ltmurnau: (Default)
ltmurnau ([personal profile] ltmurnau) wrote2010-07-12 09:46 am
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I gotta stop doing this.

Harvey Pekar is dead. About the time he died, I was sitting up in bed reading The Beats: A Graphic History, written by Harvey Pekar, illustrated by many, published in April of this year and bought by me just that day.

The night James Brown died, I was watching an old VHS tape of Dr. Detroit, a Dan Aykroyd comedy which featured James Brown prominently. (http://ltmurnau.livejournal.com/137375.html)

I have to be more careful about what I look at and when. Maybe I should restrict my reading to works by people who are already dead - though I did pick up Harlan Ellison's The Glass Teat last week, and want to get to it soon - can I resist temptation?

Oh, and I broke another tooth - most of a molar this time. Dammit dammit dammit. [edit: saw a dentist quickly and got the crown put on that should have been put on last time it broke. Sore right now but better than having a tooth open to the elements.]

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Comics writer Harvey Pekar dies at 70

Last Updated: Monday, July 12, 2010 | 12:07 PM ET CBC News

Noted comic book writer Harvey Pekar, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor series, has been found dead by police at his home in Cleveland.

Pekar, who was 70, had been suffering from prostate cancer and other ailments, according to police spokesman Capt. Michael Cannon.

The authorities were called to Pekar's home by his wife, Joyce Brabner, at about 1 a.m. local time Monday morning, Cannon said.

A spokesman for the coroner's office said an autopsy will be performed, but gave no further details about Pekar's death.

The Cleveland-born Pekar's passion for jazz led to a friendship with comics icon Robert Crumb.

In 1976, Pekar began publishing his autobiographical stories, with Crumb and others illustrating the tales of his life as a curmudgeonly Veteran's Administration hospital file clerk and freelance jazz and book critic living in Cleveland.

The series inspired the critically lauded 2003 film adaptation American Splendor, starring Paul Giamatti as Pekar.
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[identity profile] lewbasnight.livejournal.com 2010-07-12 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
I think you should start using your powers for good. Buy and read books by terrible authors. I will mail you a copy of "The Secret" to get you started.

But seriously, dang. I heard that on the news when I was moving furniture to sweep behind it, and couldn't reach the radio to turn it up. I suppose it's not a huge surprise, he was getting on in years and had some bad health issues. But still, dang.

[identity profile] ltmurnau.livejournal.com 2010-07-12 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
So many writers, so little time... I wouldn't even know where to start, though I'm sure The Secret is one of the more pernicious books out there today.

[livejournal.com profile] nihilistic_kid posted part of an interview with Pekar from a few years ago where he talks about how he's 66 but his VA pension won't cover his family's costs, so he felt backed into a position where his work had to be good, and had to keep coming out, it couldn't be otherwise or his family would go hungry.