Hugo Tate

The 80s and early 90s were a great time for British comics. First Warrior showcased some bright new talent, then Escape shone the light on the small press brigade. The third leg of this metaphorical tripod was Deadline, a great little magazine that mixed music with comics. Here we met Hewlitt and Martin's Tank Girl for the first time. Other notable strips included Wired World by Philip Bond and Timulo by D'Israeli. Within its pages Shakey Kane, Peter Milligan, Glynn Dillon and Al Columbia all had exposure.

But possibly it's best strip featured, in the beginning, a funny little stick man who raged against the world while trying to understand his place within it. His name was Hugo Tate and he was created by Nick Abadzis.

Hugo, young, gifted, but lacking direction, spent his time with a motley bunch of friends, drinking, having fun, being angry, sad, funny and very, very real. This was a world away from the anarchism of Tank Girl and the comparisons with Love and Rockets are justified, especially as Abadzis honed his artwork, the better to articulate his ideas. It was closer to the broad, emotional work of Gilbert Hernandez, both in content and style, than the clean lines of Jaime, but Hugo was the closest the UK ever came to it's own Maggie and Hopey.

As the strip progresses, the art became more powerful and by the time of the second volume, O America, Abadzis was really firing on all cylinders. Here he takes Hugo on a road trip across the dark heart of America, coast to coast, as he helps the dangerous Spoonhead to deliver a Cadillac Eldorado to California. Hugo really goes through the mill, haunted by nightmares, unsure of himself or where he's going. Gradually he starts to unravel.

I won't give away the plot, but this is powerful stuff, brilliantly written and drawn. By the end we have a new Hugo, who has shed several skins along the way. Unfortunately several loose end are left dangling which were to be tied up inn the third volume, but Abadzis, plagued by personal problems and a need to earn some money when Deadline faltered, never got round to writing it. Which is a shame.

But it's good to get reacquainted with Hugo. You should stop in and say hello. I think you'll like him.