American Splendor: Another Day

American Splendor

by Harvey Pekar, Ty Templeton (Illustrator), Eddie Campbell (Illustrator)

Harvey Pekar never has "just another day"; follow his battles of everyday life in this latest volume of his autobiographical series.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Comix, Graphic Novels Comics

136 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2007

About the author

Harvey Pekar was an American writer and comics creator whose groundbreaking autobiographical series American Splendor helped redefine the possibilities of graphic storytelling. Frequently called the poet laureate of Cleveland, he developed a body of work that approached everyday life with candor, humor, frustration, and philosophical reflection. Pekar’s voice became central to the evolution of comics into a medium capable of serious literary expression, and his influence extended to criticism, journalism, and popular culture through his essays, radio work, and memorable television appearances.
Pekar grew up in Cleveland, where his parents operated a small grocery store, and his early experiences shaped much of the sensibility that later defined his writing. His deep love of jazz led him into criticism, and through that world he befriended artist Robert Crumb. Their shared interest in music eventually led him to try writing comics. Pekar wrote his first scripts in the early seventies, sketching out stories with simple figures before passing them to Crumb and other underground artists who encouraged him to continue. With the first issue of American Splendor in 1976, Pekar began chronicling the small battles, anxieties, and fleeting moments that made up his daily life in Cleveland. His day job as a file clerk, his marriages, conversations with coworkers, frustrations with bureaucracy, and the struggle to make ends meet all became material for a series that often blurred the line between observation and confession. Over the years, he worked with a wide range of artists who interpreted his scripts in styles that mirrored the emotional tone of each story.
The success of American Splendor brought Pekar national attention. Collections such as The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar received strong critical praise, and his unpredictable, often confrontational appearances on late-night television became a defining part of his public persona. The 2003 film adaptation of American Splendor, in which Paul Giamatti portrayed him, earned major festival awards and introduced Pekar’s work to a wider audience. He continued to write graphic memoirs, biographies, collaborations, and cultural commentary, expanding his range while maintaining the blunt honesty that characterized his voice. Pekar’s work remains central to the development of literary comics, influencing generations of writers and artists who followed his example.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Another Day" is a collection of short stories by Harvey Pekar, about Harvey Pekar, and his world. We get stories about Harvey watching a woman eating a muffin clumsily while reading Dan Brown; a story about him looking after his adopted daughter while his wife is away; a story about him unplugging a toilet; a story about him worrying (this is a frequent theme). You get stories from every aspect of Harvey Pekar's life. And given the list I've just written you'd think it'd be boring but Pekar's personality colours each story keeping you reading, devouring each page despite thinking "This is actually just a story about a guy going through his daily routine".

The stories are brought to life by a plethora of brilliant artists: Gilbert Hernandez, Dean Haspiel, Rick Geary, Chris Weston, Eddie Campbell, and Bob Fingerman to name just a few.

This is an excellent introduction to the amazing series that is "American Splendor" and a great read too if you're just looking for a comic book to while away a few hours. If you're looking for a longer piece try Pekar's graphic novel "The Quitter" which is also an excellent read.

[Chelsea Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all of these stories, which are tiny, midwestern affirmations about the power of people to change and about what it looks like to care about people and a community. The Playboy story makes it seem like a lot of these were a response to the American Splendor caricature of Pekar as a crank, but I think if you see the movie, even (as opposed to reading his books themselves) the qualities that come across so strongly here come across there too: of a person who wants to do the right thing, and puts effort behind that desire.

[Meepelous · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Splendor: Another Day by Harvey Pekar
I didn't know anything about this collection going in. As a huge fan of the movie and his longer work Our Cancer Year, I was very excited to read the short stories that Pekar is mostly known for. And I was certainly not left disappointed!
Harvey Pekar was a skilled craftsman, imbuing even the most menial stories with character, humor and emotion. His characters are real and relatable, bringing the everyday human to a place of importance rarely seen. I will definitely searching out more of his work in the future. I might even get over my cheapskate ways and buy some.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvey Pekar's adventures continue in American Splendor: Another Day. This time we relive the excitement of the day the toilet plugged up and Harvey fixed it. We join Harvey on the emotional roller coaster of taking care of morning chores. We share Harvey's frustrations at his foster daughter's lack of common courtesy.

Life goes on.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comfort food right here. Pekar was a good guy.

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reviewing a lot of Pekar lately, and I don't have much to add here that I haven't said a dozen times about his other books, except that in my view his work got stronger as he got older. This isn't the last book he put out, but it's getting pretty close and I found it enjoyable from front to back.

This is going to sound goofy, but these books make great toilet reading. You can take them in just the right sized nuggets, and absorb the stories a few at a time. I've come to believe it is the perfect way to read Pekar and though I don't know that he's like me to say so, on the other hand I don't know that he'd necessarily disagree, either. (I know, I know, it's gross. Fine. Don't borrow these books from me.)

Another Day the first half of a two-parter, followed by Another Dollar, which I have yet to read. These books, like his previous book the Quitter, are put out by DC's Vertigo imprint, meaning they're comics but not meant for kids. A variety of artists illustrate Pekar's stories and I continue to enjoy how well Pekar knows himself and his own shortcomings. I wasn't completely sold on his early work, but I'm sold now.

