The Bradleys #[nn]

Peter Bagge's The Bradleys collects his sharply observed family comedy in one Fantagraphics volume, and the cover sets the tone perfectly — three exasperated, rubber-faced characters crowd the frame in Bagge's wonderfully elastic cartooning style, their expressions radiating barely contained irritation. It's a fitting introduction to a household where no one seems particularly happy to be in the same room together. A great showcase of Bagge's distinctive 1992-era work for anyone who appreciates alternative comics at their most gleefully dysfunctional.