Peter Bagge has one of the most unpredictable careers in comics, from his 1990s cult comic book Hate to his recent bestselling graphic novel about sex-education pioneer Margaret Sanger. In between, he’s drawn dark comedy series like Sweatshop and Apocalypse Nerd, political comics for Reason magazine, and some of Marvel’s all-time weirdest takes on the Hulk and Spider-Man.
In a video interview with Comic Book Resources, Bagge recalls his career highlights, starting with being mentored as a young artist and editor by underground cartooning god Robert Crumb. Bagge is now ranked among the indie comics greats himself, although he’s worked for both DC and Marvel... with mixed results. On his Objectivist-themed Megalomaniacal Spider-Man, Bagge comments: “One, it is by far the best-selling comic I had ever made. It outsold every Hate comic I had ever done. And two, it is the all-time worst-selling Spider-Man comic ever.”
Bagge’s next project is a graphic novel biography of author and civil rights activist Zora Neale Hurston, proving there’s no way to second-guess him. Also, apparently Comic Book Resources has an interview boat.