American Splendor Author Harvey Pekar Dead at 70

Comics legend and movie inspiration Harvey Pekar has died at his home in Cleveland. He was 70. He came to cult prominence in the '70s with his slice-of-(misanthropic) life comic American Splendor, which was adapted in 2003 as an acclaimed film starring Paul Giamatti in confrontational, gravel-voiced anti-hero mode as Pekar. His cause of death is not known at present, but Pekar had recently suffered a range of ailments from prostate cancer to asthma. Oy. Things could be better right now for Cleveland! RIP. [NYT]