AS 8: Bob & Harv
American Splendor scene #8 (12:27 to 14:32) — It’s still 1962, and Harvey and Bob are chillin’ at the Pekar pad. Scratchy jazz tunes play on the turntable. Harvey admires Crumb’s Big Yum Yum Book, but grows frustrated with Crumb’s apparent lack of ambition (“It’s just an exercise”). Still, a friendship is formed over a shared love of jazz and comics.
Pekar & Crumb as friends before they were artistic collaborators. The simple pleasures of reading and listening to music with friends — when socializing and technology were not so intertwined. The merits (and drawbacks) of technical pens. Crumb’s underground work and Josh’s premature exposure to it. Will Josh ever do his “Crumb comic”? Collaboration vis-a-vis doing your own thing. Drawing other people…
Episode Notes
Relevant panels for this episode from “The Young Crumb Story,” from American Splendor #4 (©1979 Harvey Pekar), art by R. Crumb…
