Radiant Comics

I’m back from the comic shop this week and I got four new comics:

This week’s comic book cover to look at and examine is “Hate” #1 by Peter Bagge from the spring of 1990. Yes, that’s what it actually says in the indicia” “Spring 1990”. Weird that it doesn’t have a month but has a season. I would have guessed that this book was from earlier than that but I’m probably confusing it in my memory with its predecessor “Neat Stuff” magazine. Bagge did that one for years featuring Buddy Bradley, the star of “Hate”, plus other members of the Bradley family.

This isn’t even a cover I particularly like a whole lot but it does get the job done really well. I find the drawing a little confusing as a good third of it is taken up by purple tires that barely register as tires at first glance. The truck’s undercarriage also fails to register as anything familiar to me. It’s some strange abstract idea of a truck’s underneath. It’s even tough to find Buddy Bradley on this cover at first glance. He’s lost amongst the cacophony of weird shapes and letters. So why do I like this cover? Because it got me to look at it for a long time and be amused by it. This cover is all about the jokes.

This cover is not only about the jokes but is also about hitting you with as many jokes as they can cram in. The jokes all define Buddy Bradley’s character and lets you know what you can expect inside. It’s busy overkill and that’s the way it’s going to be. Even those purple tires have jokes all over them.

I think this cover is the rare example of a cover where the image doesn’t tell the story. Sure it tells a story but to get the full impact you have to pick it up and read it. And the cover is good at making you do just that. The bursts of large type pull you in, get you reading, and then you notice all the other smaller bits. It really is quite effective. They two guys getting crushed under the tires might be the part I like best. “Hate” #1 is an off the beaten path good comic book cover.