Underground comic book writer, working-class everyman and World-class curmudgeon, Harvey Pekar, checked out yesterday after 70 years of pissing off pretty much anybody who got close to him. For those of you who had never read American Splendor, it was a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey and illustrated by a laundry list of top-shelf underground talent that included Robert Crumb, David Collier, Drew Friedman, Gary Dumm and Joe Zabel. Who could have ever imagined that the adventures of a file clerk at a Veteran’s Administration hospital would catch the attention of so many, but Harvey’s mundane, everyday situations made him famous enough that he was a regular on David Letterman and had a movie made about his life starring Paul Giamatti. Well, until he got under the skin of Dave’s bosses at General Electric with an on-air rant where he criticized Letterman for being nothing but a shill for the corporation.
So Adios, Harvey…you were a true original…..and here is that last NBC appearance…
Damn Ugly Photography 