One of those readers is Colin Warneford -- a talented young artist from Gateshead, England, who wrote lengthy letters to Pekar about the peculiarities of his own life. Among the things he mentioned is his daily dealing with Asperger's syndrome -- a form of autism that, in part, causes Warneford to duplicate things in great detail -- whether it's an accounting of a single event or an artistic rendering of someone on the street. Pekar was deeply affected by the honesty of Warneford's letters, and was impressed with his art, as well. It wasn't long before the two decided to collaborate on Pekar's next American Splendour (spelled the traditional British way this time around to reflect Warneford's influence), which is based in part on the initial letter Warneford sent to Pekar. Warneford's story is framed with stories illustrated by frequent Splendor contributor Frank Stack, who has worked with Pekar on the series for years.
"For this book, I juxtaposed my autobiography with Colin's," Pekar said from his home in Cleveland. "Colin lives in a rust belt city in England, as I do in the U.S., and our experiences as a result of having a shared environment are surprisingly similar. I feel extremely lucky to be working with him, as he's one of the finest contemporary comic book illustrators. And the project wouldn't have come together the way it did without Franks's framework. His work on this book is incredible. "
American Splendour: Transatlantic Comics is a 24-page, black and white one-shot by Harvey Pekar, with art by and Frank Stack and Colin Warneford. Transatlantic Comics is available July 29 at comic shops everywhere for $2.95.