Of course, by now, you’ve no doubt heard the sad news of the death of Harvey Pekar. Although an outsider by choice, Pekar was a giant in the industry, an everyman whose passion for comics and keen eye for human psychology made him a favorite among comics fans, and following the success of the American Splendor movie, a minor celebrity.
Most of the eulogies and remembrances will understandably and deservedly focus on Pekar’s long-running series, American Splendor, which began as a self-published underground and eventually found decent-sized audiences through Dark Horse and Vertigo mini-series. These are all worth reading and re-reading, but I wanted to draw a little attention to Pekar’s final work, which I think is not only vastly under-rated, but may well have been his crowning achievement – the adaptation of Studs Terkel’s Working.
Like many fans, this book slipped under my radar because it was published not by any of the traditional comic book publishers, but by The New Press, a non-profit publisher devoted to keeping important works in perpetual print. The New Press is a staunch advocate of Terkel’s writing, and thus was the perfect home for Pekar’s (and Paul Buhle’s) anthology.
I only became aware of this book when I saw it at the 2009 MoCCA festival. Flipping through its black and white pages left little impression on me; however, since I’m a big fan of Terkel’s writing, and oral histories in general, I decided to give it a shot. Still, it was only when I was assigned to review this book for the Comics Journal that I came to truly appreciate what a masterpiece it is. I had Working at #2 on my Best of 2009 list but, as far as I know, I was the only reviewer even to include it. I summed it up this way:
“This collection features dozens of stellar interpretations of everyday people, from migrant farm workers to jazz musicians, barbers to hookers. While not perfect (what anthology is?), its hit rate is in the 80-90% range, and many of the stories are so powerful, they’ll forever change the way you view certain occupations. The book, on the whole, paints a fascinating portrait of blue collar America, and is also a study in the deep and meaningful ways that our jobs impact our identities. It’s also a reminder that Terkel is a national treasure and one of America’s great writers. Working is unquestionably 2009’s overlooked masterpiece.”
Rather than expound further upon the book’s considerable merits here, I’ll refer you to my review at the Comics Journal’s website.
Like Terkel, Pekar was also a national treasure, a man who found great inspiration and beauty in the everyday lives of ordinary people. If you are a fan of either writer, I strongly encourage you to give this book a chance (you can order it direct from the publisher here or from Amazon here). It’s the perfect bookend for Pekar’s long and impressive career.
- Marc Sobel
