RIP: Harvey Pekar

According to the The Cleveland Plain Dealer (published July 12, 2010):

Harvey Pekar’s life was not an open book. It was an open comic book.

Pekar chronicled his life and times in the acclaimed autobiographical comic-book series, “American Splendor,” portraying himself as a rumpled, depressed, obsessive-compulsive “flunky file clerk” engaged in a constant battle with loneliness and anxiety.

Pekar, 70, was found dead shortly before 1 a.m. today by his wife, Joyce Brabner, in their Cleveland Heights home, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death. Pekar and his wife, Joyce Brabner, wrote “Our Cancer Year,” a book-length comic, after Pekar was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 1990 and underwent a grueling treatment.

Read the full article here

We highly suggest reading Pekar’s 1986 masterpiece American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar and/or watching the 2003 movie of the same name starring Paul Giamatti.

Watch some of Pekar’s infamous appearances on Letterman here, here and here

Watch: “The Green Hornet” Trailer

The Green Hornet opens January 14, 2011. The screenplay is written by Evan Goldberg / Seth Rogen, directed by Michel Gondry, and stars Seth Rogen as The Green Hornet, Christoph Waltz, Edward Furlong, Tom Wilkinson, Edward James Olmos, and Jay Chou as Kato, a character previously portrayed by Bruce Lee in The Green Hornet television series.

Read a Q&A about the film with Gondry and Rogen here

posted by: Harold Johns III

Have You Seen The Trailer For “Kick Ass” Yet?

Studio Synopsis:
Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name — Kick-Ass — assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There’s only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers.

His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Chole Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage).

Kick-Ass is based on the groundbreaking, best-selling comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

Although Kick-Ass is the star of the movie by the looks of this teaser Moretz’s character Hit Girl might steal the show. Beware, there are naughty words and raunchy acts of violence in this one.

Click here to watch an exclusive scene from Kick Ass starring Hit Girl and Big Daddy.

Kick Ass will be in theaters April 16, 2010. More info here

posted by: Harold Johns III

Read: The Art of Osamu Tezuka, God of Manga

Synopsis:
Osamu Tezuka has often been called “the god of manga” and “the Walt Disney of Japan,” but he was far more than that. Tezuka was Walt Disney, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Tim Burton, and Carl Sagan all rolled into one incredibly prolific creator, changing the face of Japanese culture forever. Best known for Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion, Tezuka was instrumental in developing Japanese animation and modern manga comics.

The Art of Osamu Tezuka is the first authorized biography celebrating his work and life and featuring over 300 images—many of which have never been seen outside of Japan. With text by respected manga expert Helen McCarthy, The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga pays tribute to the work of an artist, writer, animator, doctor, entrepreneur, and traveler whose curious mind spawned dozens of animated films, and over 170,000 pages of comics art in one astonishingly creative lifetime.

The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga also includes an exclusive 45-minute DVD documentary covering Tezuka’s prolific career, from his early manga characters to his later animation work. The package is out of the ordinary as well. It is a hardcover with an onlay and a vinyl jacket.

272 pages, hardcover, published by: Abrams ComicArts

The 1966 poster for the Japanese theatrical release of the first Kimba The White Lion movie entitled Jungle Emperor.

posted by: Brent Carter

R. Crumb Illustrates The Book of Genesis

“The Hammer Museum (10899 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles) presents seminal comic artist R. Crumb’s adaptation of the first book of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis. Crumb has spent the last five years on this incredibly ambitious endeavor. The exhibition features 207 individual, black and white drawings incorporating every word from all fifty chapters, as well as a cover, title page, introduction and back cover. Each drawing contains six to eight comic panels illustrating the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Sodom and Gomorrah, and more. Using his signature bawdy style, Crumb’s version of the Book of Genesis puts an entirely new twist on the Bible.

“Born in Philadelphia in 1943, Crumb began drawing comics as a young boy, influenced by his older brother Charles. In the early 1960s he drew cards for the American Greetings Corporation and in the late 1960s he traveled to New York, Chicago, and Detroit and created many of his rambunctious and unforgettable characters including Mr. Natural, Mr. Snoid and Angelfood McSpade. In 1967, he moved to San Francisco and later that year he drew Zap #1 and Zap #0 and sold them on the street, which marked the beginning of his role as one of the founding fathers of the underground comic movement. In the last months of 1969, Crumb received a $10,000 advance from Ballantine Books for a Fritz the Cat book, but he later killed the character, dissatisfied for its portrayal on film. Crumb’s Mr. Natural strip ran in The Village Voice for about a year (later compiled as Mr. Natural #3), and in 1981, he produced and edited a new comic magazine called Weirdo which included the work of other artists. By the end of the 1980s, Crumb and his wife, Aline, relocated to the south of France, where they live and work today” (Hammer Museum).

The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis will be on view through February 7, 2010.

You can also buy a copy of The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb, with a handwritten introduction by the artist, edited by Robert Weil, and published by W.W. Norton. The hardcover catalogue is 224 pages and was released October 19, 2009.

For an entertaining cinematic portrait of this controversial and very distinctive artist we suggest the 1994 documentary entitled Crumb.

posted by: Harold Johns III