Anyone notice Vertigo came out with a new American Splendor series with issue #1 last week? Not often a UG series goes mainstream (Vertigo is DC, isn't it?).
Thanks for the heads-up. Adding now...
Quote from: 50Cent #II (1st print) on April 09, 2008, 01:18:27 AM
Anyone notice Vertigo came out with a new American Splendor series with issue #1 last week? Not often a UG series goes mainstream (Vertigo is DC, isn't it?).
Yep, it IS DC, all right. Is this different from the Vertigo
Amer. Splendor series that came out a yr. & a half. ago? There were 4 in that series, all of which I have. They're dated Nov., 06, Dec., 06, Jan., 07 & Feb., 07. One strange thing is that in the back somewhere in each one it's stated that everything in the comic is fiction whereas we all know that everything Pekar ever wrote (AFAIK, anyway) was basically true & autobiographical at that, so how do they get away with this? In any case, if this is a new series I want to get in on it. I have almost everything he put out (except for the trade PB anthologies, which I don't need anyway).
-ProJunior :01_bounce:
Quote from: ProJunior on May 05, 2008, 10:40:23 PM
Quote from: 50Cent #II (1st print) on April 09, 2008, 01:18:27 AM
Anyone notice Vertigo came out with a new American Splendor series with issue #1 last week? Not often a UG series goes mainstream (Vertigo is DC, isn't it?).
Yep, it IS DC, all right. Is this different from the Vertigo Amer. Splendor series that came out a yr. & a half. ago? There were 4 in that series, all of which I have. They're dated Nov., 06, Dec., 06, Jan., 07 & Feb., 07. One strange thing is that in the back somewhere in each one it's stated that everything in the comic is fiction whereas we all know that everything Pekar ever wrote (AFAIK, anyway) was basically true & autobiographical at that, so how do they get away with this? In any case, if this is a new series I want to get in on it. I have almost everything he put out (except for the trade PB anthologies, which I don't need anyway).
-ProJunior :01_bounce:
The new series is Volume 2, with the numbering re-set to #1.
I met Toby Radloff before, strange but nice guy. I have pictures, not sure if I posted them on here before or not but he signed some of my Splendors.
Jason
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The new series is Volume 2, with the numbering re-set to #1.
OK, THAT explains it. It was rather unclear but now it makes sense & after I discovered that those 4 issues are already in the Wiki here I realized that he must've been talking about something else. I still wonder about that disclaimer that "everything is fiction" when obviously it's NOT.
-ProJunior :mgfootinmouth:
Quote from: ProJunior on May 09, 2008, 03:02:29 PM
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The new series is Volume 2, with the numbering re-set to #1.
OK, THAT explains it. It was rather unclear but now it makes sense & after I discovered that those 4 issues are already in the Wiki here I realized that he must've been talking about something else. I still wonder about that disclaimer that "everything is fiction" when obviously it's NOT.
-ProJunior :mgfootinmouth:
It's the typical disclaimer DC has in the back of every comic they do. It's to ward off any lawsuits from someone claiming they were defamed in a comic book. Even if the stories are based on truth, the disclaimer protects DC because they can say the stories are only "based on actual happenings".
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It's the typical disclaimer DC has in the back of every comic they do. It's to ward off any lawsuits from someone claiming they were defamed in a comic book. Even if the stories are based on truth, the disclaimer protects DC because they can say the stories are only "based on actual happenings".
Thanx for the clarification. I hadn't realized that. I'm a big fan of Pekar, I've got almost all his stuff. I even had some correspondence with him for maybe a coupla yrs. or so back in the late 70s when I was living in Hawaii. I helped him with a graphic in one of his early issues. Now that there's a new one of his comics out I'll have to track down a copy. Guess I'll check Amazon.com first ...
-ProJunior :biggrin:
Issue #2 come out this week.
Quote from: 50Cent #II (1st print) on May 11, 2008, 03:48:02 AM
Issue #2 come out this week.
GREAT! I'm on it!
-ProJunior :dancing2:
I will need to look into those, too. Big fan of Harvey's and have most of his stuff. I bought but still haven't read "Our Movie Year."
Quote from: over40artist on May 12, 2008, 02:39:49 AM
Big fan of Harvey's and have most of his stuff. I bought but still haven't read "Our Movie Year."
