2017 Comic Challenge 304 Buddy Does Seattle

TITLE-Buddy does Seattle
PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics

Got this collection of the first half of Hate for X-mas. Sure I own all the issues in their original form. But it is so much easier to grab this trade off the shelf than digging thru my many longboxes to find all the issues.

Anyways it starts off with Buddy catching us up to date as to what has happened to him and Stinky since Neat Stuff ended.And from there we get all kinds of wacky stuff. Like Buddy's various attempts at having a steady girlfriend. Or the short time that Buddy manages Seattle's hottest band Leonard and the LoveGods.Finally in the last issue Buddy has too much and packs up his stuff and heads back to New Jersey,but of course he has his lady Lisa coming with him.

Peter Bagge managed to capture how it was to be a late teen/early 20 year old in the early to mid 90s.Having no idea what you want to do with your life,but knowing you gotta do something.

Buddy does Seattle gets a BUY!

2016 Comic Challenge 279 Hate #12

TITLE-Hate #12
PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics Books

Yeah I know should have done this issue before the last review. But they were not in order in my comic box.

In this issue Buddy and Lisa,his crazy girlfriend,decide to buy a table at a convention. And we get Bagge's satire and loving tribute to 90s comic cons. Back before they got invaded by pop culture people and it was 30 bucks to take a pic with your own camera.

The main plot is Buddy trying to get Lisa to use her status as female at a con to sell more stuff. And well since it is Lisa it doesn't work. Then Buddy runs into his nemesis Yahtze,yeah that is the guy's nickname. Yahtze is your normal early 90s bootleg VHS dealer at a con. Piles and piles of horror and cult movies that at the time hadn't gotten a legit release on any home media. So why Yahtze and Buddy are trying to show how macho they are Lisa sneaks over and steals a few shopping bags full of Yahtze's more than likely over priced tapes.  Of course once Buddy and his lady get home they settle down to watch some of these tapes,when Yahtze shows up demanding money. Lisa grabs a bat and lets her inner crazy out and in the process destroys all the tapes. So Yahtze leaves,swearing revenge,and Buddy is bummed out. Until they find that one tape didn't get destroyed so they lay down on the mattress on the floor to watch some old 60s movie.

Bagge as you can tell had been to many cons. And gets all the great parts and all the crappy parts exactly right.

Hate #12 gets a Buy!

2016 Comic Challenge 278 Hate #13

TITLE-Hate #13
PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics Books

Ahhhh Hate,the perfect 90s indy comic.Peter Bagge,who wrote and drew Hate,had a way of being about 2 years ahead of mainstream pop culture back then. And being in my teens then early 20s during the 30 issue run of this title I was the perfect audience for Bagge's extremely funny and somethings thought provoking series.

On the cover we got the lead,Buddy Bradley,as a voodoo doll. And the guy holding the doll is Buddy's ex-roommate George Cecil Hamilton the Third.Who if I recall correctly hadn't appeared in Hate in at least a year or two,at the time Hate came out 4 to 5 times a year.

Buddy learns that George has kind of slandered Buddy in the newest issue of his zine. So Buddy tracks him down to find out why. And learns that George is now living with a wealthy woman. Who takes care of George and pays to publish his zine.

Now I know that Hate is very much linked to the decade it came out in. I wonder sometimes how much appeal it would have to someone who didn't live thru the late 80s thru the 90s. I am sure lots of the jokes and references will go over anyone who wasn't around then's head.

Hate #13 gets a Buy!

2016 Comic Challenge 035 Hate Jamboree

TITLE-Hate Jamboree!
PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics

I started reading Hate around issue 3. Before that I had read a few issues of Peter Bagge's Neat Stuff. And Hate took my favorite character from Neat Stuff,Buddy Bradley, and moved him from suburban New Jersey to downtown Seattle.

After 30 issues Mr Bagge was ready to end Hate. And Hate Jamboree came out about a month after Hate ended. It is packed with interviews with pretty much everyone who worked on Hate. And goes into lots of detail on how and why Peter Bagge created Buddy and then decided to move him to Seattle.

The interviews are great. But my favorite part of this comic is all the hard to find artwork and comics it reprints. Peter Bagge did lots of stuff from various indy music magazines. And also did some work for various porno magazines.

Now if you have never read Hate this comic I would think would have no interest for ya. But if you are a Hate fan or a fan of Mr Bagge this is a great read.

Really the only bad part of this comic is it is slightly taller than a normal comic. So storing it is a bit of a hassle. Plus the cover is made out of really cheap paper. It feels a bit like newsprint.If you are one of those comic fans that has to have everything in mint ...well finding this issue in mint condition might be a bit hard to do.

Hate Jamboree gets a BUY!But only if you are a Hate/Bagge fan.