The Gold Standard for Autobiographical Comics will Always be American Splendor

This one is for me. For Happiness.

I have been having a really rough go of it recently. I’ve been writing of course it’s my job (I’m a staff writer of comics for Comic Book Resources). I’ve also been hard at work on various comic projects, but it’s not scratching the itch so to say. I’ve been wanting to write about comics I love in my voice through this Substack for a while, but haven’t.

I always tell myself I need to work on something for CBR which will get me paid or for one of my comic projects to try and get my career going. Today I’m writing this piece for one reason and one reason only: Happiness. I am very passionate about comics and get so excited about them I wanted to talk about probably the best comic in one of my favorite genres.

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Why I Love Autobio Comics

One thing which makes myself and many others fall in love with a story is something very simple and often overlooked. The ability to connect with a character and understand them. Now I don’t even mean agreeing with a character’s motives or loving everything about them. What I mean is being able to relate with them and understand them.

I’m going to use Peter Parker and Spider-Man as an example here. I have nothing in common with him. I don’t have a slew of attractive women who love me (or even one right now), I don’t have super powers, I’m not insanely smart, my parents aren’t dead, I’ll stop now, because the list could go on and on. Despite all our differences I can relate to and understand him.

I never lost my parents, but I have lost people close to me so I understand what that feels like. I often feel like an outsider and struggle to connect with people much like Parker does (just in different ways). I try to do the right thing and feel like it often blows up in my face (though I’m not fighting super villains and saving the world).

You are probably thinking: Yeah dude I love Spider-Man too, but what does that have to do with autobiographical comics? Well If I am able to understand and connect with a spandex wearing wall crawling super hero imagine how much I can connect with stories about everyday life and the struggles pretty much everyone goes through.

One thing I really love when reading them is when the main characters fucks or does something not great. It’s something everyone does, but most people don’t talk about. They don’t want to admit to being an asshole to their friend or mean to their partner, but it is something we all do.

Autobio comics are raw and honest. When done right they show how we actually are as human beings, not what we are “supposed” to be.

Finding American Splendor

I started to read comics the way most people my age did through super heroes. I was reading the classic Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four. I would branch out to other Marvel heroes as I was familiar with them from the cartoons I’d watched, mainly the 90’s X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons. I realized I had actually been reading comics before that and enjoying them.

Short comics were in the magazines my mom bought me like: Disney Adventures, Boy’s Life, Highlights, WWE Kids, and Nickelodeon Magazine. I started to dive into Manga after learning a lot of the “cartoons” I was watching were actually originally comics. Now I am in love with the genre of comics. I read anything and everything and really pay attention to the storytelling aspect and panel work. I will say autobio comics will always have a special place as one of my favorite genres of comics.

I eventually decided I wanted to start making comics. I keep writing them for years without any of them actually being drawn. I eventually got the advice to draw my own comics even if I didn’t show anyone. I was told it would help me with writing them and man it really did. This might be the best advice about making comics I’ve ever received.

I was at my local comic shop on day around 14 and someone from the shop was looking through these poorly drawn stick figure comics and started laughing at them. Not because of how they were drawn, but because of what was happening with them. We then had an interaction which went like this:

“This reminds me of American Splendor.”

“Of what?”

“You know American Splendor by Harvey Pekar!”

“You saying it a second time doesn’t suddenly make me know who it is.”

“HBO made a movie on it. You know the guy who would fight with Letterman?”

I would buy a copy of the first American Splendor collection Vertigo had put out that day.

For those who don’t know Harvey would draw out his comics in stick figures before handing them off to an artist.

What makes it the gold standard?

If I’m honest on the surface level Harvey Pekar seems like a huge asshole. He is cranky, easily annoyed, and a bit of a slob. That is what he appears to be on surface level. When you dive into the pages of American Splendor do you get things like that? Absolutely, but you also get so much more.

I am very interested in the duality of man and how two contradicting things can be happening at the same time and both be true. When you dive deeper into who Harvey was through his comics you see someone who was deeply passionate about jazz, books, and comics. He had a good heart and would always do the right thing (even if he complained about it).

Sometimes when I read a collection of autobio comics all the stories are happy. The creator chooses to present themself as perfect and I fucking hate that. When we are open about our shortcomings and failures we can help people. We show others hey it’s ok to mess up. No you aren’t crazy for feeling this way a lot of people do. It’s something which can be brave and is extremely important to me in my own writings.

Harvey doesn’t shy away from telling stories which don’t present him as a perfect human and that is how the genre should always be, but often isn’t. I think if Harvey read this he wouldn’t agree he was doing anything special by being raw and honest. It probably came very easy to him.

Harvey would also work with many different artists during his time making the comic. The artist always matches the tone of the story and makes for an exciting read. You’re not sure what exactly you will be looking at on the next page in the best way possible.

Nothing is More Relatable Than Everyday Life

The stories in American Splendor cover a large range. There are stories of love, heartbreak, uncertainty, anger, and fear. Remember earlier about how I said the ability to relate to a character is very important? Harvey does this perfectly with his stories about everyday life.

No matter where you are born in the world, what religion you are, what your gender is, or which socioeconomic class you are, there are certain experiences which every human will go through. Things like putting your pants on, being annoyed by a family member, or even being stuck in line at a grocery store. These are all things Harvey writes about. Some people probably can’t imagine how waiting in line at the grocery store could be interesting, but boy is Harvey able to pull it off.

