Known for the irascible, self-doubting persona he cultivated in American Splendor and his day-to-day existence, the frizzy-haired, wild-eyed Mr. Pekar, a writer whose comics were illustrated by other artists, was an improbable candidate for lasting glory. A major influence in the underground world but never a big seller, he was always waiting for his cult fame to recede each time it unexpectedly crested.

His obsessive drive combined with the sheer number of his collaborations produced a two-dimensional record of his shaggy life, rendered in varying styles by numerous illustrators. Now only his widow and the artists he worked with are left to narrate his final chapter, a tale of bruised feelings and allegations of opportunism, with nothing more at stake than the writer’s modest legacy. But no matter how it plays out, Mr. Pekar is bound to emerge as enigmatic as ever.

“Put it this way,” [Pekar coolaborator Dean Haspiel] added. “Nobody owns Harvey Pekar. Not even Harvey Pekar.”

The full article’s pretty fascinating and can be read in full here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dean-o, listed as illustrator/artist of the sequence, shares the nomination with its director Tom Barham, lead animator Marci Ichimura, and compositor Mark Rubbo under Dakota Pictures, 3 Arts Entertainment /Fair Harbor Productions.  You can see a full listing of  the work they’re up against on The Emmys’ official site.

If you’re interested in Dean’s comic work, I highly recommend The Alcoholic (a graphic novel collaboration with B2D‘s writer/creator Jonathan Ames), and The Quitter (written by Harvey Pekar of American Splendor fame).

Comer & Gallucio Casting is looking for comic collectors and enthusiasts to serve as extras at a comic convention scene for Bored to Death, the terrific show created by Jonathan Ames and starring Jasson Shwartzman, Zach Galifianakis and Ted Danson.

-SEEKING: Males & females, ages 18+, and must be legal to work in the US.

-SHOOT DATES/LOCATION: End of May (no specific dates yet but will probably be within the last week). Shooting in NYC.

-CONTACT: Please email the following info to BOREDTODEATH2010@GMAIL.COM: Full name, phone number, and 2 current & clear snapshot photos (no professional shots). One should be of your face and the other should show your body. If you have costumes that you wear to conventions, please include photo of yourself in this costume, as you might be used with it on the show.

I’m confident we can populate that set with enough Forbidden Planet kids to fill a space cruiser.  Now get going.

Oh, and if you’re not familiar with Bored to Death, or need to refresh yourself with just how good and refreshingly quirky the series is, you may refer to this previous Daily Planet post.

Or you can watch this official trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We really dig this book, and its contributors are good peoples.  Get’cher butt to Brooklyn.

A month after the Big Apple Con,  spotlighting Wizard Entertainment we’re going to have another comics related convention, this time celebrating the comic creators of Brooklyn! Sweet. 

Via press release, King Con will feature such creators as Brian Wood, Dean Haspiel, Molly Crabapple, and Al Jaffe. There is a ton more.

The convention is being held Nov. 7-8 at the Brooklyn Lyceum, which, I’ve never heard of because I live in Manhattan.  (I’ve been saying for years how I want to move to Brooklyn–just haven’t yet). Regardless, apparently the Brooklyn Lyceum is a one-hundred year old bath house.

“The lack of a Brooklyn based comic convention always surprised me,” says writer, artist, and convention co-organizer Mike Zagari. “Now with KING CON, Brooklyn’s flourishing and emerging writers and artists finally have an event to call their own!” With its close proximity to the subway, and its stunning, raw space, the building intends to do just that. Located in a century-old NYC Public Bath house turned event and performance space along a formerly rough and tumble industrial stretch of Fourth Avenue, the Lyceum has been, since 2000, a venue for emerging and well-established talent. Past showcases have included Jose Gonzalez, The Polyphonic Spree, The Dresden Dolls, Yo La Tengo, Fiona Apple and French folk singer Krystle Warren.

Seems like its going to be a great time, and a pretty cool venue, which I always appreciate, because I can’t stand bland venues (see the Javitz Center).

Jonathan Ames, novelist, writer of Vertigo’s The Alcoholic and now television producer has a show on HBO starting this Sunday at 9:30pm.  Bored to Death is based on a short story by Ames in which he gets bored and decides to pretend he’s a private detective.  Naturally, this is a TERRIBLE idea, and all kinds of shenanigans ensue.

The pilot episode, that doesn’t air until Sunday night, is available to watch for free on Amazon.  Its a kind of indie darling, Peter Sellers Pink Panther attempt at Hipster dumbass private detective sleuthing. Its still enjoyable, and quite fun, and because it is Ames I could say that its probably going to be a darling of a TV show.  Ames writes on the show blog about how the story came to be. Essentially he was really depressed and was reading alot of Raymond Chandler so he decides to post an ad on Craigslist posing as a Private Detective.

Starring Phantom Planet drummer Jason Schwartzman as Ames and The Hangover‘s Zach Galifianakis as Dean Haspiel (well, his character name is different but his character is a comic cartoonist who runs an online webcomic collective and his sketchbook is full of Dean Haspiel’s art, but his character name is Ray Hueston) who is sex obsessed and Ted Danson plays Ames’s pothead boss, George Christopher.  Ames confirms Galifianakis’s character is drawn from Haspiel on the show’s blog:

The Ray Hueston character, played by Zach Galifianakis, is a loosely drawn — an apt choice of words, I should say — take on my dear friend, the illustrator, Dean Haspiel, who was my collaborator on The Alcoholic. I met Dean in 2001. I was sitting at the Fall Cafe on Smith Street in Brooklyn, after having played some pick-up basketball in Carroll Gardens and was feeling rather low. I must have gotten abused on the basketball court, a veritable petri dish for aggressive male behavior which I tend to find disheartening. Why do fights always have to break out? Can’t we just play? I don’t mean to sound wimpy; I like to fight in the boxing ring – well, actually, I like the romance of wearing a boxer’s costume, being hit and hitting are not that pleasurable — but on the basketball court insecure alpha-male behavior is time-consuming and people get in your face, often with very bad breath.

To gear up for the show premiere, Ames and Haspiel’s book The Alcoholic came out in softcover this week.  Its a kind of memoir, involving Ames struggle with addiction as it relates to post September 11th New York City.  Its a heartfelt book with one helluva ending.

Bored to Death premieres Sunday night at 9:30pm.