Picking Apart Pekar

Pittsburgh Live talks frankly with American Splendor author Harvey Pekar about criticism he's received since his acclaimed movie translation came out, what he's been working on since, and why he keeps on doing it all in spite of himself.

His latest book, "American Splendor: Our Movie Year," continues in the Pekar-esque mode.

In "My Journey to Cannes," Pekar revels in the vivid colors of the paintings in the Chagall Museum and his hotel's dry-cleaning service, but also admits to feeling out of place at the resort and guilty at the red-carpet treatment afforded him and his family. In "Cat Treatment," he wonders if he is being afforded special consideration at an animal clinic because of the movie. In "Blackout," he anguishes over paying his bills in the midst of last year's massive East Coast power outage.