LOVE AND ROCKETS 371
Selected Bibliography: Brown, Chester. Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography. Montreal:
Drawn and Quarterly, 2003.
Gail de Vos
LOVE AND ROCKETS. Love and Rockets, a black and white series written and drawn by
the Hernandez Brothers, Gilbert and Jaime, is one of the most successful of the inde-
pendent or alternative comics that emerged with the rise of the direct market. Early on,
Love and Rockets attracted an intensely loyal following, including many of the female
readers mainstream comics found elusive. Following a self-published issue in 1981, the
magazine-sized comic by “Los Bros Hernandez” (with rare contributions from older
brother Mario) was published by Fantagraphics between 1982 and 1996 for 50 issues,
which have since been collected and reprinted in many confi gurations. (Th ese have
allowed the brothers to alter their work in order to eff ect subtle changes, and reprints
have generally separated their work, which originally appears together.) After a fi ve-
year hiatus devoted to other projects, the brothers began a second series of 20 comic
book-sized issues (2001–7). Beginning in 2008, the fi rst issue in the third series of Love
and Rockets appeared as a 100-page paperbound volume. Whatever its format, Love and
Rockets has remained one of the major achievements in alternative comics; it is also
notable for bringing a rare multicultural perspective to American comics, blending di-
verse infl uences from (among others) punk rock, the brothers’ Chicano heritage, and
Archie comics into an altogether unique mixture.
Following a few issues of gently parodic science fi ction, two densely populated nar-
ratives unfolding within richly imagined worlds have defi ned Love and Rockets. Comics
by Jaime (often signing as “Xaime”) center around a shifting group of “Locas” (crazy
women), especially the vulnerable yet resilient Maggie and her volatile punk sidekick
(and sometimes lover) Hopey, set within the imaginary but realistic Southern Califor-
nia neighborhood of Hoppers. Over the course of their fragmentary narrative during
the last quarter-century, these and Jaime’s many other distinct characters have acquired
complex personalities, encouraging fans to adore and identify with them, with fl uctua-
tions in Maggie’s personal relationships and weight generating unusual empathy from
longtime readers. Th e “Locas” stories shift eff ortlessly from raucous comedy (especially
in depictions of Hopey’s rock band) to poignant narratives of loss and resignation.
While Jaime allows fantastic elements to enter his world, his longer stories, such as
“Th e Death of Speedy,” are rare explorations in comics form of the often mundane
but sometimes dramatic (or even tragic) interactions of individuals with their families,
peer groups, and cultural environments. When Maggie was separated from Hopey for
a lengthy period, readers were tormented as they waited for the bittersweet reunion
of the pair. More recently, Jaime’s readers have been confronted with the aging of his
characters, presumably mirroring their and the artist’s own maturation, although he is
often willing to provide welcome fl ashbacks to earlier times.
Simultaneously, Gilbert’s “Heartbreak Soup” stories, set in the mythic Central
American town of Palomar (by which the stories are also often identifi ed), also feature