You should definitely read it ASAP. It's excellent. I got it just a few months back & read it right away. His experiences in various foreign countries promoting his movie are especially interesting.
-Projunior :01_bounce:
Just uploaded the cover to the new American Splendor, Vertigo series, Vol. 2, No. 1. It's listed as cvr_americansplendorvvol.2no.1.jpg. If that needs to be changed, please feel free as I don't know the proper terminology usage in all cases. I'l like to put up a new page entry for it but I haven't figured that out yet & don't have time right now. Anyway, the scan is in the "Covers" section under "A."
-Projunior :01_bounce:
Quote from: ProJunior on May 13, 2008, 01:23:20 AM
Quote from: over40artist on May 12, 2008, 02:39:49 AM
Big fan of Harvey's and have most of his stuff. I bought but still haven't read "Our Movie Year."
You should definitely read it ASAP. It's excellent. I got it just a few months back & read it right away. His experiences in various foreign countries promoting his movie are especially interesting.
Thanks for the encouragement, ProJunior. After 7 or 8 months of non-stop hell in my personal life, I think I am finally getting to a place where I might have time to indulge in Pekar's book. I've seen the movie, of course, and have always been keen on reading his perspective of the whole experience. I had no idea he had even visited any foreign countries to promote the movie, so I'm sure that will prove to be a highlight for me.
When I first encountered Pekar's work in American Splendor, I thought it was mildly amusing and intermittently insightful, but basically a snooze-fest. It took about a year or so of collecting before I went back to his work and really began to understand it. From that point, it rapidly evolved and now I consider him one of the true geniuses and a critical pioneer of modern comic books.
Quote
Thanks for the encouragement, ProJunior. After 7 or 8 months of non-stop hell in my personal life, I think I am finally getting to a place where I might have time to indulge in Pekar's book
Wow, sorry to hear about THAT!Quote. I've seen the movie, of course, and have always been keen on reading his perspective of the whole experience. I had no idea he had even visited any foreign countries to promote the movie, so I'm sure that will prove to be a highlight for me.
Yeah, it's the last story in the book, starting on p. 151: "Around the World & Back to Earth."Quote
When I first encountered Pekar's work in American Splendor, I thought it was mildly amusing and intermittently insightful, but basically a snooze-fest. It took about a year or so of collecting before I went back to his work and really began to understand it. From that point, it rapidly evolved and now I consider him one of the true geniuses and a critical pioneer of modern comic books.
I agree. I loved his stuff from the first issue. I discovered Amer. Splendor shortly after I moved to Hawaii from Japan in 1976. I liked it so much I wrote him a fan ltr. & we started a correspondence that lasted for a few yrs. When he found out I knew Japanese he asked me how to write the Chinese characters for the Japanese word for "chemistry" (pronounced "kagaku"), so I wrote them out & sent them to him & they appeared in Issue No. 6 in the story "Once Again to Oregon" where he meets a Japanese chemist on the plane. The artist, Gary Dumm, did a pretty good job reproducing the characters, altho he messed up a little with the 3 lines on top of the 2nd one. It'll do in a pinch, tho. <g> You can see them in the attachment. Anyway, that's my only direct influence on an underground comic. He never gave me credit for it in the book or elsewhere but I can live with that. :biggrin:
-Projunior
(https://headcomix.info/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=595.0;attach=601)
Cool.
What does your avatar say?
Quote from: Comix Junky on May 18, 2008, 07:04:07 PM
Cool.
What does your avatar say?
Um, at first I didn't know what you meant because I didn't think I had an avatar but after thinking it over a bit I decided that you must mean my little pic/logo thingie to the left. Didn't know you called them avatars. Thought that term was limited to games like 2nd Space, etc. <g> Anyway, the little green man is pointing to a sign in front of a Japanese drinking establishment that says "ei-gyou-chuu," which means "Open for Business." It's from the front cover of a book I own on Chinese characters called Ideogram. Very interesting book. I'll attach a scan of the whole front cover. The character on the red lantern is read "sake" & we know what that means. The 2 large ones on the "noren," the short curtain hanging down over the door read "Taishou," which is the name of the establishment. The 3 characters immediately to their left are kinda hard to make out but they say "izakaya," which means drinking establishment. There's lots of these kinds of places in Japan. (I lived there for 8 yrs.) The reasons for the 2 little green men would take too long to explain here. Maybe some other time in the "Off Topic" section.
