RIP American Splendor's Harvey Pekar

Harvey Pekar, creator of the notorious, autobiographical comic book, American Splendor, died in his home Monday morning. Police were called to the house by his wife around 1am and found the artist and writer dead in his bed.

Pekar's work, first published in 1976, gained an underground following which catapulted him to fame in Comicdom and resulted in a handful of appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, but Pekar's depression and combative temperament did not mesh well with Letterman's sometimes confrontational interview style and though it boosted sales of American Splendor and helped propel his fame, Pekar famously walked-off/was asked to leave the show.

In 2003, the movie, American Splendor, was released to rave reviews, prompting Pekar to write his autobiography and even start a website where he, his wife, and their adopted daughter all had blogs, but each only made one entry.

Harvey Pekar was 70 years old and suffered from prostate cancer.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010