By Peter Bagge
Publisher: Vertigo
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1902-4
During the 1990s there were a number of cartoonists working outside of the mainstream that were must reads, but for my money the most entertaining of them all was Pete Bagge and his comic Hate. It followed the life of lazy ne'erdowell Buddy Bradley as he stumbled away from living at home to make his own way in the world. It was beautifully observed work, poking fun at, and celebrating being, misfits in society.
Other Lives is a step on from this, but this time the misfits are older and more worldly-wise, but still unable to find their place. What they all have in common is that they escape to other lives online: Javy revels in conspiracies and sees himself as an American patriot battling terrorism; Woodrow imagines himself the online poker king; Vlad uses the internet to plagiarise his journalism; and Ivy opens up a darker side to herself when she gets involved with online gaming. Although the premise suggests that these online lives are their alternative ones, what you learn is that all of them are living lies themselves. They have secrets, fears, inhibitions, addictions and troubles that they hide from their friends and families and so the online lives are really a third manifestation of themselves.
This is good comedy, horrifying you with aspects of yourself that you recognise and delighting you with the twists and turns of the hopeless and short-sighted characters. Like Milt Gross, Pete Bagge has a superb fluid style, dominated by curves, exaggerated movements and absurd facial expressions. It's a black and white with tones of grey throughout, which always seems to suit his work better than when it's coloured. Definitely not one for children, but certainly to be enjoyed by adults.
And if you liked that: Then go way back to The Bradleys, a collection of his earlier work, and discover the world of Buddy
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