Buddy Does Seattle is a compilation of the Buddy Bradley stories from “Hate” Comics #1-15, years 1990-1994 published by Fantagraphics Books (of course!).
It is heralded by many as a peek into the life of a typical 20-something living in 1990 Seattle, which was the main reason I picked it up. A comic about a 20-something living in Seattle?! That’s just like me! (I thought, as I snapped it up).
Fantagraphics is great because they like to compile books of older comics which make them really accessible for new comic readers such as myself. I’m not really the type that is going to hunt down a bunch of old single issue comics, I want it all in one beautifully bound book. And Fantagraphics delivers.
That said, Buddy Does Seattle wasn’t exactly how I imagined it’d be. There are very little Seattle details (he mentions living on Aurora St. once, I think) which was disappointing because I was hoping there would be some Seattle specifics for me to learn about having just moved to this fair city.
The comic follows Buddy Bradley, a used bookstore employee/band manager/alcoholic loser and his adventures with comics, music, bad roommates, and crazy women. Extremely crazy women. He dates Lisa and Valerie (roommates) off and on who both mysteriously put up with his alcoholism, messiness, and misogynistic tendencies. We’d feel bad for them except they are both totally insane: Lisa cuts all her hair off one day in protest after she has a romantic interlude with her boss (wha?) and Valerie is often found throwing tantrums over nothing.
Overall it’s an enjoyable read, but does get rather repetitive after a while. A person can read about women throwing tantrums, men being jerks, and Stinky’s (Buddy’s sort of best friend) drug use for only so long before it all gets a bit worn out.
Considering I was about four years old when Bagge was writing this strip (and nowhere near Seattle at the time) it’s hard for me to judge if this is an accurate representation of 90’s Seattle. It’s really just a look into the life of any struggling young person who makes mistakes and does way too many drugs. It has it’s downsides, but generally it’s a very funny book worth reading.
Fantagraphics also has a second volume called Buddy Does Jersey which holds “Hate” #16-30.
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