Having made his name by turning the mundane details of his life into the stuff of American Splendor, Harvey Pekar is setting his sights on stories told by others, beginning with his new book, Ego & Hubris. Our antihero is a (real) blogger who goes by the name of Michael Malice and who holds quite an opinion of himself. It was Malice’s boasts about his IQ that piqued Pekar’s interest. “To me, IQ doesn’t mean that much,” Pekar says. “I thought, Well, let’s see what you’ve accomplished.” Malice, 30, turns out to be your basic New York smart-ass. “I’d say Michael is reminiscent of other New Yorkers,” says the Cleveland-based Pekar. Malice has a knack for alienating friends and family, and for getting fired (most recently from the blog Overheard in New York—whose owner told Gawker that Malice threatened to start a copycat site if not given creative control). Yet there’s something about Malice’s disregard for social norms that you can’t help but admire. “He’s got his unique sense of values,” says Pekar. “To be an Ayn Rand follower these days—it’s just him and Alan Greenspan.”

Related:

• Archive: “Book Features”
• Articles by Boris Kachka
• Table of Contents: May 8, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!

Share

• Email
• Print