समाचार

Comic-Con 2011 isn’t going to happen until next July, but if you’re interested in attending the geek event of the year, then be sure to set your alarm early for this upcoming Monday. The reason is attendee registrations will be available for four-day and one-day passes starting at 9 a.m. Pt at Comic-Con.org. If you know anything about Comic-Con, you know passes sell out months in advance. Trust me, if you are even thinking about attending, be sure to secure your passes Asap.

In other related Comic-Con news, the convention has also announced its first wave of special guests. Scheduled to appear at next year’s con will be such writers and artists as Jordi Bernet, Dave Gibbons, Alan Davis, Jonathan Hickman, and Frank Stack. Of course, this list will only continue to grow as we get closer to July 2011. Hit the jump to check out the official press release,...

Comic book writer who penned the autobiographical American Splendor

Harvey Pekar, who has died aged 70, was the writer of American Splendor, an autobiographical comic in which he wrote about the everyday, often mundane, aspects of his life. Pekar experimented with the narrative form and used a shifting roster of artists on his comics, but it was the sheer ordinariness of the stories that slowly earned him a strong following, critical acclaim and comparisons with Chekhov and Dostoevsky.

Set in the rundown neighbourhoods of Cleveland, Ohio, American Splendor's world was revealed without exaggeration or self-aggrandisement. Pekar, opinionated and curmudgeonly, was often the most frustrating and aggravating character to appear in his books. The writer became a regular guest on the talkshow Late Night With David Letterman, but his confrontational style led to him being banned from it.

In 1990, Pekar was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy. Heavy medication led to hallucinations and occasional paralysis,...