Holy Crap!

I have not been paying enough attention...

Tomorrow is 24 Hour Comics Day.

I'd best gather my supplies.

Oh, wait... I can't. Tomorrow I'm visiting my grandfather's grave. Never mind.

An Interview With Harvey Pekar

I do hereby present the first follow through to my earlier post:

Some years back I was working for an online Pop Culture mag (that ended up dead before it even began), writing comic-book related articles. The mag had me covering Wonder-Con, in San Francisco, where I lucked into the opportunity to interview the legendary Harvey Pekar (who was in attendance to promote his book The Quitter, illustrated by Dean Haspiel and published by DC), whilst wandering the floor of the show.

Harvey wrote one of greatest autobiographical comic series, American Splendor, chronicling his life in stories ranging from epic graphic novels (Our Cancer Year), to single page accounts of encounters with characters on the streets of his home town, Cleveland.

Eventually American Splendor was adapted into a ground-breaking film, starring Paul Giamatti in the role of Harvey.

Harvey died in July of 2010, and I think it's long past due that people got to read this brief interview, where we get a good glimpse of Harvey's personality, and (perhaps more importantly) a true sense of what it's like to deal with some of the fans who attend comic conventions:

The Snob: It’s great to see you here. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me. I know you're very busy.

Harvey: Well I, San Francisco I, y'know, it's a nice town. I like it, but I'm not really crazy
about comic book conventions. I'm just here to do some signings and stuff,  & answer some
questions & I'll do that

TS: (laughing) Cool.

HP: I mean, I got paid pretty good money, so I'll do it, y'know. But, uh, In fact in my,
in this book I have, I just wrote, I wrote about how much I couldn't stand comic conventions

TS: You've been doing a lot more [conventions] since the movie, & actually since Our Cancer
Year, really. The first time I saw you at a convention was when you were up for the Eisner
down in San Diego.

HP: Oh yeah...

TS: You've been doing quite a few of them, or quite a few more.

HP:Well, not "quite a few," I did a San Diego convention, uh, after the comic book came out. Y'know, before the movie came out, I just happened to be down there so they, y'know,
they trucked me over from L.A.

[it is at this point that a large, ape-like man, whose intellectual capacity seems almost
entirely occupied with the problem of keeping the saliva in his mouth, approaches the table,
obliviously interrupting the interview. I allowed the tape to continue rolling. I have not edited the transcription in any way. You can not make up shit like this]

Ape Man: What character you do?

HP: Naw, I'm just... Actually, I do me. I write autobiographical comics. I'm like an
alternative comic book artist, and uh...

Ape Man: Which one do you do?

HP: American Splendor. I don't normally work for DC, I do stuff for Random House, But I'm
just doin' a special project for DC.

[Ape Man wanders away confused, and another man approaches. I become convinced that this is going
nowhere. However now the new interloper proves himself to be a very different sort of gem. An
enthused fanboy, with legitimate questions.]

FanBoy: The movie adaptation [of American Splendor], how did you feel about that?

HP: I liked it

FanBoy: Yeah?

HP: Yeah, I thought they did a great job. Very imaginative, y'know, I wasn't prepared
for it. It was an innovative movie, and, y'know, I mean I was just lookin' to get paid for the
thing.

FanBoy: Right.

HP: And I didn't care, y'know, I mean, well, I did care if it came out... y'know, I mean
I was hopin' it would come out good.

FanBoy: Yeah.

TS: I mean, you don't want to be made to look like an ass.

HP: (laughs) Exactly. You know, I mean it was worth the money for me if it did.

TS: (laughs)

FanBoy: Did you have any kind of, y'know, control over the cast?

HP: No, no...

FanBoy: Did you like Paul Giamatti in it?

HP: Yeah, he was great.

FanBoy: Cuz I mean we just saw his newest, his latest movie, the, uh...

HP: Sideways?

FanBoy: Sideways. It was wonderful...

HP: Y'know, he got screwed out an Academy Award nomination for the second straight year.

FanBoy: Right

TS: Yup

FanBoy: Right. Well, it was nice talking with you. I'm gonna let you get back to this.

TS: Well I appreciate your questions

[As if on cue the table is again deluged with geeks wanting to press famed flesh, so I said my
goodbyes to Mr. Pekar, in search of some sore thumb]

Note: I transcribed this several months ago, & I haven’t the faintest notion what I meant by “in search of some sore thumb”

It was brief, but I really felt that it deserved to be seen, unedited. One of those things you couldn't make up.

The sort of thing that Harvey would write about.

Remember; if you'd like to have your comics reviewed here, leave a comment & we'll get something going.

A Decision

I have decided that I am going to add a new angle to this blog, in part because the current angle of self-aggrandizement is a bit inconsistent (this does not mean I'm eliminating that angle), and in part because I just bloody well feel like it.

So here's the intent: I'm going to start using this space for purposes of review.

I intend to review comics, publish comic related interviews, maybe even review comic related media.

I am aware that there is no shortage of such things on the internet. However, I feel that most other review sites have three flaws: 1) Their writers can't tell an adjective from an asshole. 2) They aren't honest with themselves, or with the rest of us, that they really are just rants & opinions. 3) They aren't MY rants & opinions.

Alright, with that all decided, if you want me to review your book, just leave & comment & we'll work something out. If you're a friend, I want you to think really hard about whether you want me to review your comics, because if they suck it's going to really awkward for both of us.

Let's do this.

Batman & Robin

Working on improving with this whole "internet" thing.

As opposed to my last post, where I realized that I'd failed to mention a book I'd worked on until well after it was released, this time around I'm going to mention it the day prior.

That's right, tomorrow will see the release of Batman & Robin #1 (of New 52 fame), for which I assisted the Right Honorable Mick Gray with the inks.

Here is the cover to be looking for, when you walk into your local shop, with a fistful of cash:

And here is a sample page of the interiors (one of the pages on which I worked):

Buy it. Many copies.

Oh, and buy it early. Rumor is that it's already headed toward a second printing.

Thanks.