What could be more relatable then things we all have to deal with? I think these types of stories aren’t done as much because they are overlooked. I mean who hasn’t had to get gas? It’s brilliant! While these things are predictable the way Harvey reacts to them are not. This is how he is able to shine.

I don’t know how to describe the enigma that is Harvey Pekar. He said one of my all time favorite quotes about comics: “Comics are words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.” I didn’t discover his work until after he passed away and he is someone I really wish I could have met.

I have a few mutual friends who got to meet him at a convention and they said he was exactly like you think he would be. This makes me very happy.

Harvey’s Relationships With Those Close to Him Are Fascinating

Through the pages of the comic we get to see how many of the most important people in his life enter it. The main ones which come to mind are his friend and collaborator Robert Crumb, his wife Joyce Brabner, and his daughter Danielle.

Robert Crumb is a very famous cartoonist. He is also a very odd duck but so is Harvey so their friendship and interactions are extremely interesting. They meet over their mutual love of music and records. Harvery showed Crumb some of the stick figure comics he had drawn and Crumb asked if he could draw some of them.

I’m not religious, but I believe that one small event can change the course of someone’s life. Who knows what Harvey’s life would look like if he never met Crumb. Harvey met Joyce because of the comic a lot of things only happened because the two met. How insane is that?

Harvey met his wife Joyce because of American Splendor. When she was unable to get the newest issue she ended up writing to Harvey. The two started exchanging letters, then phone calls, and eventually met up and quickly got married.

Joyce Brabner would go on to write comics herself. She was an activist and many of her comics are centered around that. My favorite comic she wrote was Second Avenue Caper: When Goodfellas, Divas, and Dealers Plotted Against the Plagu. It was centered around the gay community and what they went through during the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the US.

It is a very sad, but extremely important story. I will admit I cried during it and at times had to put it down and take a break because it had gotten too heavy. I was also unable to meet Joyce which also makes me sad.

Joyce and Harvey had what many would say is an unconventional relationship. Which is why I’m glad it is documented in American Splendor. There is no one right way to live or love and I’m tired of people acting like we all have to fit inside a box in some way. Joyce and Harvey weren’t perfect, but guess what neither am I and neither are you dear reader.

Seeing how Harvey interacted with his adopted daughter makes my heart happy. Men of a certain generation have a hard time expressing their feelings. A big part of that was society and expectations of the outside world. Through his comics it was very clear he loved Danielle. I specifically think of a story of him going to get her in a snow storm. Through the comic I think he was able to articulate his emotions more clearly, but I could be totally off on that as I never met him.

The Comic Inspired Me and Changed My Life

Many fans of American Splendor consider Our Cancer Year to be the best comics (not just autobio) that Harvey ever made. With the help of Joyce it documents his battle with cancer. My father battled cancer, but I was too young at the time to understand or even remember what was going on.

My dad was cancer free by the time I was five years old, but he had malignant melanoma skin cancer stage four and was on chemotherapy for over a year. My father should be dead, but he has been cancer free for over 26 years and I’m happy to report is still as ornery as ever.

When I read that storyline it got me asking questions to my dad and other family members about what it was like. If I’d not read this I don’t know if I would’ve thought about it that way and understood the horrible things he went through. I’ve put my father through a lot and when I was younger was very quick to judge when I really didn’t understand my dad or what he went through at all. The comic helped me connect with my dad in a way I probably wouldn’t have otherwise and changed our relationship for the better.

Earlier I had talked about how I’d gotten the advice to draw comics and how much that had helped me. I still draw comics, but now I actually share them. I just finished the 9th issue of Smile If You Farted last night. These are my poorly drawn and brutally honest and raw autobio comics. I like making them and it’s helped me process some things like my divorce, depression, and imposter syndrome. Harvey showed me what autobio comics could be and I took the ball and ran.

It is my Favorite Comic Book Movie

When people think about comic book movies they go right to Batman or one of the many Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. My favorite is the 2003 American Splendor movie from HBO Films. It does some extremely creative things I’ve not seen done in any other movie.

The real life Harvey not only narrates the movie, but appears in the film. In-between scenes they will cut to him on a plain white set and ask him questions about what had just happened or what was going to happen in the next scene. The real life Joyce and reoccurring co-worker Toby also appear sometimes next to their actor counterparts.

The film also mixes in artwork and panels from the comics the scene is based off of. Which seems like a no-brainer, but I’ve never seen anyone be able to pull it off like this. It makes it feel like a comic book movie like you are actually inside the pages of a comic book.

Harvey appeared many times on David Letterman which is a big part of the film. They mixed in actual footage of Harvey and David from the show and switched between it and the actors. It is done in such an amazing way it never seems out of place. Not even for a second.

Don’t Worry This Isn’t the End

I love comics and I want to write about them more. I cover them on CBR or you can subscribe to this Substack. I do a lot of interviews with creators and plan on writing more articles for here. I’ll be writing about a lot more autobio comics like: It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken, Blank Canvas, My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, and the works of Chester Brown. Until next time be excellent everyone, don’t be a dick. If you want to follow me on socials all my links are below or feel free to comment if you want to talk comics!

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Austin Allen Hamblin is a staff writer at CBR. He has written comics for Image, Source Point Press, Cosmic Lion Productions, Orange Cone Productions, and Candle Light Press.