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Post by francoisvigneault on Sept 13, 2021 2:27:32 GMT
I would agree that with Jaime I'd recommend starting with "The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S." (it's a joke on the old TV show "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.") cause it drops you right into the meat of what he is doing in the bigger Locas narrative. If you like that you'll like what's gonna love what's to come and you can move backwards to read what's collected in "Maggie the Mechanic" which is superficially and stylistically very different. Looping back to Jaime's older stories isn't weird at all in my opinion, it's very much part of what he is doing artistically (he himself is constantly looping back in his narrative).
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Post by awfulquiet on Sept 13, 2021 17:58:02 GMT
I've never been able to sit down and read and enjoy Love and Rockets. And I think it's mostly because of Jaime's stories. I like both of their art, but I only enjoy reading Gilbert.
This should be seen as a flaw on my part, not theirs.
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Post by bayls171 on Sept 13, 2021 22:14:11 GMT
I would agree that with Jaime I'd recommend starting with "The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S." (it's a joke on the old TV show "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.") cause it drops you right into the meat of what he is doing in the bigger Locas narrative. If you like that you'll like what's gonna love what's to come and you can move backwards to read what's collected in "Maggie the Mechanic" which is superficially and stylistically very different. Looping back to Jaime's older stories isn't weird at all in my opinion, it's very much part of what he is doing artistically (he himself is constantly looping back in his narrative). Is Girl From HOPPERS really a Man From Uncle reference..? That’s so strange to me. Granted I’ve never seen it, I thought it was about government types? Feels like a weird thing to pull from for a L&R collection |
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Post by zoddman on Sept 13, 2021 23:58:48 GMT
Is Girl From HOPPERS really a Man From Uncle reference..? That’s so strange to me. Granted I’ve never seen it, I thought it was about government types? Feels like a weird thing to pull from for a L&R collection I'm sure it was just a cute title reference that popped into his mind while he was working on it, him and Gilbert are like a lot of creators around the same "Gen-X" age like Charles Burns and Daniel Clowes where they were sponges for the disposable pop-culture they were surrounded by as kids in the 60's and 70's and they make passing references to all of it in their work (Gilligan's Island, F-Troop, Famous Monsters of Filmland, surf music, etc.). Bryan Lee O'Malley is kind of a Millenial version of that with his work. |
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Post by francoisvigneault on Sept 14, 2021 23:00:34 GMT
I wrote my thesis on Jaime Hernandez's work (nearly 10 years ago now!). Occasionally I flip through it and I consider publishing some of it online, but I'm not sure I said anything really interesting, haha.
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Post by disneyweirdness on Sept 14, 2021 23:06:44 GMT
For the longest time I had Maggie the Mechanic on my shelf and nothing else because it seemed the most "comic booky." When I finally took the plunge on reading the giant hardcovers I felt stupid for resisting so long.
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Post by bayls171 on Dec 13, 2021 1:39:17 GMT
Two days ago I bought a bunch of comics, about 15 or so, including 3 Hernandez comics: Is This How You See Me?, Hypnotwist/Scarlet By Starlight, and Queen Of The Ring. I said I would pace myself and save them over the next month or so. Two days later they've all been read (the rest of the stack has barely been touched..)
The Gilbert book was exactly what I expected, more B-movie stuff which I always enjoy. Hypnotwist was particularly interesting in this set, some really disturbing imagery in that one. Gonna revisit it a bunch I'm sure
Queen Of The Ring I wasn't interested in before I read it, I'm not interested in wrestling, and it isn't even a comic. I bought it cos Jaime, and started flicking through it that night. I couldn't put it down. Its fascinating. Seeing the drawings really made me appreciate the power and weight of his figures. I've noticed it before in his comics of course but its so much more prominent when shown in these repeating images of wrestlers. I literally couldn't stop thinking about this book and I was going to lunch with my aunt and uncle the next day (yesterday) so brought the book along, I didn't think they'd be interested but I had to show someone. My aunt couldn't stop looking at the drawings and I had to leave the book with her! She loved how chunky and well-shaped the women were, as well as the power behind them (like the drawing on the cover). So yeah this book was fucking awesome
Is This How You See Me? probably isn't my favourite Jaime story but the first twenty pages with Maggie & Hopey interacting (as well as the.. event that almost transpires in the hotel) is so well done. And artistically it might be my favourite of his. Its possible that I'm just appreciating his work so much more after Queen Of The Ring, but the characters really felt so alive
Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts on these books. Anyone else have any opinions on them?
