Cult comic creator and legendary grump Harvey Pekar has died at the age of 70 at home in Ohio{
Pekar, whose work in comics garnered him a devout following and whose autobiographical collection American Splendor was turned into a 2003 film starring Paul Giamatti as the writer, was well known for his acerbic outlook on life and distinctive observations.
The author had been suffering from prostate cancer, high blood pressure and asthma on top of the depression he dealt with through much of his life, but it’s not known at this time what led to his death on Monday.
He and wife Joyce Brabner turned an earlier struggle with the big C into another successful comic book, Our Cancer Year, and turning his personal problems into superbly crafted comic tales was a trademark of his work.
Inspired by his friend and fellow comics legend-to-be R Crumb, Pekar first started writing about his life in comic strips in 1972, with Crumb providing the artwork. They’d go on to collaborate sporadically on the annual books that Pekar starting working on in 1976. "The humour of everyday life is way funnier than what the comedians do on TV. It's the stuff that happens right in front of your face when there's no routine and everything is unexpected. That's what I want to write about," is how he summed up his work.
A regular guest on David Letterman’s US chat show, Pekar saw his popularity surge once more after the release of the film, which blended his comic style with real footage of Pekar, his friends and family.
He’ll be sadly missed.