As a collector, I have never really settled on what to do about Hate. One cannot collect alternative comics from the late 1980s and early 1990s without having an example from Hate. But what example? In a perfect world, I would have a good cover and be "one and done." But those are rarely available. Instead I have cycled through a bunch of pages to see if they would satisfy this itch. They did not.
So I sat down and said to myself, "self, what is it that you are actually looking for here? What would satisfy your collector need to have an example from Hate"? And I came up with a set of criteria to guide me and then sat back to wait until the right piece came around.
The criteria were:
1. Must be from an early issue, while Buddy is still in Seattle and one that Bagge inked himself (roughly before issue 16).
2. Must show at least two of the main characters, one of which must be Buddy, and preferably more.
3. Must have that indie, alternative, early 90's Seattle vibe to it, either through the action, discussion, references, background or otherwise. Hate is representative of a specific era, and I wanted a page that in one way or another showed that era.
4. Finally, must be funny. Hate is full of dark humor and I wanted a page that would show it.
So here is page 7 from issue 3. This issue was perhaps when the story really started to take shape. Valerie hosts Buddy for an intimate dinner to discuss their relationship and moving into an apartment together. However, the evening is constantly interrupted by the antics of their roommates (Stinky and Lisa, mostly), and she never actually gets to have that discussion.
"Life is what happens when you are making other plans". John Lennon, Beautiful Boy 1980, quoting the writer Alan Saunders (published in 1957).
The extra bonus was my ability to get pages 8 and 9 as well to frame most of the dinner scene. I will post those two following this one.
