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Harvey Pekar Statue Fundraiser Launches On Kickstarter

Published Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:00:19 -0600

Joyce Brabner, comic book creator and widow of Harvey Pekar, is raising money for a memorial to her late husband on Kickstarter.

She intends to raise $30,000 to fund a "Comics as Art & Literature" Desk and Statue for the Cleveland Heights Public Library, where Harvey wrote many of his comics. Any extra money raised will fund the purchase of graphic novels for the library in Harvey's name.

Mounted on the desk, a sculpted bronze comic book "page." Stepping out from a panel, Harvey– using his semi celebrity to focus on the creative possibilities of the art form he opened up to so many people. On the reverse, gridded into bronze ruled "panels," a giant slate storyboard that looks very much the way Harvey always started his own scripts. (He wrote and drew stick figures, just like Paul Giamatti in that movie.) Plenty of chalk and plenty of encouragement from a library that cherishes comics. At different times each year, a librarian can unlock the middle drawer of the desk and pull out copies of books that Harvey read as a kid that inspired him to write, AMERICAN SPLENDOR scripts, memorabilia and anything else that could inspire library patrons to be creative with comics.

The desk and statue will be mounted next to the library's "Harvey & Friends Used Bookstore"* and facing the library's ever growing comics shelves. Every so often a Kickstarter campaign runs over. If that happens, once all the bills are paid, the Estate of Harvey Pekar will use the rest of the money to add to the library's no-white-gloves, read and enjoy(!) collection.

* Named after Harvey. The library knew and loved him.

Joyce explains the project below and in the Kickstarter link.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/31281370[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/31298538[/vimeo]

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