CulturePOP Photocomix Tribute to "Our Man" Harvey Pekar (RIP)

CulturePOP Photocomix Tribute to "Our Man" Harvey Pekar (RIP)
by Seth Kushner
Edited by Jeff Newelt & Dean Haspiel
Interview by Christopher Irving
See it--http://activatecomix.com/104-25-1.comic

Seth Kushner's CulturePOP: Photocomix Profiles of Real-Life Characters returns (see info below for previous 24 episodes) to ActivateComix.com on Tuesday, July 12 2011 with a special tribute to Harvey Pekar, on the one-year anniversary of his death.

The 25-page piece, the 25th CulturePOP profile, features photos of the autobio comix pioneer, taken by Kushner just a few months prior to his untimely death, fused with quotes by an interview conducted by Christopher Irving the day of the shoot, to make a "fumetti" / photocomix equivalent to an American Splendor comic.

In addition to the words of Pekar himself, the piece includes photos of, quotes from, and illustrations by some of Pekar's collaborators; Josh Neufeld (artist, American Splendor), Dean Haspiel, (artist, The Quitter + American Splendor), Jeff Newelt (editor, Pekar Project & upcoming Harvey Pekar's Cleveland), Ted Hope (American Splendor film producer), Joseph Remnant (artist, Harvey Pekar's CLEVELAND) Shari Springer-Berman & Robert Pulcini (directors, American Splendor film) and Michael Taylor (script supervisor). Plus, Joyce Brabner, Harvey's widow and collaborator talks about her plan to have a monument erected to Harvey in Cleveland.

"I didn't know Harvey very well at all, not personally at least." Kushner says. "I knew him as many did, through his comics, and the great film, American Splendor. I've worked with Dean & Jeff on this tribute for months and I hope it will stand as a fitting one to a man whose seemingly ordinary, but unique voice, influenced and uplifted so many. Harvey Pekar, a seemingly ordinary guy from Cleveland, a former file clerk, made an indelible mark on comics, influenced several generations of comics creators, and died too soon."

See it--http://activatecomix.com/104-25-1.comic

LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS - Chris Claremont

As Christopher and I and designer Eric Skillman work on finishing LEAPING TALL BUILDINGS to meet our publisher's deadline we'll be occasionally posting profiles from the last batch of sessions, like the recent two-part profile on legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont.

When I was 9-years old and I first started collecting monthly comics, Claremont's name, along with Frank Miller's, was among the first I knew in comics. His X-Men was instrumental in the early days of my obsession. I remember issue 181, the post Secret Wars issue in Japan, was the first I bought, followed by a several-year long back-issue hunt to fill the gaps. I eventually collected back as far as issue 125, and earlier sporadic issues. All that said, it was a thrill to sit in the living room of his Brooklyn house and hear all the behind-the-scenes stories of those classic issues. Have a look a the profiles and see for yourself.

Chris Claremont on Evolving the X-Men, Part One

Chris Claremont on Evolving the X-Men, Part Two