The Complete Love and Rockets

Love and Rockets is a famous independent comic created by "Los Bros" Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. Jaime's stories revolve around Maggie, a teenager in a California town, while Gilbert's stories revolve around Luba, a woman in Mexico. Death of Speedy collects the three comics relating to Speedy's death and a few other issues involving Maggie, Hopey and other characters. There are many things I really like about this comic. One thing I love is the dialogue. It sounds very real to me. I grew up in Mexico and I loved seeing the characters use Mexican phrases here and there. I love how real the characters act and how it shows that people can make mistakes. The scene right after Speedy's death is a progression of panels that are unforgettable. Visually stunning and powerful. I love the art. It is clean and very expressive. It makes use of the medium to tell us things with the art that we wouldn't have noted with just reading and quick glimpses of the drawings. Reading this book made want to read "Locas" which compiles all the Maggie stories from Jaime (there are two big volumes now). I am planning on reading that soon. I am looking forward to it. This is fantastic comic, I highly recommend it.

Everyone ought to read the amazing work of the immortal Los Bros. Hernandez -- Jaime and Beto H., creators (respectively) of the "Locas" and "Palomar" series, which together comprise the unified title 'Love and Rockets'. Although these are, y'know, comic books (*graphic novels* to YOU, bub), they are probably the greatest works of American storytelling since Lieutenant Slothrop vanished while searching for the 00001 Rocket towards the end of "Gravity's Rainbow". Put this 'Locas' stuff on the shelf right next to Faulkner, Hurston, Pynchon, Ellison, and Mister Henry Freakin' James. It's THAT good. While I admire Beto's complex and subtle "Palomar" work more than I actually 'love' it, Jaime's creation of the So. Cal. town of 'Hoppers' and its loveably life-like denizens Maggie, Hopey, Izzy, Penny, Ray, Danita, and the rest of the gang are almost too good to be believed. "The Death of Speedy" comes smack in the middle of the series, but it's one of Xaime's best; even if you didn't already know the characters and the ongoing saga, you could probably pick up the trail from here without too many headaches. Other highlights in the series include "Flies on the Ceiling" and "Wig Wam Bam". But everything these guys did in the '80s is worth checking out. I'm serious, people. If you don't know 'Love and Rockets,' you really don't know what you're missing. Put down your silly Jonathan Franzen and Zadie Smith for a minute, and come to where the real flava is.

It seems that Love and Rockets trades begin with strange story in Music for Mechanics, get better and better and creative culmination of Jaime Hernandez is book 7, Death of Speedy. After trade 8 (I didn't read it so I can't say if it's better than 7), both brothers loose inspiration. I have 13-15 to read, so I can't say if it's better than 9-12, but if you want to buy a Love and Rockets book, buy 7. Yoou don't need the rest, this one's quality is on par with the best issues of Sandman, Maxx , Preacher, Planetary and newer cult-status comics.

All of Jaime Hernandez' work for the Love and Rockets comic series is terrific, but this particular book is especially well done. The story of life in the barrio of LA is alternately funny and brutal (sometimes within the same page). Maggie, Speedy, Ray, and the rest of the characters are easy to identify with and care about. The art is also fantastic. Go read