The Quitter

Harvey Pekar and Dean Haspiel collaborated on this 2005 DC Comics graphic novel, a single-issue autobiographical work that predates Pekar’s American Splendor fame. It explores the author’s troubled youth in Cleveland, focusing on his pattern of quitting—from school to jobs to relationships—and his struggle to find his voice. A raw, intimate character study, it stands as a key example of Pekar’s unflinching, self-critical storytelling outside his usual anthology format.