[Oscar Camacho · Rating 4 out of 5]

No es la mejor recopilación del trabajo de Harvey Pekar, pero si una de las más sencillas de conseguir en castellano. Recomendable si quieres iniciarte en su trabajo pero no sabes si te va a gustar antes de comprarte las recopilaciones en inglés que son algo más costosas. La recopilación comprende un periodo de mediados de la década del 2000 posterior a la película y durante el periodo anterior a su muerte.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another collection of tales recalling the minutiae of his everyday life. The mere telling of some mundane activities is made weird by Pekar. After all, we all go through similar things every day, how can these be stories. Yet they are. And the mere normality of the topics makes this a truly unique collection of stories. We're used to the fantastic in our books, not the mundane. And that makes all the difference.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pekar's still got it. He's still worried about money, stressing about raising his foster daughter and fixing the house. His eyes are bad, his toilet's clogged and the flight attendant is hassling him. Plus, Dean Haspiel, Gilbert Hernandez, Gary Dumm, Ty Templeton, Chris Samnee, Eddie Campbell and co. make the book great to see.

[Stephane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somebody said in a review down below "comfort food" and this is exactly it. I read Pekar before bed, it's absolutely perfect: short stories, a few pages, easy to read and easy to follow, and I also enjoy the variation in artistry. I will expend more on my thought about Pekar later (I am reading Another Dollar right now...) but I really like the old grumpy bastard!

[Drizztl · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Luke Michaels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really awesome collection of Harvey’s work. I loved cycling through varied visual and narrative styles. This felt like a really good catchall of the American Splendor series, I liked it a lot!

[Ignacio · Rating 2 out of 5]

La lista de la compra de Harvey Pekar, aderezada con las historias de las chapuzas que hace en casa, sus problemillas con el correo y la pelusa del ombligo. El equivalente indie a aquellos prestigios chorras de superhéroes dibujados por un porrón de ilustradores más o menos hot.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Harvey Pekar. I had, like many people, never heard of him until the American Splendor movie came out (that's a movie I could watch once a week for the rest of my life and never get bored with). After that, David started buying some of his stuff...The Quitter, some American Splendor books, now he gets the new issues as they come out. I read them all too. The stories are so everyday, so mundane - what happens when his cat runs out the front door one day, what happens when he goes to the grocery store, etc. - but the thought he puts into telling the stories and the honesty with which he shares his thoughts, reactions, foibles, it's just fascinating. The fact that he can make an interesting story about going to the HMO to get a prescription is amazing, but he does it every time. And he has excellent taste in art - the artists on his stories are always great. I feel like I'd like to have Harvey as a neighbor, someone to look out for you while you likewise look out for them, someone to casually discuss the world with on the sidewalk when you went to get the mail at the same time.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this along with Another Dollar back to back and I'm having a hard time remembering which bits were in which book, but there was a comic in one of them about how he used to let people/fans come to his house to chat and he'd sign their books. When I lived in Cleveland, I constantly kept an eagle eye out for Harvey Pekar because he lived down the street from Chris, and he mentioned some of the places we hung out. I never saw him, and I probably would not have ever done more than try to make eye contact and smile psychotically at him, assuming he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. But that story made me wish I'd tried a little harder to meet him. Oh, the stories he might have told me. Or maybe I would have just annoyed him or made him anxious. Maybe it's a better fantasy after all.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

American Splendor: Another Day is one of many books by Harvey Pekar in his long-running American Splendor series. This volume is a collection of short independent graphic stories each illustrated by someone different. I appreciated how the stories were always about something seemingly mundane: worrying about his daughter, fixing his toilet, talking with his new neighbor, etc. The illustrations, however, always felt messy and cluttered despite being drawn by so many different artists. It is hard to knock Pekar's work since he has a firm place in the graphic canon, but I can confidently say his work is not my style.

[donkeymolar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this compilation of short stories because each story was illustrated by a different artist so you get to see each of their individual interpretations of what Harvey & his surroundings look like. Mr. Pekar's stories really warm my heart for some reason even though they are about the melacholic mundaness of everyday life. I guess I just feel close to him because we are both from Cleveland, which is the home of melancholic mundaness. A kindred spirit ...

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than those recounting Harvey's money woes, I enjoyed the short comics following universal frustrations like clogged plumbing, escape-artist cats and the joys of refilling expired prescriptions at chain pharmacies.

Of particular interest to me is that Harvey mentioned eating vegetarian food a few different times throughout the story. I wonder if he's a vegetarian, or at least a meat reducer. That would be very cool.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints American Splendor: Another Day #1-4. Harvey Pekar goes through his life and fights the challenges of broken toilets and phones. American Splendor is good in its simplicity. The stories are simple and to the point. The art is always interesting, and it is interesting how different artists interpret Harvey.

[Ruz El · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm being a little unfair here. This is typical Pekar, and as good as anything he's done. It's largely shorter stories though, and as such just doesn't has the meat to it that his better work does. As I said though, It's Harvey, it's good. Plus it has a nice little story about Band Leader Crime-fighters drawn by one of my faves, Eddie Campbell.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another set of mundane, every day events in the life of Harvey Pekar. Not exciting, but engaging. I really dig Harvey's stories, and it's neat to see how different artists illustrate his nonadventures.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with Harvey Pekar after watching the movie about him. I've been meaning to get my hands on an American Splendor comic for years, and just finally got around to it. It did not disappoint.

[Matt Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird and somewhat "normal" stories about an old man and his life as a writer, husband and step/foster father. Odd. Somewhat entertaining. Not as thought-provoking as I would have liked but it was ok.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Public library copy.

Excellent short stories throughout the life of writer Harvey Pekar and drawn by some of the best cartoonists ever, several of whom, are now quite popular mainstream artists like Chris Samnee.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far so good. I love how true life everyday stress, worry and annoyance is made into moving art in this series.

Plus the movie about Harvey is great too!

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first American Splendor comic book. Excellent. Lived up to the reputation. Especially liked the artwork by all the different artists.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of this I had read before in actual comic book form. It's funny because it's so obsessive and small in some ways, but written in a style that universalizes.

[Jake Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

You're not so weird, Harvey. There are a lot more weird people out there who just won't admit it.

[Stephen Winchell]

Rest in peace you cranky old man.