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In the past year, numerous films based on comic books including “Hulk” and “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” have been produced in hopes of achieving the box office success of other comic book-based films “Batman” and “Spider-Man.” As movie studios vie for the opportunity to adapt another comic book for the big screen, along comes “American Splendor.”

But “American Splendor” is the antithesis to the big-budgeted, effects-driven comic book films of the past. The film recounts the uncommon life of Harvey Pekar, a file clerk in a Cleveland V.A. hospital who writes about his own everyday moments in his infamous comic book series of the same title.

Over the years, Pekar’s ability to capture the mundane nature of everyday life brought about a cult fame that would eventually lead to a plethora of appearances on “Late Night with David Letterman” and a stage adaptation of “American Splendor.” Despite his paltry notoriety, Pekar continued to document his simple, everyday life in his comic books.

Similar to the manner in which Pekar chronicles real stories about real people in his comic books, filmmakers Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman were compelled to tell the story of Pekar and make a film as unique and unconventional as Pekar himself. 

“There are all these different perspectives of this one guy which became how we approached this story,” says co-director Pulcini. “Why not make a film that can be as interesting in form as the comic books are?”

In order to capture the eccentric and sometimes erratic nature of Pekar’s daily misgivings, the filmmakers decided to integrate the real Harvey Pekar into the film through short documentary moments.

“We believed Harvey’s indelible persona would add texture to the film,” adds Berman. “We wanted to do something with the narrative film with the real Harvey Pekar and the real people popping in, commenting and debunking the story.”

“American Splendor” was originally designed as a film to be broadcast on HBO, but when the film premiered in competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, it won the Grand Jury Prize, which simultaneously led to its theatrical release.

“We thought this was going to be a tough film to sell to Hollywood,” suggests Berman. “When the film got the incredible response at Sundance, there were many people putting offers for the movie.” 

The success of the film at Sundance and other festivals like Cannes along with its subsequent theatrical release surprised everyone involved with the film, but especially Berman and Pulcini. The two writers/directors, who had previously garnered little attention for their documentaries, were unaccustomed to the overwhelming response.

“It’s amazing, the life that the film has taken so far,” says Pulcini. “We thought we were making a film that no one would ever see.”

Berman and Pulcini claim they are filmmakers that only concern themselves with the artistic nature of filmmaking, not the business end.

“It’s such a low budget film,” comments Berman. “We don’t have to worry about what ‘Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle’ has to worry about because our budget was the cost of Cameron Diaz’s hairdresser. Bringing ‘American Splendor’ to life turned out to be an adventure we’ll never forget.”