Characters / Hate (1990)

Harold "Buddy" Bradley

• The Alcoholic: He's mostly one of the functional type but has a large intake and is definitely is addicted to booze.
  Buddy: Are you insinuating I that I can't handle my liquor?
  Butch: Well, now that you mention it, there are times when you tend to get a little maudlin'...
• Alliterative Name: Agreed, Buddy Bradley slips off the tongue more nicely than Harold (and also fits in with his siblings Babs and Butch Bradley). His (problematic) love interest Lisa Leavenworth is a nice addition to this trope too.
• Anti-Hero: With his constant underachieving, smart-alecking and complaining, Buddy is anything but a hero.
• Author Avatar: Peter Bagge has stated that his own life – including Bagge's problematic family background – provides much of the background for Buddy and his antics, although with an age distance of about ten years. Buddy's critical attitude towards any kind of dogmatic political ideology also reflects Bagge's own position as a developed libertarian.
• Berserk Button: Buddy has several of these, among other things during his stint as the manager of "Leonard and the Love Gods" he blows a fuse when Stinky refers the himself as "the new Iggy Pop".
• Big Brother Bully: According to his little brother Butch, Buddy must have been quite a mean older sibling.
• Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Somewhat difficult to say as Buddy's and Lisa's son Harold is never fully realized as a character. As far as the reader can tell though, they do tend to him lovingly, if sometimes still caught up in their unusual career choices.
• Brutal Honesty: Buddy's not someone to beat around the bushes.
• Deadpan Snarker: This is Buddy to a tee.
• Embarrassing Old Photo: A variation of this appears when Valerie's mom shows Buddy (reacting with a major smirk) her daughter's old Barbie collection. Valerie is not amused.
• Enraged by Idiocy: Buddy does not bear stupidity lightly, especially as he often sees himself as the Only Sane Man who's basically Surrounded by Idiots.
• Eyepatch of Power: First inverted, then Played for Laughs as Buddy decides to get an "appropriate outfit" (consisting of a captain's hat and said eyepatch which he first actually wears to protect his injured eye) for his short-lived bus boat enterprise.
• Hates Everyone Equally: He may feel a particular disdain towards conservatives (or any kind of people who try to limit his personal freedom) but basically Buddy does not hold the human race in general in high esteem. He literally uses the expression when accused of being racist towards his African American roommate George by Lisa and Valerie:
  '''I give George a hard time because he's a pathetic geek. The fact that he's a n***er has nothing to do with it... Besides, I treat all my friends like shit, regardless their race, sex, color or creed..."
• Jerkass: He may not be a bully and often tries to retain a basic sense of decency, but on many a occasion Buddy displays egotistical and dishonest behavior towards his friends and family. (Not that the latter are examples of righteousness either.)
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: To a degree. Buddy has a good heart but all too often gets caught up in his own laziness and egoism.
• Lessons in Sophistication: While he is with classy Valerie, she tries to clean him up a little bit for her upper-class parents. (Needless to say, it does not work out the way planned.)
• Limited Wardrobe: For much of the 1990's chapters Buddy wears a standard checkered flannel shirt and jeans. Then, as he settles down in New Jersey and starts a family with Lisa, he not only shaves his head and gets a (fake) eyepatch but also starts wearing different kinds of shirts.
• Loser Protagonist: Buddy is a quintessential example.
• Manchild/Men Are Childish: As much as Buddy may think of himself as more mature than his (mostly) idiotic male friends, his immature antics, tantrums and questionable business plans provoke sighs and frowns from his (mostly) female counterparts.
• Proportional Aging: On a conscious decision by author Peter Bagge Buddy was allowed to age – averting the Comic-Book Time phenomenon – as the series (and real time years) moved on. Buddy is a teenager during the "Neat Stuff" years, a twentysomething during the 1990's editions of "Hate!" and moves into his thirties and forties after moving back to New Jersey.

