Customer Reviews

Buddy Does Seattle (The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from "Hate" Comics, Vol. I, 1990-94)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay, so Hate is generally criticized by its fans (which is bizarre in itself) for "selling out" and going to a color format. Well, you have nothing to complain about with this volume; it's the ENTIRE black & white run of Hate, from #1-15, all in one book! AWESOME! I had most of the comics of this group, but having them bound all together really increases the joy of following the whole storyline from issue to issue (not to mention I was missing a few issues, and to be honest who wants to hunt down separate comics when you can have it all in one book?).

The only downside of this volume is that it is slightly smaller than the original comic size. So, Bagge's busy inking style gets compressed somewhat, which is a bit of a drag. If you want full-size, I would suggest getting the 5-issue full-size volumes available. The only drawback is that you'd have to buy 1-5, 6-10, & 11-15, and they each retail for $16.95 (though I got the 21-25 volume for $4.95 right here from an Amazon re-seller, so really...).

Overall, I'd say this is a perfect carry-around volume of the BEST era of Hate. The ONLY negative is the size, and it's really not small, just small-ER than the comic. Which also makes it easier to carry around, so...what was I talking about?

Oh, and there's also a pretty lengthy interview with Bagge at the front, if you like that kinda thing (as I do!).

I recommend!

This collection includes the funniest issues from one of the all-time funniest comic books ever created. Peter Bagge is an absolute genius whose ear for dialogue and eye for details is unmatched. From the comic book fans arguing over Kelly vs. Kurtzmann to the garage rock band at rehearsal to the encounter with an old girlfriend, every detail rings hilariously true. If you've ever shared a cheap apartment with an assortment of weird roommates, you need to read this book, and as soon as possible. This is an all-time classic that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter.

Peter Bagge's "Hate" comics are wonderful examples of Gen X culture. In case you couldn't tell from the title, the stories take place in Seattle. Where Bagge did and still lives and works. This collection holds the first 15 issues of "Hate".

Buddy is a twenty-something year old slacker. He lives with two roommates, one of which sleeps in the pantry. In the course of the book, Buddy goes through relationships and many different jobs. There is no over arching story connecting the different stories, besides characters and city.

Bagge has a wonderful cartoony art style that mixes brush and cross hatching. Everything looks dirty and gritty, but always well composed and easy to read. The stories are funny and often leave you rolling with laughter. You will find characters that you hate, love, and seem like people you know in your own life... often at the same time.

This first volume of Peter Bagge's "Hate" comics (which were published between 1991-1994) exposes -literally- the lives of young Harold "Buddy" Bradley and his friends in 1990's Seattle. Buddy is an unpretentious, quiet guy with a low-end job, a troubled girlfriend, a gang of near-delirious friends and no clear perspectives on his future. "Buddy does Seattle" take us through everyday's struggles to survive, enjoy and ultimately make sense of things of Buddy and his friends. Although settled in specific coordinates (Seattle's 1990s) their tragedies, inquiries, virtues and miseries seem, directly or indirectly, all too common to many youth elsewhere (and retrospectively to many among us, the moderately elder). The plot is relentless, always funny and many times hilarious, and the drawings are little masterpieces on themselves. I work hard to try to delay my finishing this Vol. 1, and am delighted I still have Vol. 2, "Buddy does Jersey" coming up. Buddy Does Jersey: The Complete Buddy Bradley Stories from "Hate" Comics, Vol. II (1994-1998)

...i turned 21 in 1992...living through hardships and classically HORRIBLE relationships...i could really identify with Buddys own plights .....
....i have easily read this tpb over a dozen times...(along with it's companion BUDDY DOES JERSEY)...
.....i'm not even sure how i over looked such a brillant (and funny) comic in all of my years of collecting...
Peter Bagge you ARE a genius!!!!

There's very little "wit" in Peter's humor. Rather, the humor comes from the realization that you were once like Buddy. He's got a dead end job, a couple of wacked out girlfriends, and a bum of a friend that somehow succeeds.

The art is crude in a unique way. Everything is shaded to extremes and none of the characters are good looking. Half of them don't even have eyes as far as you know. The emotions and thoughts come through clearly in the dialog however.

There's a lot of drama and anger between them all but they stay friends somehow. That makes Buddy a winner in a book about losers.

I was a angry teen during these times and Hate was really the only account I had of what 20 year olds were doing and how they were living. I had no idea about any of it until I read Hate.
Anyway, I got the Buddy does Jersey first. This one is pretty good but not as funny as Buddy does Jersey. This one does chronicle the music scene at that time and all the posers, freaks & neurotics that were around.