Help Me Pick My Christmas Gift

[Red Oak Kid]

I expect to be getting a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas and reading the 12 Days of Christmas thread here has gotten me excited about several characters.

I am especially intrigued by Harvey Pekar's American Splendor work which I have never read.

So looking at the books that B&N carries by him I was wondering if anyone here can steer me in the right direction as to which are the best examples of his work.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=harvey+pekar&z=y&r=1&cds2Pid=9481

There are 10 choices on the first page of this link, and then a few more on the second page.

I must say I am already leaning toward that Pekar/Crumb combination book since I also have very few examples of Crumb's work, tho I have read some of his stories and have seen the film about him and his family.

Of course, by posting this now, I have probably jinxed myself and I won't get the B&N card.:o

[MDG]

I haven't read all of the Pekar stuff here (incl. "Our Movie Year"), but if you really want to know Pekar, the American Splendor collections you have as your #3 and #9 choices are probably the best places to go--stories from the self-published series. The art varies widely, but Harvey's voice carry the stories.

If you want to read Crumb, you really have to go to the stuff he both writes and draws. He can illustrate books written by others very well (look at the Kafka book), but it's not Crumb.

MDG

[hondobrode]

It's not pure Crumb, that's true, but I've always loved the combination of the two.

I've been reading Pekar since the early 80's and have most if not all of the original issues.

It's good to see that in the last couple of years that Pekar has gotten more of the fame and recognition he deserves.

He was really one of the first true pioneers, as was Crumb, of the bio comic.

You'll have to follow up with us and let us know what you got, Red Oak Kid.

Happy Holidays to all on my favorite board !

[Red Oak Kid]

Nevermind.

The relative who usually gives me the gift card gave me a room air purifier instead.

Go figure.:rolleyes:

But thanks for the suggestions and I'll probably pick up some Pekar stuff sooner or later.

[MWGallaher]

It might be worth factoring in the fact that the Crumb-illustrated stories tend to be shorter. He drew lots of 1- and 2-pagers, and relatively few of Pekar's longer stories. I'm doubtful, therefore, that an exclusively Pekar/Crumb collection would capture a lot of what I enjoy about Pekar's work

[Red Oak Kid]

I think I would want to see the Pekar stuff that he both wrote and drew. I did not realize that a lot of his stuff was drawn by others.

[MWGallaher]

Pekar doesn't draw any of it, as far as I know. He's the writer only.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Pekar doesn't draw any of it, as far as I know. He's the writer only.

I believe he does do layouts, though. In a recent issue of American Splendor he was shown writing a story, and he appeared to be drawing a panel grid.