The Hate cartoonist will be at Asbury Park Comicon — which we’re sponsoring — on April 12-13. Every day until the show, we’re spotlighting someone or something special you should check out!
Other guests include Jim Steranko, J.H. Williams III, Chris Claremont, Ann Nocenti, Dean Haspiel and many more. Full guest list is here. And you can buy tickets here!
Anyway, here’s a brief ASBURY PARK COMICON SPOTLIGHT interview with cartoonist Peter Bagge, as acerbic as ever. (And check out our previous interviews with Evan Dorkin, Denis Kitchen, Stephanie Buscema and Mark Schultz!)
What’s your Secret Origin?
Toilets? Wait, no… Toilets.
I think it’s fair to say you’ve had a prolific career. What are you working on these days?
Another full length bio comic, this time about Zora Neale Hurston. Also regular features for Reason Magazine and Creepy comics for Dark Horse.
When you look at works like Hate, Punk, the cartoons for Reason, what in your mind do you point to and say, “That’s it right there. That’s me.”?
All of it! Except for Punk.
What’s your view on underground comix today? Does such a thing really even exist anymore? Or has the web and Kickstarter altered that whole concept?
I haven’t heard anyone describe any comic as “underground” in decades, although I wish they would. And Kickstarter has, if nothing else, proven that most people are square nerds.
What are you reading yourself?
Zora Neale Hurston books (research, obviously). Otherwise I read anything and everything on the Internet.
What cartoonists out there do you think should be getting more recognition?
To be honest? “Old timers” like the Hernandez Brothers and Adrian Tomine.
I can’t help but ask: You did some superhero work for Marvel, in a fashion. What kind of, say, Superman story would you want to tell?
I seriously would do a story about Superman’s feelings for Lois Lane. And not for satirical reasons, either. Don’t hold your breath.
