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"Just dazzling. Finally, a comic book hero who is easier to identify with than any X-person, Hulk, Daredevil or Terminatrix." - The Guardian"
Product Description
In this all-new graphic novel, Harvey Pekar - whose award-winning series "American Splendor" became a feted movie - tells the story of his teen years for the first time. When he failed to impress, whether on the football team, in math class, in the Navy or on the job, Pekar simply gave up! A true tour-de-force, "The Quitter" is the universal tale of a young man's search for himself through the frustrations, redemptions and complexities of ordinary life. Featuring the atmospheric artwork of Dean Haspiel ("American Splendor"), "The Quitter" is both Pekar's funniest and most heart-wrenching work yet, an unforgettable read for all those, like Pekar, who have tried, failed and lived to quit another day.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No shame in quitting,
By
This review is from: The Quitter (Paperback)
This autobiographical graphic novel examines Pekar's early life and failures in the 1950s and 60s; growing up in a conservative Polish Jewish family in a very tough working class neighbourhood in Cleveland. Although it covers ground touched upon in his other works there is still a lot here for Pekar devotees. Newcomers will also find this a convenient place to access Pekar, as it fleshes out his early life to an extent that his other books have not.
Pekar has never attempted to hide the fact that he is neurotic and eccentric, sometimes unbearably so. Therein lies the charm of his comics. 'The Quitter' is more disturbing though. We see that the young Pekar experienced a crippling obsessive compulsive disorder which rendered him all but unemployable and unable to complete higher education. Juxtaposed with this is a childhood of routine extreme violence, often racially motivated. The young Pekar is forced to defend himself on a daily basis until fighting becomes a passion rather than a necessity. Pekar presents these aspects of himself as documentary, not courting our sympathy and bearing no grudges whatsoever, but it is impossible to read this book without feeling that it was only by pure luck that this affable comic book writer escaped a youth in prison. So, it's a story of hope. It shows us that things can turn out okay, and that modest success must never be underrated. It also shows us that quitting is sometimes the best policy.
4.0 out of 5 stars
a bunch of his old themes, with some new details,
By
This review is from: The Quitter (Paperback)
I have been reading, with great pleasure, the work of this writer - a great innovator of the mundane in comic-book realism, though it always goes back to universal human dilemmas - for over 20 years. At their best, his stories stick in your mind like any great writing. I remember a story he wrote about falling for someone even though he knew she had awful problems, all because he was so lonely. In these, the writing is so good and dense that you can read them over and over, much like the underground comix of the 60s, but about everyday life. I really felt like I knew this guy in some ways and identified with a lot of it.
This book is much longer than those other stories, closer to a novellette in length. On the one hand, there is no question that it gets deeper into Pekar's character, explaining some aspects I had always been curious about, such as why he didn't stick with college. I knew he struggled wtih depression, but with this understood much deeper how and maybe why it shaped his character. It is beautiful in that it is connected with his family life and not blithely dismissed as genetic. One the other hand, I did not find the writing as dense as I had come to expect from Pekar, whom I regard as a superlative writer. He can do better, much better - hear that Harv? Nonetheless, this will stick in my mind, as have his ealier works. Recommended, but I prefer his shorter stories, American SPlendor, at least so far.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honest, candid and quietly brilliant,
By
This review is from: The Quitter (Paperback)
Pekar is one of the giants of American comic writing and in this book expressively drawn in monochrome by Dean Haspel you can see why. This is Pekar's autobiography of his younger years and he is relentlessly brutal and honest about his own shortcomings, in particular his inability to keep going with any task when faced with being less than perfect and not receiving adultation. It is a tendency all of us have and dealing with failure is an essential part of character growth and Pekar is mercilessly candid about the ways this shortcoming has crippled his emotional and professional life. One of those rare comics which is not action driven, not much happens but you come away feeling that you have encountered a mind of rare clarity and a story that you can truly learn from. I only wish he'd completed the story.
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