Research Prompt: What about Harvey Pekar's music and book criticism?

I usually swim a mile a day for exercise, and think deep (hah!) thoughts about comics during that time. I would usually call John on the way home from the pool with a new idea for IJOCA - much to his amusement. Here's the last one that I never got around to sending to him...

This one is more in the way of a personal wish list. Years ago, when I compiled the interview book Harvey Pekar: Conversations, a lot of what I found by Harvey was actually book and music reviews that he'd written for a wide variety of publications. Harvey was an autodidact, and did an impressive amount of reviewing, presumably for his interest, but knowing him, also for the money and the free publication. At the time, I had the idea that I would go back and propose a collection to him and his wife Joyce Brabner. They both passed away and many years have gone by and I still haven't done it. At the very least I think a bibliography of them would be an of interest. 

However an edited collection would be even more useful, and one could get at least a conference paper and a journal article out of it before compiling them into the book. I'm pretty sure the University Press of Mississippi would publish this. Does anybody know who holds the rights to Harvey's estate now? 

Here's some samples:

  Pekar, Harvey. 1987. Elegant Nightmares; The Pearlkillers by Rachel Ingalls [book review]. Washington Post Book World (September 6): 6  

  Pekar, Harvey. 1988. Melancholy Biely [The Dramatic Symphony and the Forms of Art by Andrei Biely book review]. Village Voice (February 2): 62
 
  Pekar, Harvey. 1997. Joyce on a Mission: Samuel Ornitz--novelist and blacklisted screenwriter--was an unsung pioneer of stream of consciousness [not comics related]. Metro (August 14): http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/08.14.97/cover/lit6-9733.html

Remembering John Lent, part 12: An Argentine Eulogy for John Lent

 ENGLISH VERSION

We were fortunate enough to meet John Lent in 2014, in Buenos Aires. It was during the third “Viñetas Serias” International Conference, and we were part of the organizing team. John delivered one of the keynote lectures, and it was a pleasure to hear him speak about important yet little-known episodes in the history of comics. The lecture focused on the relationships and histories of Brazilian and American comics, and he delivered it alongside Waldomiro Vergueiro. There, in that choice of topic and that title, John’s unique approach to comics research shone through: there were no barriers or traditions that were more valid than others. The entire vast world of comics production was the subject of research. Often, for researchers of us from Latin America, it is painfully evident that the world of comics studies is divided into three major areas: the United States, with its insularity and the sense that the only valid work comes from there; Europe, with its good intentions and its frequent paternalism that sometimes crosses the line into extractivism; and Latin America, with its tradition of collaboration and its precariousness. To gain entry into the United States or Europe, you have to speak their language and, to a greater or lesser extent, adopt their themes and “act like a Latin American.” But rarely will the doors of universities and publishers that publish comic studies open to a Latin American scholar working from Latin America on equal terms. We have the rejection letters to prove it. But not for John: for John, having good ideas and presenting them clearly—and for him to like them—was enough to earn a spot in the International Journal of Comic Art. And for John, the fact that good comics were being created anywhere in the world was reason enough to travel there and try to understand and learn what made them unique.

The conversations continued afterward, in the hallways or in restaurants somewhere in Buenos Aires. At the closing dinner, John was approached by an Argentine cartoonist we’d invited to paint a mural, who was notoriously drunk. Who knows what he was saying to him in his slurred speech. But John smiled kindly and tried to connect with him genuinely. We stayed in touch, as he was always generous enough to open the doors of the IJOCA to us, where we’ve published several articles. It was always exciting to receive that hefty volume, the IJOCA, in the mail and see our names there, alongside so many people from different parts of the world, as part of the same community. For many, perhaps, the fact that the IJOCA wasn’t peer-reviewed or indexed detracted from its value. For us, it was an honor to feel part of the global history of comics studies.

The last time we saw him was at a virtual conference during our stay at the University of Siegen’s Summer School. It was nice to see John’s kind, fatherly face on a giant screen. He was smiling and greeting us, recalling some of us whom he had met before. We don’t remember much of the specific content of the talk, other than its tone and a piece of advice. The tone was emotional. We were moved to see someone we considered an eminent figure taking the time to essentially encourage us, urging us to keep writing and researching, even if we weren’t always taken seriously in the academic circles of our respective countries. The advice was tied to this attitude: if it doesn’t exist, build it. If you have nowhere to publish, invent it. If there are no research groups on comics at your university, start one.

