| Comic Review | Dana Place |
American
Splendor #1 (of 4)
Writer: Harvey Pekar
Art by: Dean Haspiel, Ty Templeton, Hilary Barta,
Greg Budgett, Gary Dumm
Plot: Harvey’s wife leaves him with their foster
daughter. He has to deal with a rebellious teenager while
tracking down an elusive vendor and a missing cat. This
first also contains a synopsis of his life growing up and a
few one page gags.
Review: I’ve never read any of the American Splendor
books but after having seen the movie and reading this
issue, it seems that this book is a curmudgeonly look at
mundane little observations about life. While humorous in a
very subdued kind of way, this book will certainly have its
audience in people who enjoy subtle and neurotic humor. If
you are used to reading the everyday off-the-shelf comic
this may be a little difficult to get into. If you are
looking for something to sink you teeth into that is an
acquired taste, but may be worth it in the long haul, this
is the book for you.
Special thanks go out to Jeremy Shorr, owner of
Titan Comics for allowing us to use his advance
preview books for review purposes.