Lecture: Harvey Pekar is a Grouch

But, that's his charm. So went the conventional wisdom in a room of ~250 people at the Herbst Theater last Monday night. Harvey was in the house to promote his new comic book, Ego & Hubris, the Michael Malice Story. But the book was largely beside the point, as Harvey didn't speak much about his inspiration for it, or his goals in writing it, or how he hopes it will have a positive impact on the lives of young people the world over. These are all positive sentiments, and as such, have no place in Harvey's limited worldview.

To say Harvey is a curmudgeon would be a bit harsh. To call him a cynic would tow the party line. Despite some substantial financial success, particularly since the critical acclaim and Oscar nomination for his 2003 movie American'>American Splendor, Harvey seems convinced that it's all about to come crashing down around him. He also readily admits (and in fact emphasizes) his all consuming concern with getting paid. The first few times he answered questions with "they didn't pay enough" or "I live in Cleveland b/c my house is paid off," his comments hinted at a underlying obsessiveness that I associate with many sons-of-immigrants of a certain generation (Harvey's parents emigrated from Poland). Anyone who grew up with stories about barely surviving in times of hardship is bound to have memorized the value of a dollar. However, by the end of the Q&A session, I wondered if Mr. Pekar would even be doing what's he doing if there wasn't significant $$$$ associated. In other words, did the man have any passion for his art, an art to which so many people living the quintessential quotidian existence could relate, or was he simply going through the motions of speaking and conversing and grumping w/ the public in order to procure a paycheck?

The ultimate disturbing wonderment that emerges from this line of thinking is whether his grouch factor is genuine, or part of a tried and true character act he's perfected for the sake of popular appeal. I don't like to go down this road, b/c the curmudgeon character speaks to so many of us, and having a pop culture figure (even a largely 'underground' one) in this vein has its comforts. And I don't think Harvey is on stage hyperbolizing his cynicism for the sake of ratings. But in the interest of not finding out if this is really true, I think I'll refrain from paying $18 to go see him in the future.