We weren’t aware of John’s health, and that weighs on us. Recently, Mike Rhode, his co-editor at IJOCA and right-hand man in recent years, compiled fake abstracts for an issue of the Intergalactic Journal of Comic Arts to mark John’s 90th birthday. We saw it but never got around to submitting anything, overwhelmed by the demands of work and life. It would have been a lovely gift to make him laugh with some silly nonsense. But that’s life—it doesn’t spare us any regrets. We weren’t his friends, nor were we his disciples, but it was comforting to think of him existing, like a guardian spirit, beyond the empty institutional framework and the scrolls for the conceited.

It is one of those moments when one wonders if one should have written sooner, even if only for a brief and friendly exchange. We are comforted to know that he was able to see his family before passing away and that he will live on in our memories, anecdotes, and conversations. But above all, he will remain alive as long as we keep active the field of study that he, along with so many others, helped to found and sustain.

Pablo Turnes and Amadeo Gandolfo 

VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL

Tuvimos la fortuna de conocer a John Lent en 2014, en Buenos Aires. Fue durante el tercer Congreso Internacional Viñetas Serias y formábamos parte de la organización. John dio una de las conferencias principales y fue un placer escuchar de él escenas importantes y desconocidas de la historia del cómic. La conferencia trataba sobre las relaciones e historias de la historieta brasileña y norteamericana y la dio junto con Waldomiro Vergueiro. Ahí, en esa selección de tema y en ese título, se traslucía la particular forma de encarar la investigación en historieta de John: no había barreras ni tradiciones que fuesen más válidas que otras. Todo el inmenso mundo de la producción historietística era objeto de investigación. A menudo, a los investigadores que venimos de Latinoamérica nos resulta dolorosamente evidente que el mundo de los comics studies está dividido en tres grandes áreas: Estados Unidos, con su insularidad y la sensación de que lo único válido viene de ahí; Europa, con sus buenas intenciones y su frecuente paternalismo que a veces cruza la barrera hacia el extractivismo; y Latinoamérica, con su tradición asociativa y su precariedad. Para entrar en Estados Unidos o Europa tenés que hablar su idioma y adoptar, en mayor o menor medida, sus temas y “actuar de latinoamericano”. Pero rara vez, para un académico latino que trabaja desde Latinoamérica, se le abrirán las puertas de las universidades y de las editoriales que publican líneas de comics studies en condiciones de igualdad. Tenemos las cartas de rechazo para probarlo. Pero no para John: para John, tener buenas ideas y exponerlas claramente —y que le gustaran— bastaba para obtener un lugar en el International Journal of Comic Art. Y para John, que se creasen buenos cómics en cualquier parte del mundo era motivo suficiente para viajar ahí e intentar entender y aprender qué los hacía únicos.

Las conversaciones siguieron después, en los pasillos o en restaurantes de algún lugar de Buenos Aires. En la cena de cierre, a John se le pegó un dibujante argentino que habíamos invitado a pintar un mural y que estaba notoriamente copeteado. Quién sabe qué le decía en su media lengua. Pero John sonreía amablemente e intentaba conectar de forma genuina. Nos mantuvimos en contacto, ya que siempre fue lo suficientemente generoso para abrirnos las puertas del IJOCA, donde hemos publicado varios artículos. Siempre era emocionante ver llegar por correo ese libraco que es el IJOCA y ver que nuestros nombres estuvieran ahí, junto con tanta gente de diferentes lugares del mundo, formando parte de la misma comunidad. Para muchos, quizás, que IJOCA no tuviese referato o estuviese indexado le bajaba el precio. Para nosotros fue un honor sentirnos parte de la historia mundial de los estudios de cómic. 

