland, Ohio native Harvey Pekar is best known for his autobiographical slice-of-life comic book series American Splendor, a first-person account of Pekar’s downtrodden life. American Splendor is illustrated by high-profile artists such as Robert Crumb, Frank Stack and Joe Sacco. The series has been published on an approximately annual basis since 1976. In 1987, Pekar was honoured with the American Book Award for the series, which was adapted into a very unusual (and damned good) film.

Pekar’s most recent release, the graphic novel The Quitter, was published by Vertigo earlier this year to great acclaim in the comic book industry and the mainstream press, including reviews in Rolling Stone, People Magazine, the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly and New York Post.

Dramatically illustrated by acclaimed New York City-based artist Dean Haspiel, The Quitter explores how Pekar’s adolescent fears of not succeeding led him to become a skilled athlete, a schoolyard bully and, finally, the lovable, cranky artist that we know today.”

Thanks to Pat at Diamond for the heads-up.