Reviews

American Splendor: Another Day by Eddie Campbell, Hilary Barta, Harvey Pekar, Ty Templeton

meghan111's review against another edition

3.0

Part of this I had read before in actual comic book form. It's funny because it's so obsessive and small in some ways, but written in a style that universalizes.

traciemasek's review against another edition

4.0

I read this along with Another Dollar back to back and I'm having a hard time remembering which bits were in which book, but there was a comic in one of them about how he used to let people/fans come to his house to chat and he'd sign their books. When I lived in Cleveland, I constantly kept an eagle eye out for Harvey Pekar because he lived down the street from Chris, and he mentioned some of the places we hung out. I never saw him, and I probably would not have ever done more than try to make eye contact and smile psychotically at him, assuming he wanted nothing more than to be left alone. But that story made me wish I'd tried a little harder to meet him. Oh, the stories he might have told me. Or maybe I would have just annoyed him or made him anxious. Maybe it's a better fantasy after all.

mjthomas43's review against another edition

2.0

Weird and somewhat "normal" stories about an old man and his life as a writer, husband and step/foster father. Odd. Somewhat entertaining. Not as thought-provoking as I would have liked but it was ok.

chelseamartinez's review against another edition

5.0

I love all of these stories, which are tiny, midwestern affirmations about the power of people to change and about what it looks like to care about people and a community. The Playboy story makes it seem like a lot of these were a response to the American Splendor caricature of Pekar as a crank, but I think if you see the movie, even (as opposed to reading his books themselves) the qualities that come across so strongly here come across there too: of a person who wants to do the right thing, and puts effort behind that desire.

mhall's review against another edition

3.0

Part of this I had read before in actual comic book form. It's funny because it's so obsessive and small in some ways, but written in a style that universalizes.

scorpstar77's review against another edition

5.0

I love Harvey Pekar. I had, like many people, never heard of him until the American Splendor movie came out (that's a movie I could watch once a week for the rest of my life and never get bored with). After that, David started buying some of his stuff...The Quitter, some American Splendor books, now he gets the new issues as they come out. I read them all too. The stories are so everyday, so mundane - what happens when his cat runs out the front door one day, what happens when he goes to the grocery store, etc. - but the thought he puts into telling the stories and the honesty with which he shares his thoughts, reactions, foibles, it's just fascinating. The fact that he can make an interesting story about going to the HMO to get a prescription is amazing, but he does it every time. And he has excellent taste in art - the artists on his stories are always great. I feel like I'd like to have Harvey as a neighbor, someone to look out for you while you likewise look out for them, someone to casually discuss the world with on the sidewalk when you went to get the mail at the same time.

chuckmunson's review against another edition

5.0

My first American Splendor comic book. Excellent. Lived up to the reputation. Especially liked the artwork by all the different artists.

greyscarf's review

3.0

I picked up Another Day from my local library while on a graphic novel reading tear. Like many people, I knew about American Splendor mainly from the movie biopic & had always planned to get around to reading Pekar's comics one day. Turns out that this collection is a great introduction to Pekar's works. Another Day is a group of vignettes from every-day life that fill in the background info on Harvey, as well as showcase the quiet, detailed focus of his perspective. It's also set decidedly after the movie has been made, so new readers starting here won't be without any frame of reference.

These comics are about conversations with friends, personal realizations while waiting in line at the grocery store, Pekar's take on the goals of local politics, the tribulation of home repairs and the satisfying companionship of cats. Reading these quick stories together has the same cumulative insight as reading a well-structured book of short stories: readers will find themselves slowly immersed in Pekar's voice & his world. I also appreciated the fact that American Splendor, from what I can tell in this collection, seems to have the same sort of domestic or social concerns that usually are ascribed to certain female short story writers. Recommended to readers who, like me, are curious about American Splendor & are looking for a good way in.

meepelous's review

4.0

American Splendor: Another Day by Harvey Pekar
I didn't know anything about this collection going in. As a huge fan of the movie and his longer work Our Cancer Year, I was very excited to read the short stories that Pekar is mostly known for. And I was certainly not left disappointed!
Harvey Pekar was a skilled craftsman, imbuing even the most menial stories with character, humor and emotion. His characters are real and relatable, bringing the everyday human to a place of importance rarely seen. I will definitely searching out more of his work in the future. I might even get over my cheapskate ways and buy some.