La última vez que lo vimos fue en una keynote virtual durante nuestra estadía en la Summer School de la Universidad de Siegen. Fue bueno ver el amable y santaclausense rostro de John en una proyección gigante. Él sonreía y nos saludaba, acordándose de algunos de nosotros a quienes había conocido previamente. No recordamos mucho de la sustancia concreta de la charla, más que una tonalidad y un consejo. La tonalidad era emotiva. A nosotros nos conmovió ver a aquel que considerábamos una eminencia tomándose el tiempo para, básicamente, darnos ánimos, recomendarnos que siguiésemos escribiendo e investigando, aunque a veces no se nos tomase en serio en los ambientes académicos de nuestros respectivos países. El consejo estaba atado a esta actitud: si no existe, constrúyanlo. Si no tienen dónde publicar, invéntenlo. Si no hay grupos de investigación sobre historieta en su universidad, créenlo. 

No estábamos al tanto de la salud de John, y eso nos pesa. Hace poco tiempo, Mike Rhode, su coeditor en IJOCA y mano derecha en los últimos años, recopiló abstracts falsos para una edición del Intergalactic Journal of Comic Arts con motivo del 90.º aniversario de John. Lo vimos y no llegamos a enviar nada, abrumados por las demandas del trabajo y la vida. Hubiese sido un hermoso regalo hacerlo reír con alguna absurdidad. Pero así es la vida: que no nos mezquinen los arrepentimientos. No fuimos sus amigos ni sus discípulos, pero era confortante pensarlo existiendo, como un numen tutelar, más allá de la institucionalidad vacía y de los pergaminos para los engreídos. 

Es uno de esos momentos en los que uno se pregunta si no debiera haber escrito antes, siquiera para un intercambio breve y amable. Nos alivia saber que pudo ver a su familia antes de fallecer y que vivirá en nuestros recuerdos, anécdotas y conversaciones. Pero, sobre todo, estará vivo mientras mantengamos activo el campo de estudios que él, junto a tantas personas, ayudó a fundar y sostener.     

Pablo Turnes y Amadeo Gandolfo 

Remembering John Lent, part 11: Mechademia and ICAF

Left is Wendy Goldberg, right is Frenchy Lunning. They first met John in 1994 at PCA, and John gave them their first chance to write about manga and anime. They just saw John in March this year again at PCA.

This is something they wrote some years back for another event: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285446199_Dedication_to_Dr_John_A_Lent

I am on the steering comm with Frenchy and Wendy. The next issue of Mechademia will be dedicated to John. 

ct lim 

------------------------

Here is ICAF's memorial to John, which has tributes from ICAF's previous Lent scholarship recipients: 

http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org/lent-memorial.html

Justin Wingard

Remembering John Lent, part 10: Chinese caricatures and RING's Latin American scholars tribute

  A professor emeritus at Temple, John was a pioneer of comics scholarship and a prolific scholar (since the 1970s) particularly of Asian comics and culture –he solicited my first journal article after seeing my conference presentation. This was a huge blow to my scholarly community. John was a friend and though his death (at the age of 89) was not completely unexpected, I feel like many comics scholars of my generation thought he was immortal.

 Mark C. Rogers

 Professor; Chair, Division of Communication, Media and The Arts, Walsh University

------------------------- 

 

Two caricatures of John by Chinese cartoonists - the yellow one by Ma Jiong and the black and white by Cai Weidong

 

 --------------------

reprinted with permission 

19 mayo, 2026

Lamentamos el fallecimiento de John A. Lent

Como miembros de la comunidad global de los estudios de cómic, RING lamenta profundamente la partida del académico John Lent, quien fuera pionero en formalizar nuestro campo de estudio y editar una de las revistas académicas más relevantes a nivel mundial. Quienes alguna vez publicamos en su International Journal of Comic Art, valoramos profundamente la mirada internacional e intercultural con que el Dr. Lent dirigió esta revista. Fueran sobre historieta o quadrinho, e incluso escritas en nuestras lenguas madres, nuestras investigaciones fueron acogidas y valoradas en aquel espacio único.

Visitó la Universidad de Buenos Aires el año 2014, exponiendo en el III Congreso Internacional Viñetas Serias. También algunos compartimos con él virtualmente en la escuela de verano Transnational Graphic Narratives de la Universität Siegen el año 2017. Más tarde visitó Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile en 2019, en el marco de una gira por latinoamérica que lo llevó a ciudades como Santiago, Lima, Montevideo y Córdoba.