Lisa Leavenworth

• Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: It's not exactly a Relationship Revolving Door between Buddy and Lisa but a significant amount of their relationship's story time is about them growing (and then being) apart from each other, only to realize that they do love each other after all.
• Bungled Suicide: Obviously Played for Laughs, as Lisa tells Buddy about her suicide attempt and how exactly it didn't work out as planned:
  Lisa: I tried to kill myself the other day, you know...
  Buddy: You did? How?
  Lisa: By sticking my head in the oven, but after 30 seconds it started to get real hot, and then I realized that it only works with a gas oven, and ours is electric...
  Buddy: Lisa, that is, like, the lamest thing I've ever heard. Are you making this up or are you really that stupid?
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Lisa's whole act is about doing what she feels like in any given moment, including giving in to mood swings and having unrealistic dreams all the time. You might even think she's a Manic Pixie Dream Girl in the sense that she sometimes drags Buddy along to do something crazy or spontaneous, although it's hard to see Audrey Hepburn qualities in her...
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Lisa has these a number of times, most notably shaving her head to atone for infidelity, getting a Girliness Upgrade including a more well-kempt hairdo, and again having her hair cut short as she breaks up with Buddy and has a fake lesbian relationship during the events of "Buddy Does Jersey".
• Faux Yay: Lisa moves in with her friend Elizabeth after she and Buddy break up. They also do it a couple of times, but Lisa doesn't really enjoy it.
• Fag Hag: Lisa fancies Phil, a gay friend of hers during the Seattle years. When Buddy calls her out for it, she says she likes him because he doesn't make fun of her.
• Girliness Upgrade: During a disillusioned phase of their relationship (as Buddy is disaffected by Lisa's not exactly well-groomed appearance in particular) Lisa decides to get a makeover as she wants to look more conventionally feminine and attractive in order to arouse her lover's interest. (It doesn't last.)
• Give Geeks a Chance: Lisa goes out with George exactly once during the "Buddy Does Seattle" era of the series and even goes as far as making him take a pill to loosen up (thus both enforcing and averting the Slipping a Mickey trope). As she then offers herself in the most direct way imaginable, George runs away in panic. (He gets luckier with the ladies as the series progresses.)
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Initially subverted as Lisa (in issue #16) tells Buddy's shocked mom that she had "like, a million abortions" (she corrects herself to the somewhat lower number of five), then does concede that "they're a pain in the butt, plus they ain't cheap, that's for sure". Four years later, in issue #30, Lisa gets pregnant again from a one night stand with Buddy after they had broken up, however, this time she decides to keep the baby, prompting Buddy not just to accept his fatherhood but also to propose to her.
• New Old Flame: As the events of "Hate!" begin in the early 1990's, Lisa and Buddy are no longer an item when Buddy starts a relationship with Lisa's friend Valerie. After Buddy and Valerie start growing apart, Lisa and Buddy rekindle their thing which remains the basic configuration for the rest of the series.
• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: Lisa is a self-proclaimed crazy person who shows a lot of heavy mood swings (especially during the Seattle years) and is very much occupied with how her parents contributed to her negative mental state. Of course, "Hate!" being the comic that it is, this trope is rarely played straight but rather often subverted as she changes between "normal" and "crazy" quite often, among other things being the only sane woman to object to Buddy's spontaneous business plans.
• Sex with the Ex: This happens more than once to Lisa, both with Buddy (during their periods of no longer being an item) and other guys.
• True Love Is Boring: One of the key elements of the "Hate!" series plot, and also something Lisa and Buddy realize over the years.

Valerie Russo

• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: The go-to trope of literally any "Hate!" character we get to know a little more in detail. In Valerie's case, she's particularly critical of her mother who she thinks is superficial and only married her husband for improved social and financial status. Tellingly, she is mad at Buddy when he says that her behavior is very similar to her mother's when they drive back home after an evening with Val's parents:
  Buddy: Besides, I got news for you – you're a carbon copy of your old lady...
  Valerie: What?! How could you say that! I'm nothing like her! Nothing! In fact, I've dedicated my entire life towards being the exact opposite of her! If we have anything in common it's that we're both stuck babysitting a couple of irresponsible, immature asshole!
  Buddy (half to himself): Okay, fine, whatever you say... "Miss Russell"...
  Valerie brakes in the middle of the road and wordlessly exits the car
• Blind Date: How Valerie and Buddy meet. After Stinky suggests Buddy could really use some sexual action Stinky's girlfriend at the time invites Buddy to a pool match with – among others – Miss Russo.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: At first, Valerie, in her dark-haired and tall cool beauty, seems quite above any kind of emotional outbursts. Turns out she too has her berserk buttons and insecurities as we learn over the course of events.
• Extreme Libido: Contrary to her cool exterior, Valerie describes herself as a nymphomaniac and also likes to have sex in unusual and risqué environments, such as her hospital bed when Buddy comes to visit her.
• Mood-Swinger: Val can switch from cool to berzerk mode pretty quickly and, according to Lisa, even has to take medicine for her manic depression.
• Opposites Attract: Valerie is classy, refined, well-educated and was born into a wealthy family – basically everything Buddy is not. That, however, is exactly what attracts her to him.
• Shed the Family Name: Defied by Valerie as a response towards her parents' move to rename themselves from Russo to Russell to get rid of potential prejudices because of their Italian ancestry.
  Valerie: One of my uncles was so proud of me for not changing my name he mailed me a check for a hundred dollars.
• Sleeping with the Boss: After Buddy spends all of his time managing Stinky's band, a disgruntled Valerie leaves him to start an affair with her boss.
• Wine Is Classy: While her then-boyfriend Buddy prefers hard liquor or beer, ever-classy Valerie is fond of the vino.
  Buddy (pouring himself some liquor after a heated argument): I need a drink.
  Valerie (alarmed): Oh no, don't start on that, Buddy! Here, have some wine instead...

