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 | COMIC/CARTOON | MOVIE VERSION |
| Title | American Splendor | American Splendor |
| Date of Release | Began in 1976 | September 12, 2003 |
| Creators | Written by Harvey Pekar with drawings by a series of different comic legends, including Robert Crumb and Alison Bechdel. | Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, who collaborated on the script with Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner. |
| Genre | Alternative comics series | Live-action art-house movie drama. |
| Story | Based on Pekar’s real life, beginning with his dull job at the Veteran’s Administration through his marriage to Joyce Brabner. | Inspired by the comics of his friend Robert Crumb (Urbaniak), Pekar (Giamatti) decides to start his own series and recruits crumb to help draw them. He meets bookstore owner Brabner (Davis) and they fall in love. |
| Characters | Harvey Pekar | Harvey Pekar |
| Stars | Paul Giamatti, James Urbaniak, Hope Davis | |
| Dialogue | Internal thoughts and conversations drawn from real-life. | Talky but realistic. |
| Aesthetic | Alt-comics style, depends on which artist is on duty. | Low-budget indie look. |
| Ambiance | Close and personal. | Mundane with a twist. |
| Audience | Hipsters | Critics and film geeks loved it. Established Giamatti as an above-the-title star. |
| Cool Factor | Too cool for school | Indie-movie cred. |
| Cheese Factor | Too self-conscious for that. | |
| Adaptation Accuracy | Excellent job. Made many want to re-read the books. | |
| Better or Bastardization? | Both excel on their own terms. | |
| Other | ||
| Other | ||
| Other | ||
| Images from the Original | Movie Images |
 Caption |  Caption |
| Video of the Original | Movie Video |
 Description | Description |
