ABSTRACT
In their daring remediation of Harvey Pekar’s legendary American Splendor (1976–2008), independent filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini build on the adult comic book’s formal subtleties and its profound investigations of notions of identity and authorship. A compelling tightrope act of mixed media that blends animated comic book panels, live-action re-enactments of stories from the comic books, episodes from Pekar’s personal life, footage from his appearances on Late Night, and a voice-over narration by the late author himself, the award-winning American Splendor (2003) is both a hybrid documentary and a highly original biographical picture chronicling the trials and tribulations of this idiosyncratic hero of American counterculture.