Los que pudimos interactuar con el Dr. Lent recordamos su gran generosidad intelectual y sincero entusiasmo por crear conexiones entre los estudiosos del cómic. Su promoción de las voces investigadoras de todas partes, sin discriminar por su origen o etapa formativa, irradió en la creación de redes como la nuestra. Su firme defensa de los estudios de cómic sembró los proyectos, currículos, financiamientos y trabajos con que muchos contamos hoy en día. También recordamos su fomento de los estudios de cómic más allá de la institucionalidad, con humor y enérgica rebeldía. Todo esto y más reconocemos en su figura.

John A. Lent falleció el 16 de mayo tras sufrir una caída en su hogar. Xu Ying, su viuda, comentó que habría estado consciente y en contacto con su familia durante su estadía en el hospital, pero su salud tuvo un deterioro del que no logró recuperarse. El Dr. Lent estaba cercano a cumplir 90 años y tenía dos libros en etapas finales para publicación, además de un nuevo número de IJOCA.

Leer más en el blog de IJOCA

Rendimos honores especialmente de parte de sus alumni IJOCA, Camila Gutiérrez; Hugo Hinojosa; Ivan Lima Gomes; Jorge Montealegre; Amadeo Gandolfo; Pablo Turnes; Laura Nallely Hernández Nieto; y Martín Alejandro Salinas.

 

Remembering John Lent, part 9: Michelle A. Amazeen and his academic biography

Two pieces discussing John's professional life and history are posted today. "Remembering comics scholar John A. Lent, 1936-2026", Bart Beaty, TCJ May 26, 2026  https://www.tcj.com/remembering-comics-scholar-john-a-lent-1936-2026/ and Dr. Amazeen's work below. Also online is another article from China sent in by his wife Xu Ying - https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1tj4a0ybt-GpGw2kcn_y4Q - which is from earlier this year, and shows John Lent’s New Years gift painted by cartoonist Cai Weidong.

--------------------------

I last saw John on March 12, 2026 when I was in Philadelphia for a book talk. We had lunch, for which he insisted on paying. Although he walked with a cane, his mind was as sharp as ever. I was shocked to learn the news of his passing when I was visiting Janet Wasko in Eugene, Oregon last week.

John was born into a coal mining family in a small western Pennsylvania town. He worked as a gas station attendant, bar tender, and factory guard. While working in that factory, he won a college scholarship that paid for his tuition and provided a consistent summer job, changing the trajectory of his life. Yet, John never forgot where he came from. He kept a photo on his desk of the outhouse from his childhood home to remind him of his roots.

His first book was about the poor relations the Newhouse publishing empire had with its labor unions. While it cost him his PhD he was pursuing at Syracuse University (he later finished his PhD at University of Iowa), it exemplified the concern he had with media institutions, ownership, and power imbalances; an interest that would persist throughout his career. He was troubled by who was benefitting from institutional structures (generally not the little guy) and dedicated his life to critical communication scholarship: scrutinizing the prevailing communication institutions – their operations and outputs – analyzing their strengths and problems, with the goal of identifying practices and policies that prioritize the public good over corporate interests.

John was a member of my dissertation committee in 2012. We wound up collaborating on the sequel to his 1995 book, A Different Road Taken: Profiles in CriticalCommunication. The new volume, Key Thinkers in Critical Communication Scholarship: From the Pioneers to the Next Generation, was published in 2015. We included a chapter profiling his life and career as a critical communication scholar. His biographical sketch from our book is copied below. I am making available the full chapter about John Lent here.

May he rest in peace.

Michelle A. Amazeen | May 26, 2026

 

 ######

John A. Lent taught at the college/university level for 51 years, beginning in 1960, including stints as the organizer of the first journalism courses at De La Salle College in Manila (1964–1965); founder and coordinator of the first mass communications program in Malaysia at Universiti Sains Malaysia (1972–1974); Rogers Distinguished Chair at University of Western Ontario (2000); visiting professor at Shanghai University, Communication University of China, Jilin College of the Arts Animation School, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In the United States he taught in West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, before joining the Temple University faculty, where he was full professor from 1976 to 2011. He has lectured, often as keynote speaker, at universities, conferences, and other meetings in 63 countries. In his adult life he has also worked as a factory guard and printer in Pennsylvania, a gas station attendant in Wyoming, and supervisor of an archeological excavation in Canada.