-Projunior :01_bounce:
One of the aliens appears to have a blue foot.
Quote from: Reverend on May 19, 2008, 09:46:29 AM
One of the aliens appears to have a blue foot.
Heh, I think you're right. I hadn't noticed that. Maybe it's supposed to indicate that it's in shadow.
-Projr. :01_bounce:
I forgot to post last week that I think the new issue came out.
Quote from: 50Cent #II (1st print) on June 14, 2008, 06:11:53 PM
I forgot to post last week that I think the new issue came out.
yep, #3 is out, just picked it up lat Wednesday.
ProJunior, you still out there?
Quote from: Brother J on June 14, 2008, 06:46:35 PM
Quote from: 50Cent #II (1st print) on June 14, 2008, 06:11:53 PM
I forgot to post last week that I think the new issue came out.
yep, #3 is out, just picked it up lat Wednesday.
ProJunior, you still out there?
Yep. Been away awhile, tho. I just picked up all 4 issues of the 2nd vol. of Vertigo's Amer. Splendor at a comic shop up in Ashland, OR. Here they are for the Wiki.-Projunior
Thanks, good to see you back.
Was Volume 2 a limited series, as well? I was kind of hoping it was going to be a regular series. I guess that might be a little too much to ask for.
I was under the impression the current series is ongoing, not limited.
Boy, what a strange thing to see American Splendor looking like a DC/Vertigo book. Even the Dark Horse books didn't seem so slick to me. Not necessarily a bad thing -- it's just a jump.
Pekar has pretty much always worked with artists of his choosing, right? Artists who he contacted or otherwise met? I wonder how much that dynamic has changed?
Quote from: Rick Bradford on August 01, 2008, 05:21:55 PM
Boy, what a strange thing to see American Splendor looking like a DC/Vertigo book. Even the Dark Horse books didn't seem so slick to me. Not necessarily a bad thing -- it's just a jump.
Pekar has pretty much always worked with artists of his choosing, right? Artists who he contacted or otherwise met? I wonder how much that dynamic has changed?
I discussed it with Dave Lapham on the Valiantfans message board. I'll re-post the exchange in it's entirety, I think it sheds some interesting light on how Pekar works.
QuoteMe: "Mr. Lapham, I see you recently did a story for the new American Splendor comic from Vertigo. Any stories about working with Harvey Pekar?"
David Lapham: It's funny, everything goes through an editor so I never even spoke to Harvey, but I did learn he was very happy with what I did.
He works in an interesting way in that his stories are written on blank unlined paper. He divides the paper with a lie down the middle and vertical lines to make 12 panels or so (more) then basically draws in stick figures with dialogue. It's great. It also leaves a ton of room for the artist to visualize and interpret the story however they want. I felt that I was responsible for the subtext of the story. For instance, my first story (I did 2) was about an awkward teen who comes to visit Harvey because he saw the movie and isn't even really a fan. I had to read the story and basically come up with who I thought that kid was. What's his problem, why is her doing this? What, based on what I know about Harvey through his comic, is Harvey's reason for even seeing the kid, and what is his reaction to the kid? What does the kid want from Harvey and what does Harvey want from the kid? I also bring a lot of my "young awkward dysfunctional" self to the kid and my "wise older awkward self" to the mix. In my case I determined it to be an awkward affair (no shocker) with a lot of silence and little eye contact. Harvey's looking for an ego boost from a fan and he's not getting it. The kid is looking to connect with someone "famous" outside his miserable life and he doesn't get it. Or maybe he does....
Believe me, this is a lot of freedom for an artist.
Anyway, the reason Harvey's stories are so great is because he gives a real slice of life. A comics Raymond Carver. A simple story but fun to interpret.
Outstanding post, Brother J. Thanks for contributing it.
I love Harvey. All his stuff is a bargain at any price.
Thanks, Brother J.
QuoteIt's funny, everything goes through an editor so I never even spoke to Harvey
That's what I was really wondering about. That's a big change -- I'd assumed working for DC would mean that sort of arrangement but was interested in knowing for sure. That's a big change from the way the book used to be put together, I think. Interesting.
