Top Shelf and ZIP Comics to Release Harvey Pekar’s ‘Cleveland’

The first of several major works to see print after his death, Harvey Pekar's Cleveland will be a 112-page graphic novel published by new outfit ZIP Comics in collaboration with Top Shelf. Illustrated by Joseph Remnant, a collaborator of Pekar's from the Pekar Project webcomics series, Cleveland will be an ode to the writer's home town that weaves historical events in with Pekar's trademark autobiographical style.

The Indians' winning of the 1948 World Series and the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire are among the events that Pekar touches on in Cleveland, which as yet has no release date. The book will be distributed and marketed by Top Shelf but actually published by ZIP Comics, a new company owned by Josh Frankel.

"It's a privilege to publish one of my idols, especially a graphic novel with such breathtaking art by Joseph who really hit it out of the park, in this case Cleveland's Progressive Field," says Josh Frankel, president, ZIP Comics. "And its a true honor & treat to work with Top Shelf who put out so many of my favorite graphic novels like Blankets, Super Spy, and Jeffrey Brown's terrific books."

According to Cleveland editor Jeff Newlet, the entirety of Pekar's script and 20 pages of Remnant's artwork were completed before the author's tragic death last year. "So our man did get to see the book's beginning and was super-pleased with how the art was shaping up," said Newlett in a press release.

Remnant has demonstrated a superlative flare for illustrating Pekar's slice-of-life stories in a number of webcomic strips for Smith Magazine's Pekar Project. Cleveland will be his first full-length comics work.

[Via The Beat]