Hate #10

by Peter Bagge, Zak Sally (Illustrator)

In issue #10 (featuring a lovely Buddy Bradley photo cover), Lisa is "The Nut" of the title who wrangles Buddy into getting her a job at the bookstore — with dire results.

Comic

About the author

Peter Bagge is an American cartoonist known for his irreverent, kinetic style and his incisive, black-humored portrayals of middle-class American youth. He first gained recognition with Neat Stuff, which introduced characters such as Buddy Bradley, Girly-Girl, and The Bradleys, and followed it with Hate, his best-known work, which ran through the 1990s and later as annuals. Bagge’s comics often exaggerate the frustrations, absurdities, and reduced expectations of ordinary life, combining influences from Warner Brothers cartoons, underground comix, and classic cartoonists like Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Robert Crumb. Beyond satire and fiction, Bagge has produced fact-based comics journalism, biographies, and historical comics, contributing to outlets such as suck.com, MAD Magazine, toonlet, Discover, and Reason. His biographical works include Woman Rebel, about Margaret Sanger, Fire!!, on Zora Neale Hurston, and Credo, on Rose Wilder Lane. Bagge has collaborated with major publishers including Fantagraphics, DC Comics, Dark Horse, and Marvel, producing works such as Yeah!, Sweatshop, Apocalypse Nerd, Other Lives, and Reset. He has also worked in animation, creating Flash cartoons and animated commercials, and has been active as a musician in bands such as The Action Suits and Can You Imagine. Bagge’s signature art style is elastic, energetic, and exaggerated, capturing movement and comic expression in a way that amplifies both humor and social commentary. His personal politics are libertarian, frequently reflected in his comics and essays, and he has been a longtime contributor to Reason magazine. Bagge’s work combines biting satire, historical insight, and a relentless visual inventiveness, making him a central figure in American alternative comics for over four decades.

Reviews

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Nut" follows Buddy's ex-girlfriend Valerie's ex-roommate Lisa, who begs Buddy to help her get a job at the same bookstore he works for. Painfully desperate whilst simultaneously degenerate, Lisa's time at the bookstore spells havoc for Buddy's quiet life. Lisa ends up Buddy in hot water with the manager and then shaving her head and wearing a potato sack. A complete subversion of expectations throughout, Bagge does a stellar job balancing the disturbing subtext with the juvenile humor.

The last few pages contains a hilarious Buddy Bradley lookalike contest with one entry gracing the cover of this issue. If "The Nut" doesn't make you laugh, this surely will. The back cover contains the "Leonard the Love God" color strip entitled "He's Got a Way With Words" which is great fun as well.

[Al McCarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, wistful nostalgia for the ‘90’s…almost 32 years ago…to think, that these two characters would marry and have children. And that the runner up in the Buddy lookalike contest would be better known as the bass player for Low and his own cartooning…