.gif)
Hate (comic)
Encyclopedia
Hate is a semi-autobiographical comic book
by writer
-artist
Peter Bagge
. First published by Fantagraphics in 1990
it ran for 30 issues, and was one of the best-selling alternative comics
of the 1990s, at its height selling 30,000 copies an issue. In 2000 Bagge revived the series in Hate Annual, a yearly comic which continues the story after Hate in short stories, in addition to Bagge's writings on Libertarianism and culture and topical cartoons.
Hate follows the life of Buddy Bradley
, in a continuation of events from Bagge's strip "The Bradleys" from former publications Neat Stuff
. It is set for the first half in Seattle
and later in suburban New Jersey
. Buddy has to deal with the end of adolescence
, reluctantly growing up, his relationships with a host of unpleasant acquaintances he has to class as friends, working in dead-end jobs and having no direction in life. Bagge used memories of events from his own life as material.
Hate has been referenced by many commentators as an important example of Generation X
comic culture and grunge
culture in general. Bagge tends to see the parallels with the grunge lifestyle
as largely coincidental, as he was referencing events that had happened to him ten years previous. The comic was also released in Europe
in the mid 90s as Spanish
and German language
editions, the Spanish Odio proving particularly popular.
it ran for 30 issues, and was one of alternative comics
best-selling titles. The series continues in Hate Annual, a yearly collection of comics stories and articles that began in 2000.
A major story and format change took place in issue #16, when Buddy moved from Seattle back home to New Jersey, at which point the comic, once in black-and-white, changed to color. Bagge has said that coloring the strip after Buddy moves in with his family was important for it not to become too depressing. With issue #16, Bagge also started using an inker
(rather unusual for an alternative comic book), Jim Blanchard.
Hates final five issues were 48-page anthologies, featuring a main Buddy Bradley story and then a series of short backup stories by cartoonists such as Rick Altergott
, Dame Darcy
, and Kevin Scalzo.
fable". Bagge managed to create archetypes which his audience identified with strongly, which contributed to the popularity of the series.
There was a great deal of interaction between fans of Hate, Bagge and the characters. In Hate#1, Bagge ran a competition
to "Win a Date With Stinky", to which many fans submitted artwork and photographs. Bagge included cartoon depictions of several of the entrants in the issues that followed.
In issue # 6, Bagge ran another contest, this time a "Buddy Bradley Look-Alike Contest" which hundreds entered. The winner was featured on the cover of issue 10. Bagge later wrote in an editorial that the winner had got in touch to tell him he was dating a woman named Valerie who was from Paris.
Peter Bagge played down the comics position in grunge
culture, saying
Bagge's birth date of 1954 also places him outside the established demographic of Generation X'ers which Hate supposedly represented.
edition of Hate, translated to Odio (which means Hatred) was published by Ediciones La Cúpola starting in 1995.Before this Odio was serialised in Spanish magazine El Víbora. According to Gual Oscar and Jose A. Serrano, Odio, taking into account population difference was comparatively more successful in Spain than its USA counterpart (10,000 copies sold per issue in Spain compared to 30,000 copies per issue for the USA.). Benet Roman writing for the 14th annual Barcelona
BCN International Comics Fair commented that "Bagge ... knows how to capture some of the spirit of our time, using that most universal, affordable and difficult to produce medium: humor."
In Germany
The first fifteen issues of Hate were translated for the German
market and published by Carlsen Comics under the title Leck Mich! (literal: lick me!, possibly most closely translates to "kiss it!" as in kiss my ass
). Later color editions of Hate were issued in 1998 by Jochen Enterprises under the title Krass/Kraß (a slang term
, meaning phat, cool or rad - its conventional meaning is crass). It ran for seven issues before Jochen ceased trading. Bagge sanctioned the creation of new Buddy stories for the German edition, by artists such as Philip Taegert and Guido Sieber. Sieber moved the characters of Buddy and Lisa from Seattle to Berlin
.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
by writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
-artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Peter Bagge
Peter Bagge
Peter Bagge is an American cartoonist. He is the creator of Buddy Bradley, Hate, Neat Stuff, Martini Baton, and Sweatshop, Apocalypse Nerd and Other Lives. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced expectations of middle-class American youth...
. First published by Fantagraphics in 1990
1990 in comics
-Year overall:Days of Future Present, the sequel to Days of Future Past, appeared in the annuals of Fantastic Four, New Mutants, X-Factor and X-Men.-January:* Dinosaurs for Hire is cancelled by Eternity Comics with issue #9....
it ran for 30 issues, and was one of the best-selling alternative comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
of the 1990s, at its height selling 30,000 copies an issue. In 2000 Bagge revived the series in Hate Annual, a yearly comic which continues the story after Hate in short stories, in addition to Bagge's writings on Libertarianism and culture and topical cartoons.
Hate follows the life of Buddy Bradley
Buddy Bradley
Harold "Buddy" William Bradley Jr. generally referred to as Buddy Bradley is a comic book character created by Peter Bagge and featured in several of his comic books, most notably Hate and Neat Stuff...
