HARVEY PEKAR DIES: NATION’S APATHY FITTING TRIBUTE

Posted by: Tony – Jul 19, 2010

As if losing Lebron wasn’t bad enough for Cleveland, the Mistake on the Lake just lost the last person to proudly admit they actually lived there, comics legend Harvey Pekar. If, like me, you often catch yourself thinking that the world is predominately filled with bullshit and no one thought to bring a shovel, then you should be beside yourself with grief. Per the Washington Post:

The cause of death was unclear, and an autopsy was planned, officials said. Pekar had prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression, said Michael Cannon, a police captain in suburban Cleveland Heights.

Officers were called to Pekar’s home by his wife about 1 a.m., Cannon said. His body was found on the floor between a bed and dresser. He had gone to bed around 4:30 p.m. Sunday in good spirits, his wife told police.

A somewhat less than dignified end, but at the same time, oddly fitting of a guy who’s art hinged on the examination of the less than perfect nature of life.

Pekar’s death concluded a 34-year career of cultural critique and professional misanthropy delivered through his award-winning comics series “American Splendor.” While his work was best known for its insights into the basic hypocrisies and inequities of modern life, it also managed to show a certain nobility in persisting in spite of it all. This tiny glimmer of optimism, coupled with a unwavering honesty, is, in my opinion, exactly of what made Pekar’s work so fulfilling and impactful.

In this golden age of public criticism (thanks internet!), anything and everything is up for review. That’s a good thing. However, the majority of that energy seems, understandably, to be focused on big picture stuff (universal healthcare, world hunger, stopping terrorism). Pekar’s unique talent was his ability gloss over the controversies of the day in favor of the unremarkable, questioning the aspects of everyday life that we all simply take for granted as fixed and immutable.

That’s why the death of Harvey Pekar is more than just the loss of a comics icon. It is, in fact, the loss of something much rarer, that little voice inside our collective head that says, “Hey stupid! You’ve got no one to blame but yourself!”

Via Washington Post

by Ross Saunders of idiotlikeyou.tumblr.com