Author Archives: Paul

Harvey Pekar, 1939-2010

_Pollux writes_:
“Some reviewers in Tucson and Kansas City, if they talk about _American Splendor_ at [all,] are gonna say stuff like, ‘This is a comic book? Then why ain’t I laughin’?’ I know that, I’m ready for it.”
These are words spoken by Harvey Pekar in _The New American Splendor Anthology_ (1991), or rather “Harvey Pekar,” the persona who inhabited volumes of comics. As figures and scenes from the Bible were rendered again and again by countless medieval and Renaissance artists, so Pekar was depicted by various comic illustrators, Robert Crumb not the least among them.
From the streets of Cleveland, Pekar gave us a documentary, in comics form, of life as a “flunky file clerk,” a working-class schlub, and self-deprecating visionary. If _American Splendor_ was seen as narcissistic or overly concerned with everyday exertions, it’s because the fact that it was a record of one man’s mind and process was ignored. Pekar wanted to create comics this way. Why leave the reviewers in Tucson and Kansas City laughing when he could give them something new?
Alternative comics allowed for experimentation and collaboration. Comics could become something more than mass-produced, formulaic rags. _American Splendor_, and titles like it, was a comic to keep, shelve, and re-read. Pekar helped us all outgrow simplistic superhero comics.
Pekar was a curmudgeon, yes, but also a diamond in the rough. Pekar helped turn comics into a record of daily life, a collection of little moments that are otherwise forgotten but nonetheless are the stuff of real life.
And real life can be drab, boring, and stressful. Real life is filled with disappointment and solitude. But it can also be filled with laughter, drama, passion, and excitement. Pekar saw that the struggles between caped superheroes paled in comparison to the epic battles of daily life. Who needs Kryptonite when you have bills, loneliness, sickness, and David Letterman? And forget Green Lantern’s ring: what’s better than family or a hard-to-find jazz record?

Octoprognostication: Leaking Information

_Pollux writes_:
Just to follow up on the Paul the Octopus story, he has “predicted”:http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2010/paul-the-octopus-gives-the-final-order-get-ready-for-a-spanish-celebration.html a win for Spain, so let’s see if he turns out to be right. They’ve stopped eating octopus in Spain out of respect to Paul.
As a side note, I can’t help thinking that an intelligent octopus could easily fix the oil leak in the Gulf. All it needs is eight strong hands, sensitivity, and knowledge and respect for the ocean, qualities that no one at BP seems to possess.

Putting Paul the Octopus to the Test: New Questions

PaultheOctopusPollux3.png
_Click on the image to enlarge_.
_Pollux writes_:
You have to admire “Paul the Octopus'”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Octopus bravery: predicting Germany’s loss in the World Cup game against Spain while residing in a German aquarium? Gutsy move (do octopuses have guts?).
The Germans and the Argentines (Paul also predicted Argentina’s loss against England) are up in arms, but the eight-armed Paul blithely continues to do his work.
To defer to animals as oracular messengers is as old as civilization itself. Ancient Egyptians consulted divine animals such as “The Bull Who is in Hermonthis, Lord of Medamud, Who is in Tod.”
Octopuses are said to be highly intelligent, and Paul’s prognostication proved correct against the face of popular opinion, namely that the Germans would handily beat Spain and advance to the World Cup Final against the Netherlands.
I’m impressed, and Paul’s predictions make me want to ask _Das Krakenorakel_ questions unrelated to World Cup soccer.
Paul, is the war in Afghanistan a big mistake?
CHOICE #1: Yes
CHOICE #2: Define “mistake.”
Paul, is there life in other parts of the universe?
CHOICE #1: Yes, but you’ll only find it in octopus form.
CHOICE #2: We’re all alone, so exceedingly, extremely alone.
Paul, what is your opinion on Ayn Rand’s criticisms of altruism and her overall philosophy regarding selfishness and its place within a larger societal framework founded on capitalism?
CHOICE #1: Netherlands.
CHOICE #2: Spain.

Fevered: Emily Flake’s World Cup Cartoon

_Pollux writes_:
As you know, I’ve been doing cartoon coverage for _The Wavy Rule World Cup_. The very funny cartoonist “Emily Flake”:http://www.eflakeagogo.com/ has drawn her own “cartoon”:http://www.citypaper.com/comics/story.asp?id=20344 on World Cup Fever.
I knew there were consequences to blowing on vuvuzelas besides serious ear damage!