, in a continuation of events from Bagge's strip "The Bradleys" from former publications Neat Stuff
Neat Stuff
Neat Stuff is an American alternative comic book series created by Peter Bagge and published by Fantagraphics. It ran from 1985 to 1989 for sixteen issues. Each takes the form of a series of short stories featuring different sets of characters, although some issues feature full-length stories...
. It is set for the first half in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and later in suburban New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Buddy has to deal with the end of adolescence
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, reluctantly growing up, his relationships with a host of unpleasant acquaintances he has to class as friends, working in dead-end jobs and having no direction in life. Bagge used memories of events from his own life as material.
Hate has been referenced by many commentators as an important example of Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
comic culture and grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
culture in general. Bagge tends to see the parallels with the grunge lifestyle
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is a term to describe the way a person lives, which was originally coined by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929. The current broader sense of the word dates from 1961. A set of behaviors, and the senses of self and belonging which these behaviors represent, are collectively used...
as largely coincidental, as he was referencing events that had happened to him ten years previous. The comic was also released in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in the mid 90s as Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
editions, the Spanish Odio proving particularly popular.
Publication history
First published by Fantagraphics in 19901990 in comics
-Year overall:Days of Future Present, the sequel to Days of Future Past, appeared in the annuals of Fantastic Four, New Mutants, X-Factor and X-Men.-January:* Dinosaurs for Hire is cancelled by Eternity Comics with issue #9....
it ran for 30 issues, and was one of alternative comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
best-selling titles. The series continues in Hate Annual, a yearly collection of comics stories and articles that began in 2000.
A major story and format change took place in issue #16, when Buddy moved from Seattle back home to New Jersey, at which point the comic, once in black-and-white, changed to color. Bagge has said that coloring the strip after Buddy moves in with his family was important for it not to become too depressing. With issue #16, Bagge also started using an inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
(rather unusual for an alternative comic book), Jim Blanchard.
Hates final five issues were 48-page anthologies, featuring a main Buddy Bradley story and then a series of short backup stories by cartoonists such as Rick Altergott
Rick Altergott
Rick Altergott is a professional illustrator and cartoonist, residing in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, with his wife, fellow cartoonist Ariel Bordeaux. Their collaborative comic book Raisin Pie is published by Fantagraphics....
, Dame Darcy
Dame Darcy
Dame Darcy is an alternative cartoonist. Her comic book, Meatcake, has been published by Fantagraphics since 1993. Darcy has also released several graphic novels, Frightful Fairytales, Dame Darcy's Meatcake Compilation, The Illustrated Jane Eyre, Dollerium , Comic Book Tattoo, and Gasoline .-...
, and Kevin Scalzo.
Main characters
- Buddy Bradley
- Lisa Leavenworth, emotionally unstable, unconfident and sloppy, Lisa had a one-night-stand with Buddy before the storyline of Hate began. After Buddy's breakup with Valerie, Lisa became his long term girlfriend and moves back to Jersey with him. She fathered his child and is currently his spouseSpouseThe term spouse generally refers to a partner in a marriage:* Husband, referring to a male partner* Wife, referring to a female partner* In some usages, a partner in a civil union, domestic partnership or common-law marriage- See also :* Bride...
.
Supporting characters
- Leonard "Stinky" Brown, an old friend of Buddy's from New Jersey who was his roommate in Seattle. Probably the most irresponsible, selfish and hopeless of all the characters. Adopts an alternative lifestyle as a means to furthering his sexual conquests.
- George Cecil Hamilton III, Buddy's other roommate and über geekGeekThe word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
. Socially awkward, George hardly leaves his bedroom and immerses himself in science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and conspiracy theories. - Valerie Russo, Buddy's first serious girlfriend, an upper middle classUpper middle classThe upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
, apparently self-confident feminist with nymphomaniacal and manic depressive tendencies. - Jay Spano, an old friend of Buddy's who he met at high school. Is ten years older than Buddy. He uses heroin from time to time but claims not to be an addict. Buddy goes into business with Jay in collectables and later as scrapScrapScrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
metal dealers. - Jimmy Foley, Buddy's next door neighbor in New Jersey, a small time criminal serving out his probationProbationProbation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
for selling cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. - Buddy's family
Cultural impact
Matthew J. Pustz has called Hate "The ultimate Generation XGeneration X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
fable". Bagge managed to create archetypes which his audience identified with strongly, which contributed to the popularity of the series.
There was a great deal of interaction between fans of Hate, Bagge and the characters. In Hate#1, Bagge ran a competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
to "Win a Date With Stinky", to which many fans submitted artwork and photographs. Bagge included cartoon depictions of several of the entrants in the issues that followed.
In issue # 6, Bagge ran another contest, this time a "Buddy Bradley Look-Alike Contest" which hundreds entered. The winner was featured on the cover of issue 10. Bagge later wrote in an editorial that the winner had got in touch to tell him he was dating a woman named Valerie who was from Paris.