Lent received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Ohio University in 1958 and 1960, respectively, and a PhD in communications from the University of Iowa in 1972. He has also studied formally at Syracuse University, Guadalajara Summer School in Mexico, the University of Oslo, Sophia University in Tokyo, and India.

In his research, Lent has endeavored to be independent, comprehensive, socially relevant, and critical (the latter on issues such as cultural imperialism, media ownership, press freedom, women and media, New International Information Order, the impact of new information technology, the transnationalization of communication, and the transfer of conventional social science theory and methodologies to the Third World). He thinks of himself as a research “gap filler,” studying areas that are devoid of research and stimulating others to pursue those topics. Thus Lent has pioneered the study of mass communication and popular culture in Asia, since 1964, and the Caribbean, since 1968, comic art and animation, and development communication. Among the 78 books and monographs he has authored or edited are the first books on Asian newspapers, Asian broadcasting, Asian film, Asian popular culture, Asian animation, Asian comics, Asian cartooning, Caribbean mass communications, Caribbean popular culture, African cartooning, Latin American cartooning, and publisher S. I. Newhouse. Lent also compiled the earliest bibliographies on Asian mass communications (two volumes), comic art (ten volumes), women and mass communications (two volumes), and Caribbean mass communications (two volumes). He has also authored about 200 book chapters and entries, and at least 900 articles and book reviews.

Lent’s gap-filling is reflected in the number of associations, groups, and journals that he has founded, and then presided over, published, and edited. Among these are Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei Studies Group of Association for Asian Studies (chair, 1976–1982), Berita (editor, 1975–2001), Comic Art Working Group of IAMCR (chair, 1984– present), Witty World International Cartoon Magazine (managing editor, 1986–2001), Asian Cinema Studies Society (chair, 1994–2012), Asian Cinema (publisher-editor, 1994–2012), International Journal of Comic Art (publisher-editor, 1999–present), Asian Popular Culture section of Popular Culture Association (chair, 1995–present), Asian Research Center for Animation and Comic Art (chair, 2006), Asian Youth Animation and Comics Competition (co-organizer, 2007–present), and Asia-Pacific Animation and Comics Association (2008–present).

Among his other professional activities, Lent has been a consultant to different educational and governmental groups, has served on international cartoon and animation competition juries in the United States (Pulitzer Prize, two years), Korea, Cuba, Cyprus, Slovakia, Poland, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, Ukraine, Mexico, Serbia, Kenya, Italy, Iran, China, and elsewhere, and has been a member of many association and editorial boards, including the Popular Culture Association, Comics Journal, Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, Crossroads, Human Rights Quarterly, Jurnal Komunikasi, Asian Thought and Society, FECO News, Americana, Cartoonists Rights Network International, ImageText: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies, Feng Zikai Research Institute, Media Asia, Asian Mass Communication and Information Research Center, Bucheon Cartoon Information Center Library, Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival, Mechademia, and others.

Lent’s awards include a Fulbright scholarship; induction into the top honorary societies in English, journalism, and history; scholarships/awards in his name in the Popular Culture Association, International Comic Arts Forum, and Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei Studies Group; a festischrift; the first lifetime achievement award of the Asian Media and Information Centre (Singapore; Premio John Buscema Amarel Cómic Award, Spain; Popular Culture Association Presidents’ Award; Calicomix Diplome de Honor, Colombia; and others.

Remembering John Lent, part 8

John A. Lent with his book Asian Comics (2015) at the Art and Design International Conference (AnDIC) in Malaysia in 2016.  

 

 Thank you John Lent

 ”Thank you very much, Muliyadi.  With that amount, I have to stay alive for five more years.  [...] I appreciate your loyalty and friendship.  John”. 

Those were the words of John A. Lent in an email sent to me on Thursday June 24, 2021 at 12.20 am, after receiving a remittance of USD300 from me as payment to continue the subscription to the International Journal of Comic Art (IJOCA) which was founded and published by him.  Unexpectedly, his words came true when he passed away on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at the age of 90.

