Harvey Pekar was a Cleveland-based, nationally renowned underground comic book writer andmusic critic. He described his work as autobiography written as it's happening. He writes, “My themes are about staying alive, getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't.”

Graphic artists and illustrators possess the ability to speak to the collective consciousness. Often the “cartoonish quality” or “playfulness” is a discipline of communication that allows those experiencing that work to delve into the depths of the darkest, most difficult themes of life’s challenges that people generally want to avoid and hide from. The artists in Illustrious Gravitas, Sequoia Bostick, Morgan Bukovec, Shyvonne Coleman, Angela Oster, Nicolas Nocera, Ben Krampitz, Wil Wilson, Justin Michael Will, Aaron Williams, Christopher Smith, and Benji Diaz allow both the artists and those experiencing their work to better cope and understand those struggles and heartaches and the war of attrition that life presents through their empathic lens.