In Memoriam: Harvey Pekar (1939-2010)

July 12, 2010   ·   Illya Harrell   ·   Jump to comments

Harvey Pekar personified Cleveland.  He oozed Cleveland.  Every word he wrote had a little smell of Cleveland.  And write he did, from the mid-1950s until 2010...seven decades.
Chiefly known for his intelligent comic books, graphic novels, and a 2003 film, American Splendor (named for his slice-of-life comic books).
He began writing boxing articles in 1950s. 
Then moved on to one of the absolute loves of his life, jazz music.  Pekar wrote close to 10,000 jazz reviews.
His comics were about anything and everything Cleveland.
In one, he lamented the helplessness of Cleveland sports fans.  How all Cleveland teams teased and taunted their fans, over-and-over again.  Coming so close to championships, only to get bit in the end.
This article has a personal meaning to me.
In 1995, I was diagnosed with brain cancer.  In the winter of 1996, while going through massive amounts of chemotherapy, a dear friend of mine brou...

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