Harvey Pekar, the creator of indie comic AMERICAN SPLENDOR, died at the age of 70, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. He was found dead by his wife Joyce Brabner in their house in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, reports the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER. He had suffered from prostate cancer, high blood pressure, asthma and clinical depression.

Until his retirement in 2001, Pekar worked as a file clerk at the Veterans Administration Hospital. In the 1970s, he met underground comics innovator Robert Crumb and the duo teamed up for AMERICAN SPLENDOR with Pekar writing and Crumb illustrating.

In the 1980s, Pekar gained wider fame through his angry and humorous tirades on David Letterman's show.

In 1990, he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, which inspired his painful and honest graphic novel OUR CANCER YEAR, which he wrote with his third wife Brabner.

In 2003, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's film AMERICAN SPLENDOR based on Pekar's comics and life was a critical and festival favorite.

His wife and Danielle Bartone, who Pekar was her guardian, survive him.