George Hamilton

• Almost Famous Name: His full name is George Cecil Hamilton III. which makes him a namesake to actor George Hamilton.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: George feels pretty much this about his alcoholic mother as well as his father. (He still accepts their checks which pay for his rent though.)
• Basement-Dweller: When he still is one of Buddy's roommates, George does not technically live in the basement but displays all of the habits associated with it, especially almost never leaving his room.
• Best Served Cold: George uses his relationship with a wealthy older woman to act out revenge on Buddy by writing an extremely negative article about him in his fanzine "Zygote" which now gets published in a circulation of 15,000 copies. While Buddy is both enraged and clueless about what he might have done to George that was so bad, George cites – among other things – Buddy's alleged racist attitude as one of the reasons. Buddy, in return, accuses George of being hypocritical for "acting like Malcolm X while actually being The Whitest Black Guy imaginable".
• Black and Nerdy: George is an African American but does his best to distance himself from any "ghetto" stereotype.
• Cannot Talk to Women: When he moves in with Buddy, George is literally a virgin and loses his nerve whenever he talks to women. This changes later.
• Conspiracy Theorist: Being The Paranoiac that he is, George also reads a lot about conspiracy theories and is not afraid to share his findings with his roommates.
• Give Geeks a Chance: As an incredulous Buddy discovers after his return to Jersey, George and – of all people – Valerie have become an item since his departure from Seattle.
• Insufferable Genius: In Buddy's view, this applies only partly to George (the "insufferable" part in particular) whereas George himself does think highly of his own intellectual capabilities... (He does have his Endearingly Dorky moments too though.)
• May–December Romance: After he has a fallout with Buddy and moves out from the latter's apartment George moves in (and possibly starts a romance) with an older woman who also supports his self-publishing magazine enterprise (thus averting the Starving Artist trope).
• Nerd Glasses: With the thick frames and opaque lenses, George's eyewear compliments his nature perfectly.
• The Paranoiac: Lampshaded by George himself when he hears his roommates laughing outside his study:
  George (writing down in his notebook): "A paranoid is someone who knows all the facts"... William Burroughs said that... I think... Most people's actions are simply re-actions to the mechanizations set in motion by the Powers That Be... To think independently one must remove one's self from the game entirely... Only by locking myself away in this room with my studies will I ever find *true* freedom. (reacting to his roommates laughing outside, suddenly nervous) I wonder what they're laughing about out there... hope it has nothing to do with me...
  Stinky: (entering George's room without knocking)
  George (about to get a heart attack): YEOW!
  Stinky: Hey George, step outside here for a minute, will ya?

Leonard "Stinky" Brown

• Anonymous Band: As Stinky starts managing his first rock band (then called "Unsupervised Existence", a Shout-Out to another American underground comic), it initally consists of three stereotypically dumb and unkempt grunge musicians called Kurt, Kurt, Greg and Kurt who all look the same. Then, as one of the Kurt's girlfriend pulls a Yoko Oh No and forces him to quit, Stinky joins the band (subsequently renamed to "Leonard and the Love Gods") as a singer. The other musicians experience an Expository Hairstyle Change as they also adopt his bleached blond perm ro create another uniform look.
• Asshole Victim: Due to his Jerkass character and his proneness to end up in compromising situations, Stinky does not exactly elicit sympathy when he gets into trouble time and again. His death by shooting himself in the head (possibly by accident) may look a little harsh in that respect because ultimately Leonard never acts out of a truly evil nature but mostly out of egoism, spite and sometimes pure dumbness.
• Childhood Friends: Stinky and Buddy go way back to the New Jersey days when they grew up together. Their paths cross again a number of times, often as roommates, then again when Stinky also moves back to Jersey.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Even in his jerkass ways Stinky sometimes hits the nail on the head and points out truths and hypocricies, especially with Buddy.
  Stinky: Look, the point I'm trying to make is that you're not fucking up by fooling around but by not calling your girlfriend! That's your biggest mistake!
  Buddy (to himself): Arrgh... I hate that guy... especially when he's right.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Unsurprisingly, "Stinky" is not a nickname Leonard came up with himself. It stuck with him anyway.
• Jerkass: Stinky is considerably more insensitive and egotistical than Buddy (or just worse at hiding these traits in certain situations), at times bordering on the Insufferable Imbecile kind of guy.
• No Sense of Personal Space: In alignment with his Jerkass personality, Stinky seldomly respects other people's private spaces.
• The Pig-Pen: Well, his nickname doesn't come from out of nowhere... Lampshaded in the very first story of the "Hate!" chronicles when Buddy introduces the unnamed and unseen visiting friend to his unhygienic roommate:
  Buddy: You have met, right? Stinky, this is...
  Stinky: Sure, but don't call me "Stinky". It's Leonard.* Besides, I shower regularly now so "Stinky" doesn't even fit anymore.