420post-i was doing some re-boxing of stuff i wanted to keep b/c the movers trashed most of my 'shipped' comic boxes (books are fine, but the boxes took a real beat-down) & ANYWAYs... went to the nice little comic shop on the 1800 block of farwell (off brady) & they had the new Vertigo AS Vol2 #2-4. picked them up (& a long box). i REALLY liked 'you get old you can fall apart' (1st story; vintage upbeat pekar) & the hunt emerson piece in #2. #3 is nice... loved the music piece 'bop philosophy.' #4 'free association' kinda loses me & gets both meta (epilogue) & lazy (income tax/car) toward the end of #4. chapter 1 'cleopatra' is wonderful. i love his comix about collecting records & the Crumb collaborations on the topic.
it just makes me want to collect the classic bronze age pekar like crazy. do you guys think that prices have peaked from AS movie highs? i would be looking in the strict 8.5 range & perhaps buying CGC hoping for a break (sometimes at this grade). i have the bare bones #1-3, but ought to be looking to push through the crumb covers (#4 & 6).
$40-50 each? more?
Let me look, I have a nice that I can break up. While I'm at it, any one need a NM Arcade set for $100?
Quote from: oldmilwaukee6er on August 25, 2008, 06:46:42 PM
ANYWAYs... went to the nice little comic shop on the 1800 block of farwell (off brady)
Death to Collector's Edge!!!
That location is owned by the same guy who was such a prick about letting me look through his underground comix stock at the Kinnickinnic store. The one on Farwell is the only one of their four locations I had never been to. They opened shortly before I moved, and I knew they probably had nothing in the way of back issues, being a new location, so I didn't think it was worth my time.
Is this the closest store to you? My regular shop was Lost Worlds of Wonder near 60th and Oklahoma, but I guess if you're living on the east side of Milwaukee, the Farwell store is probably the closest.
Are you aware that the east side of Milwaukee is where the underground comix movement in Milwaukee was happening back in the day? Kitchen Sink had their offices in that area.
thanks for the offer DrS! i will let you know shortly.... nice price on the set of Arcade's too.
i am on the east side (think oakland gyros) & there are NO back issues at the farwell location (was just intending to buy a longbox). it is just typical, stocked w/ new comics & trades. the only crumb they had was "crumbology." for me, coming from LA & MT comics shops, it is a nice little city store. but i wholly agree about them in general. of course i already shared my 1st attempt at cherry picking those supposed '12 boxes of UGs' w/ you.
:ridinghorse: i had this wild thought yesterday of raiding the store, armed w/ FUG typos & undervalued books (they price on the spot based on FUG), and scour all the gems in the rough. posting the spoils on the boards for our revelry. but first i have to prove worthy...
:viking:
broj- we should collaborate on an article about milwaukee's underground comix movement. i was re-reading kitchen's entry in dez skinns COMIX,
One reason the DC American Splendor is a limited series is that Harvey doesn't really want to do the "old style" Splendor anymore. He feels that at this point he is "drawing from the same well", but he keeps getting "pressured" into doing it again. It's hard to say how much longer he'll keep "giving in" to that pressure.
Quote from: trunch59 on August 28, 2008, 11:23:42 AM
One reason the DC American Splendor is a limited series is that Harvey doesn't really want to do the "old style" Splendor anymore. He feels that at this point he is "drawing from the same well", but he keeps getting "pressured" into doing it again. It's hard to say how much longer he'll keep "giving in" to the pressure.
You know, I'd like to see Harvey just do whatever he wants. I never really thought "American Splendor" had to be Harvey's everyday travails. I like the historical stuff, like the Quitter just as much.
Well, if Harvey isn't "drawing from the same well", it is certainly a pit in a different place. I finished the Vertigo Vol. 2 series a couple of weeks ago. Just not impressed. The conflicts just don't seem as credible anymore. To use an analogy, it feels as dumbed down as a Simpsons TV episode compared with Simpsons comic by Bongo.
That's why he doesn't want to do that stuff anymore. It's the money grubbers that want him to keep "pumping it out" and I'm sure that his wife, Joyce adds to the pressure.