Harvey Pekar’s CLEVELAND

Harvey Pekar’s CLEVELAND:

Exclusive 4pg preview from ZIP comics andTop Shelf

The late great Harvey Pekar pioneered autobiographical comics, mining the mundane for magic beginning in 1976 with American Splendor comics (and Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film starring Paul Giamatti as Pekar), and later with graphic novels like Our Cancer Year (with Joyce Brabner & Frank Stack) and The Quitter (with Dean Haspiel).

Harvey Pekar’s CLEVELAND will be a 112-page graphic novel written by Harvey, illustrated by Pekar Project artist Joseph Remnant, edited by Jeff Newelt, and published by ZIP Comics in collaboration with indie comix veterans Top Shelf.

The graphic novel will be composed of 50% history of Cleveland and its characters and 50% autobiography. It covers familiar American Splendor-ous territory while weaving in chunks of Cleveland history, including the Indians winning the 1948 World Series, the notorious 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga River as well as profiles of Cleveland “characters” like Charles Ruthenberg, leader of the city’s Communist party whose ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall. And of course cameos by Pekarverse regulars like Toby the Genuine Nerd, Mr. Boats and Harvey’s wife Joyce Brabner.

This is Remnant’s first full-length work. His previous Pekar Project collaborations include “Legendary Vienna,” “Sweeping Problem,” “Muncie Part 1” and “Muncie Part 2.” He recently wrote / illustrated a self-published a one-shot, “Blindspot.”

At top is the cover by Joseph Remnant, and below are four pages from Harvey Pekar’s CLEVELAND: [click to enlarge]

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