Harvey Pekar, the comic book writer who created the celebrated autobiographical series American Splendor, has been found dead at the age of 70. The Cleveland native Pekar, a friend of underground comics pioneer R. Crumb, launched American Splendor: From Off the Streets of Cleveland to examine his own life and thoughts in comic book form. The series, which won the American Book Award, became a key influence on many artists and writers in expanding the scope of comics to include everyday life and the creator as a character. When he was diagnosed with cancer in 1990, he and his wife turned the illness and the treatment into a comic book, “Our Cancer Year.” He was also well-known to world audiences as a regular guest on Late Night With David Letterman, and American Splendor was turned into an award-winning film in 2003.