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Post by BubblesZine on Dec 13, 2021 15:17:38 GMT
Hypnotwist, what a masterpiece. Gilbert is one of my favorite cartoonists of all time. He's just amazing. Always trying new things and pushing himself to new places. Hypnotwist was just perfect cartooning. I borrowed my friends copy and as I write thing I wish I could pull it off my shelf now and flip through it.
Queen of the Ring, also amazing. I had a blast talking to Jaime about that book for Bubbles #12. I actually did a follow up interview about it because the first time we talked it hadn't been released yet and he just told me it was wrestling drawings, downplaying it. But after I got a copy I was in awe. I had to ask more questions and he was nice enough to indulge me. There's so much to that book, so much imagination and pure art. I love it.
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Post by junkflower on Dec 14, 2021 16:55:00 GMT
I'm sorta surprised (but also not surprised) to see people lukewarm on Jaime. I've had a few people proclaim proudly to me over the years that they prefer Gilbert, which seems like the "correct" opinion for people who are deep in the game on art/alternative culture/precociousness (and, also, Ive somehow gotten more than one girlfriend into Palomar yet somehow never sold anyone on Locas), but...
...Beto really lost me post-Poison River/circa the introduction of Fritz and Petra. I don't know why exactly, but I felt like his thread totally unraveled at that point. The B-movie comics don't really appeal to me at all (neither do Jaime's recent superhero stories). I've heard a lot of good things about a lot of Beto stuff in the interim but I never get around to it.
Jaime is of course an absolute hitter up through Love Bunglers. The Maggie stories following that feel kinda.... unnecessary in some ways, and I've found the NEW Young Maggie and Hopey stories to be pretty saccharine. I really dig the development of the Tonta/Gomez stories though and am excited to see where those go.
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Post by franseen on Dec 14, 2021 18:08:08 GMT
'Life and Death of Speedy Ortiz' is by far my favourite Locas story arc. The way Jaime has built a world large enough for himself to play around in for forty years is astounding. Am pretty happy to sit around and discuss 'Locas' with anybody so it's nice to see this thread up
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Post by junkflower on Dec 14, 2021 23:54:11 GMT
One thing I think is interesting about Jaime's last couple years is the contrast between the teenage lives of Maggie/Hopey and Tonta/Gomez.
Maggie and Hopey live essentially on the skids, and participate directly at times in the California underworld. This was probably directly inspired in some ways by Jaime's own adjacency to the LA punk underground and its often dire circumstances.
In contrast, Tonta and Gomez are nice girls in private school. Their experiences with seediness are thirdhand at best. It's interesting (goofy? either way not in a bad way) to me because while Maggie and Hopey were probably based on girls Jaime knew at the time, Tonta and Gomez seem inspired by Jaime's own [daughter? stepdaughter?], growing up in a nice neighborhood in the suburbs. It reflects Jaime's own personal shift in economic demographic, as he's gotten older and [presumably] more successful.
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Post by thebeautifulpuffin on Dec 27, 2021 19:35:54 GMT
For those that don't mind consuming their genius through a screen, comiXology is having a crazy good sale on nearly everything Fanta in the Los Bros canon: Until January 6th, you could pick up all 13 omnis for the same price as one of the collections at retail, and for just a few dollars more you could treat yourself to the companion book and several of Gilbert's B-movie novellas. If not for yourself, do it for that niece or nephew with progressive parents! |
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Post by bayls171 on Dec 28, 2021 20:25:16 GMT
I'm sorta surprised (but also not surprised) to see people lukewarm on Jaime. I've had a few people proclaim proudly to me over the years that they prefer Gilbert, which seems like the "correct" opinion for people who are deep in the game on art/alternative culture/precociousness (and, also, Ive somehow gotten more than one girlfriend into Palomar yet somehow never sold anyone on Locas), but... idk, maybe it just depends on which people you're talking to but from my exposure even in the alternative comics world people generally hail Jaime as a genius and Beto gets left behind, especially with the modern stuff.. but "alternative comics" is also weirdly fractured so it might depend on the community you're spending time in. I think this is a common take - post-Palomar Beto takes a turn and while he certainly still has people who love him (me) its very different and maybe harder to get into. I think Jaime has been more of a favourite in general for a while |
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Post by bayls171 on Mar 14, 2022 20:22:36 GMT
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Post by thebeautifulpuffin on Sept 29, 2022 0:51:42 GMT
FANTA sez... "If you love Love and Rockets, you won’t want to miss the LA Public Library’s virtual event to celebrate the 40th anniversary! Head to their YouTube channel this Thursday at 4:00 PM PDT to catch Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez in conversation with comedian (and L&R fan) Chris Estrada!" |
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