Peter Bagge
Contributing Editor and Cartoonist
Peter Bagge is a contributing editor and cartoonist atReason.
Peter Bagge was born in Peekskill, New York. He studied briefly at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in the mid-'70s. Upon exposure to the work of underground comics, particularly the work of R. Crumb, Bagge plunged into cartooning with a vengeance.
In the early '80s Bagge co-published three issues ofComical Funnies (1980-81), a New York-based comic tabloid which saw the debut of Bagge's dysfunctional suburban family, The Bradleys. Bagge broke into R. Crumb's legendary magazine,Weirdo, with "Martini Baton," and Bagge took over as managing editor of that magazine from 1983 to 1986.
Bagge also started his own comic book,Neat Stuff, for Fantagraphics Books, producing 15 issues from 1985 to '89. Buddy Bradley, the Bradleys' alienated and pessimistic teenage son, emerged asNeat Stuff's most engaging and fully-realized character. In 1990,Neat Stuff evolved into a new title,Hate, which exclusively followed the foibles of the semi-autobiographical Buddy Bradley.Hate became the voice of the twenty-nothing slackers as well as being hailed by critics for its brilliant characterization in its complete chronicle of the 1990s.Hate continues to appear in print, albeit less frequently, under the titleHate Annual. His most recent work,FIRE!!: The Zora Neale Hurston Story, was published by Drawn & Quarterly in 2017.
Bagge's distinctive in-your-face illustration style has also appeared on many record and CD covers, and his comics have been featured on the (now defunct) Web site Suck.com. Other comic work includes writing an all ages comic book for DC calledYeah! (drawn by Gilbert Hernandez), and more recentlySweatshop, also for DC, which satirizes the comics industry. He wrote and drew a one-shot satire of Spider-Man for Marvel, as well as a similar treatment of The Hulk that remains in limbo. He also writes and draws a weekly comic strip about "Bat Boy" forThe Weekly World News .
Peter Bagge lives in Seattle with his wife Joanne and daughter Hannah.
Latest from Peter Bagge
Brickbats: April 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: March 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Comic: It's America's Founding Grandfather, John Locke
Decades after his death, the English philosopher's ideas helped shape the American republic.
Brickbats: February 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: January 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: December 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: November 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: October 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: August/September 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: July 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: June 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: May 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: April 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: March 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world
Comic: The Ever-Evolving Robert Nozick
A young philosopher goes from socialist to reluctant libertarian.
Brickbats: February 2024
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: January 2024
News of Florida politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly.
Brickbats: December 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: November 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Comic: John Stuart Mill in 'Superliberal'
The English economist's unapologetic liberalism often drew the ire of other members of Parliament.
Brickbats: October 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: August/September 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: July 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Comic: The Revised Adam Smith
The ghost of the so-called father of economics chastises those who would use his words for their own misbegotten ends.
Brickbats: June 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: May 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Comic: Maria Montessori and the Freedom To Learn
Maria Montessori valued independence and experimentation in a time of authoritarianism.
Brickbats: April 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: March 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: February 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: January 2023
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Comic: Robert A. Heinlein in 'The Moon Is a Hot Babe'
An aeronautical engineer considers writing a novel about a new start on the moon.
Brickbats: December 2022
News of politicians and space bureaucrats behaving badly from around the galaxy.
Brickbats: November 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: October 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: August/September 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Comic: Roger Williams in 'Crazy Talk!'
Williams believed the government had no authority to meddle in religious beliefs. Blasphemy!
Brickbats: July 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: June 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
The Perpetually Canceled Ludwig von Mises
"Hold on, now, you're starting to sound like an anarchist..."
Brickbats: May 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Brickbats: April 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly…
Brickbats: November 2021
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly…
