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Artist Bio - Peter Bagge


Peter Bagge-photoPeter Bagge was born in suburban New York on December 11th, 1957. He attended art school in New York City briefly in the late 1970s, where he met his wife Joanne. His first comic strip was published in The East Village Eye in 1980, and over the next five years his work appeared regularly in High Times, Screw, and other unsavory publications. He also self-published three issues of the comic tabloid Comical Funnies along with cartoonist friends John Holmstrom and JD King, and a comic book called Wacky World with Ken Weiner.

In 1984, the Bagges relocated to Seattle, WA around which time Peter had begun serving as managing editor of R. Crumb's comic anthology, Weirdo. 1985 also saw the birth of Neat Stuff, Bagge's first regular solo title. Both Neat Stuff and its successor, Hate, were published by Fantagraphics, who continue to keep most of Bagge's back catalog in print in one form or another.

Debuting in 1990, Hate Comics chronicled the misadventures of Bagge's semi-autobiographical character Buddy Bradley. Set in Seattle itself, Hate wound up becoming permanently associated with the Seattle youth and music scene that generated so much world-wide publicity in the mid-90's. The many record sleeves and posters Bagge illustrated for local labels solidified this association even further.

By the mid-90s, Buddy Bradley and other Bagge characters had started being optioned by various Hollywood production companies, to develop them for both the big and small screen, in both live action or animated form.While none of these projects have yet to see fruition, Hate continues to be developed as a prime-time animated TV series, this time for HBO.

After 30 issues - the final 15 in full color, and featuring the work of many other comic artists - Bagge decided to end the Hate series in 1998. He is currently writing a monthly all-ages comic book about an all-girl pop band called Yeah! for DC comics, which will be illustrated by Love and Rockets' Gilbert Hernandez. He also is working on several other freelance projects as well.

Peter Bagge Fantagraphics page



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