Peter Bagge was born in Peekskill, New York, where he grew up reading and watching what most bored and antsy kids read and watched in the late '60s: MAD magazine, Warner Brothers cartoons, hot rod comics, Peanuts, and plenty of TV. He studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in the mid-'70s, where he received little encouragement to pursue his cartooning ambitions from his teachers and peers (the one exception being Joanne Connelly, later to become his wife). Upon exposure to the work of such underground cartoonists as R. Crumb, S. Clay Wilson and Bill Griffith, Bagge plunged into cartooning with an inspired vengeance.
In 1990, Fantagraphics Books first published Hate, Peter Bagge's ultra-successful comic book series that recently ended after 30 issues as the reigning king of alternative comics. Hate has become 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 has explored the life of the grunge '90s in Seattle (long before it had become a trend and the 'g' word was ever used), only to jump off the bandwagon as the scene exploded, moving east to New Jersey. "Peter Bagge is the funniest cartoonist in existence," as Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi puts it.
Bagge has created the graphic novel collections The Bradleys, Studs Kirby: The Voice of America, Junior and Other Losers, Stupid Comics, Hey Buddy!, Buddy the Dreamer, Fun with Buddy & Lisa, Buddy Go Home, Buddy's Got Three Moms and Buddy Bites the Bullet!. His distinctive in-your-face illustration style has appeared on such album covers as Tad and George Thorogood. His illustration work has appeared in Details, Spin, Artforum, and countless other publications. His work has been translated into ten languages and Bagge currently has over one million books and periodicals in print.
Hate: Hey, Buddy! (vol. 1)