Reviews

• Está en Blanco y Negro

  Es una buena recopilación pero, como han señalado otros usuarios, la edición es bastante austera; sin índice ni número de páginas y a veces borrosa. Tiene sentido si consideras el precio. Lo que sí fue una sorpresa para mí es que todas las historias están en blanco y negro. Quizás es algo esperado con American Splendor, pero como alguien que jamás había leído una edición hasta ésta, fue sorpresivo.

• Vignettes From The Lands of the Western Reserve

  Since I was born and raised in Cleveland, this anthology done by Harvey Pekar intrigued me. Right from the start it caught my attention with the story "Pa-ayper-Reggs!!" This first vignette told the story of Russian/Polish Jewish peddlers which were so prevalent on the streets of East Cleveland from the 1920's through the 1950's. My earliest memories were of these horse drawn wagons being driven by these old Eastern European men shouting "Pa-ayper-Reggs!!" For those of you who don't know what this says it's actually a plea to collect old paper rags. What I really remember was that my Mother said that despite their looks these were men of wealth. Obviously this taught me that wealth can't be assessed on looks alone. The stories spun from Pekar's hand are eclectic and are told in no particular chronological order. The subjects range from Harvey's childhood to his school years through to his rather ordinary job as a VA office clerk. His background shows his Eastern Jewish roots and in many of his stories he tells of his parent's lives and beliefs and how they raised him in the suburbs of Cleveland Heights. As story after story unravels, we see a man of above average intellect confronting everyday problems most of us confront every day. He surprisingly tells of his foibles and mistakes along with his temper that he inherited from his Father. Many of the depictions show areas of Cleveland well known to inhabitants of the Western Reserve. Among the depictions we see "The West Side Market", "Cedar and Lee" and "Hopkins International Airport". Also I found the stories concerning his TV appearances on the David Letterman Show to be very confrontational and a contra-snub to all things "New York City". Pekar's intellectual argument to Eastern snobbery shows the essence of what we call the toughness and grit of life on the streets of Cleveland. Pekar's stories involve the everyday common man trying to negotiate the ebbs and flows of routine day in and day out lives. Harvey's views of life are far from the Eastern upper crust Jews of the East who matriculate from Ivy League colleges. His intellectual capacity is what it is in the East, but life as he experiences it represents life at the level which most people live at in the Midwest. American Splendor continues to capture life at the very precipice where the East meets the Midwest and that would be Northeast Ohio. This is great graphic story telling from Pekar's hand. I don't possess enough stars!!!

• Great for fans, newbies and people who enjoyed the film

  I bought this book after reading book one and having seen the film. Having really enjoyed everything I'd read so far this book can be described as more of the same but with an element of development that one should expect. This book contains Pekar's work written in the eighties and is more settled in sontent and style. Some great visual story telling and easy and fun but I'd suggest reading earlier stuff first or indeed watching the film. In conclusion a brilliant book for fans of American Splendor.

• Great comic !! Bad material

  Sou um grande fã, então é relevante dizer que o material realmente poderia ser um pouco melhor. É pior que papel de jornal e também as últimas páginas vêm em branco. De qualquer forma, é uma boa seleção com várias histórias dele.

• A great place to be introduced to Harvey and June

  If you can't love Harvey Pekar, you can't love anyone. He is a lovely man, with as many neuroses as the rest of us, who listens and watches and reports on the people and world around him. His kindness and caring for the people who populate his world - these are real stories with real people Harvey knows, including his family- is obvious and makes reading his work a delight. I found the Pekar books to be like peanuts - I kept wanting more and more and hate to finish one - unless I have another ready to read. Harvey's 'comics" are the first graphic novels I've spent time reading, and I am hooked. The drawings add immeasurably to the story - a format I would like to see developed further in the future.

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