Sometimes a book, graphic novel or TV show is so good that you forget that you are being told a story, and you start reacting emotionally to the characters as if they were engaging with you in real life. This comic by Harvey Pekar, the creator of the award-winning American Splendour, is a case in point.
Based on a true story, this graphic novel tells the story of Michael Malice, a highly-intelligent person who moved to Brooklyn from the Ukraine while still a boy. In the ensuing years, he shows an unusual brilliance. "I have a 160 I.Q., which is four deviations about the mean (or a higher I.Q. than 99.97% of the population)," Michael smugly tells the audience. "[This] means that there are 240 people who are smarter than me in New York City."
Michael is convinced that he is smarter than everyone else. "If I were the tallest kid, it would be regarded as a mere statement of fact," he assures us. "So I'm not sure why it's regarded as arrogance when I say I was smarter than everyone."
One could respond that he consistently confuses the word "fact" with "narcissism," but this wouldn't do any good, given that Michael is absolutely convinced that he is right about everything (and he means everything), while everyone else -- whether his teachers at his Jewish school, his professors in college, or later in adult life his bosses at various temps jobs -- are wrong. He justifies his stunning arrogance and general asshole behaviour by using the following logic: a) I am smarter than everyone else; b) what I think is therefore right; c) insisting on my own moral and intellectual superiority is showing integrity.
Oh yes, the word "integrity". For Michael, a life is not worth living if you don't have integrity. That is why it's so ironic that someone as smart as Michael -- who was a spelling bee champ as a child no less -- consistently confuses being a "self-obsessed prick" with the word "integrity".
Among his particularly loathsome acts:
* His complete lack of empathy when he discovers that a friend has committed suicide and decides to use this as part of a comedy skit. "[I]f you can make people howl about suicide and brain cancer than you are talented."
* His wish that terrorists had blown up the Goldman Sachs building instead of the twin towers on 9/11, after getting angry at how he was treated during a temp job at Goldman; and
* His pleasure in getting people fired (including one woman on her birthday) while engaging in a skewed morality play in his head that is inspired by the libertarian philosophy of Ayn Rand.
Pekar's telling of Michael's life, along with the wonderful artwork of Gary Dumm, is true to its title, as this work really is the tale of a man with a huge ego and breathtaking hubris. That is why one of the most ironic passages in this graphic novel is when Michael decides to write the story of a country band called Rubber Rodeo. "You can't tell if the band is putting you on or if they think they look cool and are deluded," he muses, while looking at a picture of the band. "Who's kidding who? The viewer or the subject of the photograph?"
One could ask Michael the same question, as he consistently deludes himself into thinking that being selfish is a form of integrity, while using his libertarian politics to justify his profound sense of entitlement. I disliked this character so much I couldn't help but marvel at Pekar's incredible portrayal that garnered this reaction in me, while being impressed with the excellent artwork.
5 out 5 stars