Peter Bagge played down the comics position in grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
culture, saying
Bagge's birth date of 1954 also places him outside the established demographic of Generation X'ers which Hate supposedly represented.
In other media
Hate has been optioned as a movie or TV series numerous times, and in development as an animated series at MTV, HBO and Fox a various times since 1997. So far no pilot version has been completed.In popular culture
- In the 1995 film KidsKids (film)Kids is a 1995 drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark.The film features Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Harold Hunter, and Rosario Dawson, all of them in their debut performances...
, during the scene Casper is sitting on the stoop of a home, he is seen reading a Hate comic.
- In the 1996 film Joe's ApartmentJoe's ApartmentJoe's Apartment is a 1996 musical-serio-comedy film starring Jerry O'Connell and Megan Ward and the first film produced by MTV Films. It was based on a 1992 short film first made for MTV , but was also inspired by both the 1987 Japanese film Gokiburi-tachi No Tasogare and...
, Joe is seen reading a Hate comic, which Ralph the cockroach chews through to replace Buddy's head with his own.
- In the 1996 Film Glory DazeGlory DazeGlory Daze is an independent film starring Ben Affleck, Sam Rockwell, French Stewart and Alyssa Milano. It had a limited release in 1996.- Plot :...
, Ben AffleckBen AffleckBenjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
is seen wearing a Hate T-shirt.
- In the 1998 film PeckerPecker (film)Pecker is a 1998 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Waters and starring Edward Furlong and Christina Ricci. Like all Waters' films, it was filmed and set in Baltimore; this film in the Hampden neighborhood....
, during the first scene on the laundry you can see a boy (the one who Christina RicciChristina RicciChristina Ricci is an American actress. Ricci received initial recognition and praise as a child star for her performance as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values , and her role as Kat Harvey in Casper...
shouts) reading a Hate comic.
- Michael J. NelsonMichael J. NelsonMichael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
mentions the comic in his book Mike Nelson's Movie MegacheeseMike Nelson's Movie MegacheeseMike Nelson's Movie Megacheese is the first book by Michael J. Nelson, published in 2000 by HarperEntertainment, an imprint of HarperCollins publishers....
(published in 2000). He claims to be unable to recall the single-word title, yet guesses it correctly as Hate after discounting Drip and Fall.
- In the TV series Criminal MindsCriminal MindsCriminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
, series 3, episode 9, a panel from Hate is seen on Penelope Garcia's PC desktop. The point appears to be to establish Garcia as an aficionado of underground or 'alternative' culture.
International versions
A Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
edition of Hate, translated to Odio (which means Hatred) was published by Ediciones La Cúpola starting in 1995.Before this Odio was serialised in Spanish magazine El Víbora. According to Gual Oscar and Jose A. Serrano, Odio, taking into account population difference was comparatively more successful in Spain than its USA counterpart (10,000 copies sold per issue in Spain compared to 30,000 copies per issue for the USA.). Benet Roman writing for the 14th annual Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
BCN International Comics Fair commented that "Bagge ... knows how to capture some of the spirit of our time, using that most universal, affordable and difficult to produce medium: humor."
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
The first fifteen issues of Hate were translated for the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
market and published by Carlsen Comics under the title Leck Mich! (literal: lick me!, possibly most closely translates to "kiss it!" as in kiss my ass
Swabian salute
The phrase swabian salute is a partly humorous, partly euphemistic reference to the expression "Leck mich am Arsch" which is a common profanity.- Origin :...
). Later color editions of Hate were issued in 1998 by Jochen Enterprises under the title Krass/Kraß (a slang term
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
, meaning phat, cool or rad - its conventional meaning is crass). It ran for seven issues before Jochen ceased trading. Bagge sanctioned the creation of new Buddy stories for the German edition, by artists such as Philip Taegert and Guido Sieber. Sieber moved the characters of Buddy and Lisa from Seattle to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Trade paperbacks
- Hey Buddy! Volume I of The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from Hate Fantagraphics BooksFantagraphics BooksFantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
978-1560971139. (Collects issues 1-5) - Buddy The Dreamer: Volume II of the Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from Hate Fantagraphics Books 978-1560971559 (Collects issues 6-10)
- Fun With Buddy + Lisa: Volume III of the Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from Hate Fantagraphics Books 978-1560971764 (Collects issues 11-15)
- Buddy Go Home: Volume IV of the Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from Hate 1998, Fantagraphics Books 978-1560972761 (Collects issues 16-20)
- Buddy's Got Three Moms! Volume V of the Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from Hate Fantagraphics Books 1560973358 (Collects issues 21-25)
- Buddy Bites the Bullet! Volume VI of the Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from Hate Fantagraphics Books 978-1560974154 (Collects issues 26-30)
- Buddy Does Seattle: The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from "Hate" Comics, Vol. I (1990-94) Fantagraphics Books (Collects Hate #1-15) 2005
- Buddy Does Jersey: The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from "Hate" Comics, Vol. II (1994-1998) Fantagraphics Books (Collects Hate #16-30) 2007