Mac's Backs event to celebrate local comic book authors

Though underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar died last July, his works continue to be released posthumously. His latest book, Huntington, West Virginia "On the Fly" (Random House) was released April 26 and will be celebrated June 2 at an event at Mac’s Backs on Coventry.

The book chronicles Pekar’s encounters with a variety of characters in his everyday life, including a chapter titled “Neighborhood Spark Plug,” devoted to Steve Presser, owner of Coventry’s Big Fun.

Suzanne DeGaetano of Mac’s Backs explained that, along with celebrating the release of Pekar’s new book, the bookstore event will also host fellow Cleveland Heights native and comic book artist Seth Tobocman, who recently wrote his own graphic book Understanding the Crash with Eric Lauresen and Jessica Wehrle. The book focuses on the foreclosure crisis.

“I interviewed a lot of people in Cleveland,” Tobocman said. “The economic crisis is getting deeper and people need to address it politically.”

Tobocman will present a slideshow presentation at the bookstore about the foreclosure crisis. 

The book delves into how Wall Street fueled the economic fire with the help of Washington politics, while explaining the logistics behind mortgage-backed securities, derivatives and foreclosures.

Tobocman also had a unique connection to Pekar as a teenager. He said that Pekar gave him his first exposure to the world of underground comic books.

“Who would be willing to have two teenagers over to his apartment and show us comics that we weren’t allowed to buy?” Tobocman asked with a chuckle. “He was quite an anomaly to us. He got us free sci-fi books out of the VA hospital.”

Tobocman’s early encounters with the underground comic book scene grew into a lifelong occupation. He has authored many comic books focusing on local and international politics, including Three Cities Against the Wall, Disaster and Resistance, and War in the Neighborhood.

For more information about the June 2 event, visit www.macsbacks.com.