Writer Joyce Brabner passes away at age 72

Joyce Brabner, a pioneering non fiction comics writer and the co-star of Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor Comics, has passed away at age 72, the Beat has learned. Brabner had been in treatment for cancer, and had been talking about her slow recovery on her Facebook page. Her death was confirmed via her daughter, Danielle Batone, who relayed it to Jeff Newelt editor of The Pekar Project and CLEVELAND. 

Born in 1952, Brabner had read comics as a child and participated in fandom adjacent activities while working in the non profit space. She met Harvey Pekar on a lark….within three dates the two were married. 

American Splendor was a ruthlessly honest autobiographical comic about Pekar’s mundane life as a filing clark at the VA, drawn by various artists, and Brabner soon became a main character in the strip and co-writing Our Cancer Year, an account of Pekar’s own battle with lymphoma drawn by Frank Stack. She was portrayed by Hope Davis is the much admired 2003 film American Splendor, appearing as herself and enjoying a publicity tour that saw Pekar recognized as an important author beyond comics. 

While Brabner became a huge part of the behind of scenes of American Splendor, she also wrote several notable non-fiction comics, including Real War Stories, an anthology of stories by Brian Bolland and Denny O’Neill among others, in conjunction with the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors and Citizen Soldier.

Brabner’s most important work was 1989’s Brought to Light, a collaboration with Alan Moore and artist Bill Sienkiewicz, which investigated the CIA’s involvement in the Iran–Contra affair, produced in collaboration with the Christic Institute. The work won several awards and caused much controversy when published. 

Following Pekar’s death in 2010, Brabner continued to represent his legacy, and work on comics projects, including contributions to Strip AIDS, Animal Rights Comics, and the anthology The Beats. Her 2014 Second Avenue Caper: When Goodfellas, Divas, and Dealers Plotted Against the Plague, illustrated by Mark Zingarelli, won the Lambda Literary Award for “LGBT Graphic Novel.”

Brabner was as much a character in her own right as Pekar, as all who knew her will attest, caustic but also kind hearted, and above all a crusader for the truth.  Her wit and writing skill was on display on her Facebook page where she wrote about her own battle with cancer. In her last posting:

 (Again) Uh…. What just happened? I didn’t see anything that looked particularly ominous when I read my latest scan report. But what do I know? I walked in to the jolly oncologist’s office and was flooded with compliments.

“Doesn’t she look good?!?” It’s the lipstick. For some reason I decided to wear a bit of lipstick.

“What we’re measuring now is scar tissue.”

Sure, fine. You do you and I’ll do me.

“There’s no more tumor left to measure.”

Interesting. I wonder what we’re going to do next.

“There’s no more tumor.”

Well, that sounds promising. I knew I was doing pretty well. I must be doing OK. I wonder how long this is going to take to get over.

“You are cured.”

No… What?

“Do you mean NED? No Evidence of Disease?” NED is the holy grail of cancer patients. We spend all our time in treatment chasing the elusive NED.

I go into a sort of shock. I was expecting another “keep up the good work,” examination. There’s a 20% chance this disease will return in the next 5 years. An 80% chance that it won’t. I’m old. I have a heart to repair and a twisted, crumbled spine to manage. And I have to figure out this whole blind lady who sees the world as a funhouse and walks sideways thing.

Brabner was a true original in every sense of the word, and The Beat send our condolences to her family and friends.