(*An Aside Comment is inserted here: "Be sure to wash your hand after shaking Stinky's with it!")

• Porn Names: He also uses his "rock star" moniker "Leonard the Love God" when he starts a career as an actor in adult entertainment.
• The Rock Star: During his tenure as the lead singer for "Leonard and the Love Gods" Stinky goes through a lengthy phase of following the Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll dream, being very much convinced that he actually is a rock star.

Jay Spano

• Dirty Old Man: As Jay – who is thirty-six at the time – confesses to Buddy while leering at a pair of cheerleaders at McDonald's: "What I like always turns out to be about half my age." The trope is then lampshaded literally:
  Jay: Y'know, you young guys slay me! You're always worried about your pride when it comes to women, but where does pride ever get you? Nowhere!
  Buddy: At least I'm not a dirty old man like you.
  Jay: Yeah, well, lemme tell ya, being a dirty old man is where it's at.
• Functional Addict: For the most part, Jay manages to keep his heroin addiction both discreet and under control. However, he has – albeit not intentionally – turned several of his acquaintances into addicts, and one story (in issue #19) shows him suffering badly from what is either an overdose of or bad quality heroin. He then promises to Buddy to "mend his ways".
• Older Sidekick: Part of the special relationship between Buddy and Jay (who is ten years his senior) is that Mr Spano plays the part of the older counterpart.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: In a way that stands in contrast to his often shabby looks and junkie habit, Jay has a tendency to use quite formal speech.

Butch Bradley

• Annoying Younger Sibling: One of the no-longer-cute but rather Jerkass kind. Butch enjoys teaching his niece and nephew foul language (sabotaging the Not in Front of the Kid attitude that even Buddy tries to mind), inciting sexist behaviour, spewing nationalist and racist slogans, and also has inherited the alcoholic tradition running in his family. At the same time, he often falls back into his little brother behavior, being scared of his family reprimanding him.
• Court-martialed: For lack of a better trope, this is the closest one to describe Butch's dishonorable discharge from the Navy on grounds of his alcoholism and disorderly conduct.
  Butch: I got into a lot of fights... once I even accidentally punched a 70-year-old barmaid while I was stationed in Hawaii... that didn't go over to well...
  Buddy: I-yi-yi...
• Jerkass Has a Point: Similarly to Stinky, Butch is pictured as not a very likable character who often makes Buddy look mature in comparison. On the other hand, he's not afraid to point out his brother's shortcomings and blind spots:
  Butch: Ya see, man? We two are a lot alike! We're two peas in a pod...
  Buddy: We are not! And let go of me!
  Butch: It's true, man! You're an alcoholic, just like me! Admit it!
  Buddy: I am not! At least not like you are!
  Butch: Bullshit, man! We come from a long family of drunks! Even mom is a lush! Did you know that?
  Buddy: Oh, she is not...
  Butch: It's true, man! She's sneakin' sips all day long from a bottle of gin she keeps hidden under the kitchen sink!
  Buddy: R-really?
• Open Mouth, Insert Foot: For many reasons (and especially from Buddy's point of view), Butch often says what's on his mind without considering the possible effects on his environment.

Other Bradley family members

• Bratty Half-Pint: Buddy (in issue #20) makes a reasonable effort to be a decent uncle to his sister's kids but ultimately comes to the conclusion that they are problematic.
  Buddy: Let's face it, Babs, your kids are a couple of monsters.
  Babs: WHAT DID YOU CALL MY KIDS?!
  Buddy: W-whoa, now, hear me out, Babs! I'm just trying to express my sympathy!
  Babs: Sympathy? Hah! You haven't got a goddamn clue! You're nothing but a big kid yourself, what with that overpriced toy store of yours! Phooey!