In 1991, two Mass Communication lecturers of Mara Institute of Technology (ITM) namely, Sankaran Ramanathan and Mohd. Hamdan Adnan introduced me to John Lent who was visiting Malaysia.  It was one of the most important moments in my journey as a lecturer and researcher of comics and cartoons as the friendship with John Lent paved a way for me to global cartoons and actively being involved in research on the art form.

In 1997, while doing my PhD research entitled Malay Editorial Cartoons: The Development of Style and Critical Humour at the Cartoon and Caricature Studies Centre, University of Kent, at Canterbury, in the United Kingdom, John Lent invited me to contribute an essay on “The History of Malaysian Editorial Cartoons” to the Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science (National University of Singapore, Vol.25 No. 1 1997) that he was editing, focusing on the subject of Cartooning and Comic Art in Southeast Asia.  John Lent’s invitation gave me an opportunity and a platform to publish the early findings of my research.   

That invitation was the beginning of many other projects and collaborations with him, including the book entitled Animation in Asia and the Pacific (London: John Libbey, 2001), the Society of Animation Studies conference in Australia (1999), essays in the International Journal of Comic Art (IJOCA), the book entitled Transnationalism in East and Southeast Asian Comics Art (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022 edited by him, Wendy Siuyi Wong and Benjamin Wai-ming Ng) and many more.  John Lent was a great supporter of my career and I am enormously indebted to him.

In 2016, while still teaching at the Faculty of Art and Design, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), as the Chairman of the Art and Design International Conference (AnDIC) organized by the faculty, we were able to to invite John Lent to deliver the keynote at the conference entitled ”Cyberology Relative to Themes and Issues of an Art Form Upstart-Comic Art” at the Concorde Hotel in Shah Alam, Malaysia on October 10, 2016.  It was indeed an honour to me and the faculty that he had agreed to come to the event as well as meeting with some local comic artists and cartoonists.    

John Lent was a role model who continously encouraged and inspired me to write and research.  His works have always been references for me as well as for my students, especially those who are doing research in visual culture, comics and cartoons.  He inspired us on the potential and the future of comics and cartoons as an art form as well as a field of study. 

John Lent was a very reverend and humble person who was very approachable especially in discussing academic matters related to comic art, the world of cartooning and media studies. He was a role model and inspiration for others. His passing is a loss to the world of comics and cartoons and his contributions to the field of study will always be remembered.  Thank you John!

 I send sincere condolences to his family and friends.

 Muliyadi Mahamood

Former Professor of Cartoon Studies

Faculty of Art and Design

Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)

MALAYSIA.

 

John A. Lent

To:  me · Thu, 24 Jun 2021 at 12:20 am

Message Body

Thank you very much, Muliyadi. With that amount,

I have to stay alive for five more years. 😏I will

change your address.

I appreciate your loyalty and friendship. John

 

669 Ferne Blvd.

Drexel Hill, PA, 19026 USA
http://www.ijoca.net/

 A copy of an email sent by John Lent to me on Jun 24, 2021. 

John Lent with me while visiting an exhibition of Malaysian cartoons at the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2012.

 

John Lent with me and some other Asian comic scholars, from left Lim Cheng Tju (Singapore), Karl Ian Cheng Chua (The Philippines) and Hikmat Darmawan (Indonesia) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2018.

 ----------------------------------

 I was fortunate enough to know and work with John for only a short period of time, but it was something I will always consider a significant honor. As a new comics scholar, the work he did in the comics world felt almost mythic. However, even more special was the fact that he had the rare quality of genuinely embodying that myth up close as well as from a distance. I have no doubt that he will be missed and remembered as long as we continue to study comics. 

 Grace Wright Hulme

Grace updated IJOCA's index for its 25th anniversary 

------------

"Blistering blue bibliographies! What's wrong with this engine?!?" On back roads in Africa, John Lent generally used a modified engine and gapped his spark plugs slighly smaller to prevent spark blowout under high cylinder pressures.

 Car Tuning in Africa - the lost InterGalactic Journal of Comic Art page by Gene Kannenberg Jr, Rusty Witek and Darko Macan.