Let’s say the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ asks you for an introduction to grunge as a sociocultural phenomenon. What would you write?
This was complete nonsense. I couldn’t find a better idea. Lazy music, lazy clothes, and most of all, lazy demeanor.
At least you’re from the pre-grunge generation. But a great portrait of the ‘Hate’ grunge generation. Chance?
Not at all. On the one hand, living in Seattle, the grunge scene was familiar to me, I knew people who were very interested in it. But at the same time, when grunge emerged in Seattle, it reminded me of many things I had experienced in New York City with the rise of punk. It was something I already knew very well. I didn’t want to do a period comic based on the past, so I based my previous experiences on what I saw around me.
How much play would social networks give in the hands of ‘Hate’ characters!
No doubt. Unfortunately they did not exist. But there were fan films and it was reflected in ‘I Hate’. Every neighbor’s son has a fanzine that he likes and dislikes, and in a way, fanzines work like social networks now.
People get tattoos like there’s no tomorrow. Have you seen the tattoos of the Buddy Bradley character?
A lot. too much. Even before tattoos became so popular, a girl at my American broadcasting company got a tattoo of another character of mine, not Buddy. He did not consult me; I would tell him: ‘Don’t do it!’ But the truth is, even though it sounds like a terrible idea to me, it’s a compliment. Many fans send me pictures of Buddy Bradley tattoos.
What do you think of ‘Hate’ 30 years after writing and drawing?
When I review my early works, I am surprised not only by the ‘Hate’, but by the aggression, suffering and anger that I have accumulated inside me and that I no longer feel. I don’t even know where these feelings come from anymore. I think he must be a terrible person and then I wonder how he can have friends. At least I don’t identify with these feelings.
I suspect he’s more of a fan of the Young Fresh Fellows, again from Seattle, than any of the grunge bands.
Success. Also, Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch are my acquaintances. I also loved The Posies, not from Seattle but up close. Although there are some grunge bands that I like, for example… Nirvana, of course. After a tour of Spain with his other band, The Fastbacks, Kurt Bloch told me that he’s much better known in Spain than at home, and Spanish fans thought he was harassed by Seattle fans when he went down to the grocery store for a while. milk briquette. I said yes to them so as not to break the spell. It happened to me and the same is happening to me.
Which artists do you know as influences?
In my youth, no doubt Robert Crumb. But before that, Schulz, the author of ‘Peanuts’ and many cartoonists from ‘Mad’ magazine. And then Daniel Clowes, although a little younger than me, had a huge impact. Our careers ran parallel and we were very competitive with each other and also with the brothers. [Gilbert y Jaime] Hernandez. Now, to illustrate the kind of relationship I have with Clowes and Hernández, if I were to publish a new issue of ‘Odio’, the first thing I would do would be to ask them what they think of it. And if you tell me ‘fuck you!’ If they say that means they liked it very much.
Source: Informacion
