"Huntington, West Virginia ""On the Fly""" — Harvey Pekar

With an appreciation by Anthony Bourdain
 
HAVE ATTITUDE, WILL TRAVEL
 
Harvey Pekar changed the face of comics when his American Splendor series replaced traditional slam-bang superhero action with slice-of-life tales of his own very ordinary existence in Cleveland, Ohio, as a file clerk, jazz-record collector, and philosophical curmudgeon. Much as Seinfeld famously transcended sitcom conventions by being “a show about nothing,” Pekar's deadpan chronicles of regular life -- peppered with wry and caustic reflections -- have transformed comics from escapist fantasy into social commentary with voice balloons.

Huntington, West Virginia “On the Fly” is prime Pekar, recounting the irascible everyman's on-the-road encounters with a cross section of characters -- a career criminal turned limo-driving entrepreneur, a toy merchant obsessed with restoring a vintage diner, comic-book archivists, indie filmmakers, and children of the sixties -- all of whom have stories to tell. By turns funny, poignant, and insightful, these portraits à la Pekar showcase a one-of-a-kind master at work, channeling the stuff of average life into genuine American art.