Peter Bagge (pronounced /bag/) (born December 11, 1957) is a US comics artist and creator of Buddy Bradley, Hate, Neat Stuff, Martini Baton, and Sweatshop. His stories often use black humor and exaggeratedly "cartoonish" art and dramatize the reduced expectations of middle-class Americans, especially youth. Hate became quite popular during the '90s, during the era when it was set in Seattle and offered dark commentary on the grunge scene and Generation X. Eventually Bagge moved the action to suburban New Jersey, a decision that was controversial with some fans. Bagge also brought aboard other artists to color and ink some of his Hate strips, a move that brought him some criticism and accusations of being a "sell-out" from the punk and small-press community. Bagge has generally shrugged off such accusations.

Bagge spent years trying to get Hate turned into a TV series, but while a pilot was shown to focus groups, the response was not good and the project was never aired. In recent years Bagge has focused less on Buddy Bradley, the star of Hate, and concentrated more on political and social commentary. He has published many pieces online (on sites like suck.com) and he had a regular strip about Bat Boy in the pages of The Weekly World News. He currently has an ongoing comic series called Apocalypse Nerd, about two average, urban males dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear attack on the Pacific Northwest. He now publishes Hate semi-annually, and the book no longer features the work of other artists.

Overview

Peter Bagge was born in 1957 in Peekskill, New York.

Bagge briefly attended the School of Visual Arts in New York in the mid-1970s.

From 1983 to 1986, Bagge edited Weirdo magazine, while cartooning Neat Stuff, a wild miscellany that introduced such memorable characters as Girly-Girl, Junior, Studs Kirby, The Bradleys, and Buddy Bradley.

Bagge's most well-known comic series is Hate, a best-seller in the modest alternative comics market. Hate was also popular among grunge rock fans, perhaps because it satirized their "alternative" culture.

Bagge's recent Sweatshop, published by DC Comics, was produced, unlike early issues of Hate, with the help of a team. Some critics believe the results were too "mainstream" and less "edgy".

Bagge began the 6-part series Apocalypse Nerd in 2005; three issues have been published as of 2006.

Peter Bagge lives in Seattle. He also contributes articles and illustrations to Reason, and MAD Magazine, as well as the Weekly World News with "Adventures of Batboy".

External links

• Peter Bagge.com - Official Peter Bagge's Hate (and other Neat Stuff) website
• Interview with Peter Bagge - Interview with Peter Bagge on twohandedman.com.

American comics artists | American comics writers | Underground cartoonists | Spider-Man artists | Seattleites | Libertarians | 1957 births | Living people

Peter Bagge | Peter Bagge | Peter Bagge