Synopses & Reviews
The 25th anniversary
Love and Rockets celebration continues with this, the second of three volumes collecting the adventures of the spunky Maggie; her annoying, pixie-ish best friend and sometime lover Hopey; and their circle of friends, including their bombshell friend Penny Century, Maggie's weirdo mentor Izzy--as well as the aging but still heroic wrestler Rena Titañon and Maggie's handsome love interest, Rand Race. After the sci-fi trappings of his earliest stories (as seen in
Maggie the Mechanic, the first volume in this series), Hernandez refined his approach, settling on the more naturalistic environment of the fictional Los Angeles barrio, Hoppers, and the lives of the young Mexican-Americans and punk rockers who live there. A central story and one of Jaime's absolute peaks is "The Death of Speedy." Such is Jaime's mastery that even though the end of the story is telegraphed from the very title, the downhill spiral of Speedy, the local heartthrob, is utterly compelling and ultimately quite surprising. Also in this volume, Maggie begins her on-again off-again romance with Ray D., leading to friction and an eventual separation from Hopey.
(Note: A number of these stories, including a whole cycle of wrestling stories starring or co-starring Rena Titañon, were not collected in the hardcover Locas.)
Review
A great, sprawling American novel... makes Gotham and Metropolis seem as bland as Scranton.Jaime's characters are so convincing and his stories so compelling that it is easy to overlook his greatest strength: the most economically handsome drawing style in comics.No one in comics has ever used the comics longform, the number of pages and the years between books, to such beautiful effect. Jaime Hernandez is comics' poet laureate of memory and meaning. -- Tom Spurgeon
Review
I liked seeing the progression and development of the series (it was started in the 80s). The art is fantastic and H.O.P.P.E.R.S. stands as a complete world unto itself. -- Jillian Tamaki
Review
Everything Jaime does is genius, but I thought Ghost of HOPPERSwas especially strong. Maybe my favorite since Wigwam Bam. -- "The Book Club: Top 10 Graphic Novels"
Review
Jaime"s illustration is beautiful and effortless. His characters mix a near perfect clear-line style with cartoonish expression, used with particular aplomb when emotions are running high. It"s a masterclass in comic illustration. -- M. Ace
Synopsis
In
The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S., Hernandez refined his artistic storytelling approach, settling into the more naturalistic environment of a fictional Los Angeles neighborhood, Hoppers, and the lives of the people who live there. In stories like The Death of Speedy, such is Jaime's mastery that even though the title telegraphs the end of the story, the downhill spiral of Speedy, the local heartthrob, is utterly compelling and ultimately shocking. Also in this volume, Maggie begins her on-again off-again romance with Ray D., leading to friction and an eventual separation from Hopey. This volume is the third in a comprehensive and chronological series,
The Complete Love and Rockets Library, and the second that collects all of writer-artist Jaime Hernandez's Locas storyline in which characters change as they age in real-time.
These stories, created between 1985-1991, first appeared in the long-running (and ongoing) Love and Rockets comics series, also featuring work by Jaime's brothers, Gilbert and Mario. L&R has been called the greatest American comic book series of all time by Rolling Stone and a great, sprawling American novel by GQ. It broke ground with its craft and the casual intersectionality of its huge and diverse casts of nuanced characters (many of whom are LGBQTIA+) who live and have relationships in often-naturalistic settings and situations. (Although L&R has SF and magical realist elements too). Along with contemporaries Chris Ware, Lynda Barry, and Daniel Clowes, the Hernandez brothers pushed the comics medium into new artistic heights.
Synopsis
The 25th anniversary
Love and Rocketscelebration continues with this, the second of three volumes collecting the adventures of the spunky Maggie; her annoying, pixie-ish best friend and sometime lover Hopey; and their circle of friends, including their bombshell friend Penny Century, Maggie's weirdo mentor Izzy'"as well as the aging but still heroic wrestler Rena Titaon and Maggie's handsome love interest, Rand Race. After the sci-fi trappings of his earliest stories (as seen in
Maggie the Mechanic, the first volume in this series), Hernandez refined his approach, settling on the more naturalistic environment of the fictional Los Angeles barrio, Hoppers, and the lives of the young Mexican-Americans and punk rockers who live there. A central story and one of Jaime's absolute peaks is "The Death of Speedy." Such is Jaime's mastery that even though the end of the story is telegraphed from the very title, the downhill spiral of Speedy, the local heartthrob, is utterly compelling and ultimately quite surprising. Also in this volume, Maggie begins her on-again off-again romance with Ray D., leading to friction and an eventual separation from Hopey.
(Note: A number of these stories, including a whole cycle of wrestling stories starring or co-starring Rena Titaon, were not collected in the hardcover Locas.)
Synopsis
Centered on one of Jaime's peaks, "The Death of Speedy," the second comprehensive "Locas" collection (with stories not in the hardcover) alternates between wrestling action and the triangle of Maggie, Hopey and Ray D.
About the Author
Jaime Hernandez lives in Pasadena, CA with his wife and daughter. He continues to co-create the ongoing, thrice-yearly LoveandRockets comic book series.